Page 76 of Death at the Deep Dive

Ellery sighed, nodded.

“Would you like a glass of wine while I get the food up?”

“I would love a glass of wine.” Ellery asked cautiously, “What did you decide to cook?”

“I didn’t cook. I ordered from the Seacrest Inn.” Jack smiled. “I asked Nan to make us something special.”

Ellery followed Jack into the immaculate kitchen, leaning against the counter and sipping his wine while Jack carefully unwrapped the foil-topped dishes, plated the stuffed Cornish hens, wild rice, and brussels sprouts. The delicious fragrance of good food well-prepared filled the room. Ellery’s stomach growled.

“What turned up in that background check on James that made you turn up at the Deep Dive?”

Jack’s smile was crooked. “Nothing. Not a damn thing. His record was clean as a whistle.”

“Then—”

“Bess Crawford phone to complain about Abel and she happened to mention that she used to be a waitress at the Deep Dive.”

“How many waitresses did they have? There wasn’t a single one in the place last night. Reg was doing everything.”

“Anyway.”

“Sorry. Anyway.”

“Bess was also working the night Vernon disappeared. She remembered seeing him go out the back and that James followed him. She also remembered that James always seemed a little intimidated by Vernon, maybe a little scared of him. The fact that she never saw Vernon again after James followed him out, always stuck with her, always made her a little uneasy, but she couldn’t believe a kid so young would be capable of murder or that anyone would hush it up.”

“That’s… Wow.”Jack’s smile was without humor. “So, what have you been up to for the last twenty-four hours? Or do I want to know?”

“Not much. I think my ghost is gone,” Ellery remarked. “When I got home last night, there was no light in the window.”

Jack made a sound of amusement. “Maybe your ghost had an early call this morning.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but I really do think…”

“No, you don’t.”

After a moment, Ellery said, “Maybe not. But you have to admit it was a funny coincidence.”

Jack glanced at him. “I’m not a big believer in ghosts. That said, there are things out there that can’t be easily explained. Who am I to say?”

Ellery made a face, drained his wineglass. “In other news, I know how those gold coins ended up in the Historical Society’s warehouse.”

“I’ve been wondering about that.”

“I talked to Vera this morning after she heard James Franklin had been arrested. She admitted hiding the doubloons in the diving bag for safe-keeping. Rocky knew she had them, and after his faculties started to slip, he kept breaking into her house, trying to find them.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yep. She thought she’d found the perfect solution, that the warehouse would be safely locked up for decades. And it was. Only the diving suit had already been removed by the time the padlocks went on the doors.”

“A comedy of errors,” Jack commented. “Only murder isn’t funny.”

When they carried the hot dishes out to the patio, Ellery discovered, to his horror, that Watson was digging a huge hole in the back corner of the yard.

“Watson.”

“That’s okay,” Jack said quickly. “That’s his part of the yard.”

“His-- He has his own part of the yard?”

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