Page 45 of Death at the Deep Dive

“That does sound suspicious.”

“Coincidences happen, but yeah. It sure does.” Jack shaded his eyes, gazing out across the windswept fields and choppy blue water. His profile looked bleak.

Ellery regarded him for a moment, then turned back to the ruins of the Deep Dive.

He was a little disappointed. Not that he had really expected to uncover Vernon’s grave in the cellar of the old ruins, but he’d hoped to gain some insight by visiting what had surely been the scene of the crime.

Vernon had disappeared in 1963, so the fire two years later was unlikely to have had any connection.

“This must have been a very old building at the time it burned.”

“One of the oldest on the island. It was originally the Shandy home.”

“Theirhome? Hm. One of the oldest structures, and they later turned it into a pub. What do you want to bet, the original Deep Dive was connected to the tunnels?”

The founding fathers of Pirate’s Cove had built an elaborate network of tunnels beneath the village. Whether the original purpose had been defense fortifications or smuggling or both, local families had continued adding and closing branches right through Prohibition. Accordingly, no accurate map of the entire system existed. In fact, no one living had ever explored the entire complex.

Jack smiled faintly. “I wouldn’t take that bet. There’s no doubt they had an entrance to the tunnels. I’m sure there’s an entrance to the tunnels in the current Deep Dive.”

“Did anyone check the tunnels for Vernon?”

“No one from PICO PD, I’m guessing.” Jack was definitely not happy about the failings of his predecessors. “But I’d be pretty damned amazed if the Shandys didn’t move heaven and earth trying to find him.”

Ellery agreed. It was difficult to imagine Vera taking no for an answer in any circumstances, let alone when she feared for the safety of someone she loved.

“I’ll verify that with her, but I agree.”

“Did you want to walk over to the village and grab a late lunch? Or did you want to drive back to the house? Or would you like to do something else?”

“Let’s grab some lunch.” It was a beautiful, brisk day, and the walk would be good exercise.

Jack whistled for Watson, and the three of them started down the weathered paved road.

In the translucent afternoon light, the hillside, covered in shadbush and chokecherry, seemed to glow with sunset shades of copper, crimson, and cream. Vines of Virginia creeper and poison ivy laced the silvery stones of crumbling walls. Seabirds soared and swooped overhead, jeering at Watson’s attempts to chase them down.

Ellery said, “I don’t know why Vera gave me so little information to start with. It’s like she wanted me to investigate, but shedidn’twant me to investigate.”

“At a guess, I’d say she’s afraid a family member is involved. I think that’s why she stopped pestering the authorities. She wants to know the truth, but she doesn’t want to give you evidence that could eventually be used against someone she cares about in an official investigation.”

“That’s a pretty fine line.”

“Vera’s been walking pretty fine lines all her life. Watch this patch. The soil is eroding.”

They picked their way down to the flat stretch of road along the beach.

“Why didn’t they rebuild over here?” Ellery asked. “Why did they just leave it to return to nature?”

“The hotel, which was the major draw, was gone. The pier was gone. Also, that fire would have clearly shown how vulnerable the businesses and homes on this side of the harbor were to natural disasters. I can see why people would hesitate. Especially when, back then, there was still plenty of available real estate in the village.”

Ellery, still thinking over their earlier conversation, said, “If Vera believes there’s any possibility of prosecution, there’s only one member of her family left who could be a suspect.”

“Rocky,” Jack agreed.

“Right. Her uncle Barry is gone. So it would have to be Rocky she’s trying to protect.”

“I don’t think Rocky would go to trial anyway. I don’t think he’d be found competent.”

“But Tackle had to have some reason to warn me off.”

---