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“Keep telling yourself that, Barbecue.”

Ellery had to smile at the idea of a youthful Jack reading G.I. Joe comic books. “At least this time around it’s just a puzzle and not an actual…case.”

“How do you figure that? Aren’t you looking into this for Vera Shandy?”

RESURRECT (twenty-five points)

“Honestly, I’m looking into it as much for myself as Vera. It’s not like she hired me. She presented me with a mystery that she guessed, correctly, would interest me. If Eudora was involved, I’d kind of like to know.”

“Sure about that?”

“Well…yes.” Ellery had to ask. “Why? Do you think I’m going to find out Eudora was a murderess?”

He could hear the faint smile in Jack’s, “I knew your aunt. Not well, but well enough to say I don’t think you have anything to worry about there.”

“It’s pretty hard to believe, but maybe that’s what everyone says when someone they know commits murder.” Although maybe not members of the Shandy family?

“Pretty much,” Jack agreed.

DOUBLEBLIND (nada points—how could that be?!).

Ellery closed the phone app.

“At least this time there’s nothing riding on the outcome. No one is sitting in jail or even suffering through being suspected of committing murder. No one is being stalked or receiving death threats. There’s no danger to anybody because it all went down over half a century ago. All the players are either deceased or pretty old. Even the remaining potential witnesses are elderly.”

Jack’s silence sounded unconvinced.

Ellery said coaxingly, “It’s just a historical puzzle that would be interesting to solve, not least because it might lead to figuring out where those doubloons came from.”

“And that’s where the potential danger comes in,” Jack said crisply. “If your calculations last night were even in the ballpark, that’s a lot of motive. That’s a million motives.”

“What did the people from RIMAP say?”

“Too early to know for sure, but…”

“But?”

Jack said, “I spoke to RIMAP’s head, Dr. Judith Shelton, and she said—off the record—the coinsappearto be genuine.”

“Wow.”

“Yes.”

Ellery absorbed that news for a moment, then returned to arguing his point. “That’s amazing.Butthe treasure aspect is secondary.”

“Maybe for you. Don’t discount the lure of pirate’s treasure for someone like Tackle Shandy.”

“Sure, but it’s not like I’m in possession of the coins. I have no clue where they came from, which I’m sure most people know.”

“I get worried when you start making assumptions about what other people know or don’t know. Or trust that becauseyouwould never do something, no one would.”

Ellery said patiently, “I know that, Jack. I really do.”

“Just remember, you’re the one who suggested Vernon Shandy was murdered.”

“Are you saying youdon’tthink Vernon was murdered?”

Jack said somberly, “It’s probable he was murdered, yes. But there’s no evidence of that.” He added, “Yet.”