Page 4 of Death at the Deep Dive

Jack’susualwas whatever was on tap. He nodded. “How’s Libby doing?”

Tom’s daughter, Libby, was away at college on the mainland.

“Thriving,” Tom said gloomily. Libby was the light of his life, and he missed her dearly.

Ellery, studying the new addition of a blackboard menu, inquired, “What’s the End of Summer Special?”

“Secret family recipe.”

Jack and Ellery exchanged looks. Jack said, “What do you want to bet Fritos are involved?”

Tom looked outraged. “Hey, how dare you reveal my secrets!” He grinned broadly and departed with their drink order.

“He’s in a good mood,” Ellery remarked.

“It’s October. Everyone cheers up once the tourists leave.”

Which seemed counterintuitive for a community that pretty much subsisted on the tourist trade, but even with only one summer under his belt, Ellery got it. Buck Island during tourist season was a different planet from Buck Island the rest of the year.

He and Jack chatted about the ongoing renovations at Captain’s Seat, the ramshackle Victorian mansion Ellery had inherited from his great-great-great-aunt Eudora. The previous month, Ellery had finally received a nice chunk of change from Brandon Abbott’s estate, allowing him to move ahead with crucial if unglamorous things like electrical repairs and replacing the roof.

Tom returned with their drinks. They both ordered the fish and chips, to Tom’s disappointment, and then, as he once more departed, clinked their glasses.

“Cheers,” Jack said.

“Yo ho ho,” Ellery replied. He sipped his cobalt cocktail. “Mm.” The tart sweetness of the cocktail and the crackling warmth of the nearby fireplace were the perfect pairing for a chilly autumn night. He felt like he’d been waiting to exhale ever since dumping those coins on his desk. “I have to say I’m very relieved you-know-what is you-know-where. The thought that it was just lying there in that cupboard all this time makes me feel a little queasy.”

“Any chance that it wasn’t in the cupboard the whole time? I thought Felix said he left it out on a storage shelf.”

Felix Jones, Libby Tulley’s boyfriend and the son of Pirate Cove’s previous mayor, had pitched in for a short time at the Crow’s Nest while Ellery had been convalescing.

“He must have been mistaken. It was his last day at work and his last day on the island, so it’s no wonder if he was distracted. When I asked him, he barely remembered Cap giving him the bag.”

Jack made a noncommittal noise and sipped his beer.

“Whoever broke in would have to have been in a hurry.”

Jack conceded, “The assumption would be you had looked in the bag and so it was unlikely to have been left in the shop at all.”

“Exactly!”

Jack studied Ellery for a moment. His smile twisted. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First off, there’s no proof the collection bag you found belonged to Vernon Shandy. The assumption is the deep dive suit was his, but there are plenty of other divers on this island. No one knows for a fact who hid that suit in the warehouse with the Historical Society’s collection. Or for what reason.”

“To hide those coins,” Ellery said.

Jack shook his head. “That’s an assumption.”

“It’s a working theory. And it’s the most logical.”

“Maybe. But let’s say you’re right. Let’s go with yourtheorythat the suit belonged to the Shandys and that the suit was stashed away to hide the coins.”

“Doubloons.”

Jack laughed. “You really do love the idea of pirate’s treasure, don’t you? If your eyes were any shinier, they’d be glowing.”

Ellery laughed and sat back in his chair. He shrugged. “Okay, yes. I do love the idea of pirate’s treasure.”

“Especially pirate’s treasure with a mystery attached.”

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