Page 70

He could tell Jack agreed, though Jack said neutrally, “Believe me, I know you’re upset. And you believe Dylan.”

“I know that you’re the expert, Jack. I know you have years of experience and knowledge. I respect that. I respectyou. But I do believe Dylan. I one hundred percent believe him when he says he didn’t and wouldn’t kill her.”

“He’s been a good friend to you.”

Yes. When everyone else in Pirate’s Cove had seemed to believe Ellery was capable of murder—twice!—Dylan had been a staunch ally.

“That’s not why I believe him,” Ellery said. “I believe him because the idea that he’d kill September doesn’t make sense. What could September possibly have said that would have driven Dylan to kill her? She was already badmouthing him all over the village. No one believed her. So, it couldn’t have been the threat of blackmail. They weren’t married. He wasn’t tied to her. She couldn’t take him for everything he’s worth. So, she didn’t pose a financial threat. He wasn’t jealous of her. He wastiredof her. If she threatened to leave him or he caught her with someone else—and who would that be, by the way?—he wouldn’t have been so out of control with rage that he grabbed a hammer. It. Doesn’t. Make. Sense.”

Jack took a moment to answer, “That will be for a jury to decide.”

“He has nothing to gain from her death and had nothing to lose by her being alive.”

“She owed him a lot of money. We’re talking thousands of dollars.”

Ellery responded, “How does killing her get him his money back?”

Despite their best efforts, their voices were starting to rise. Watson whined softly, looking from Ellery to Jack.

Jack exhaled a long breath. He said evenly, “This is why it’s probably better if we don’t discuss this particular case.”

“Sure,” Ellery said. “I don’t want to fight with you. That’s thelastthing I want. But this is the thing on my mind. This is what I’m going to be focusing my time and energy on. You want to talk about the weather? Go for it.”

Jack blinked as though he was seeing Ellery clearly for the first time.

And Ellery… Ellery realized that they were teetering on a very steep precipice.

He said shakily, “I’m sorry, Jack. I want to support you. I do support you. Always. But I think you’re wrong about this.”

He was relieved—and surprised—when Jack stepped forward, folding his arms around him in a hug that felt kind and protective. “Iknow. You’re a good and loyal friend. It’s one of the things I love about you. I don’t want you hurt, that’s all. But I’m not going to ask you to choose between…friendships. Just…” His voice dropped, his breath warm against Ellery’s ear, “Don’t hate me for having to do my job.”

Ellery moved his head in negation. “Never.”

Jack kissed his ear, let him go, and Ellery moved away to busy himself cooking a nourishing midnight supper for a nice guy who’d had a tough day.

He drank a cup of tea and Watson slept with his head on Jack’s foot as Jack ate his omelet of bacon, cherry tomatoes, chives, mozzarella, and frozen peas.

Other than compliments to chef, Jack didn’t say much, and Ellery stuck to the safe topics of home renovation, bookshop business, and Lara Fairplay’s close call the evening before.

“Anothernear accident?” Jack put his fork down.

Ellery had assumed Jack had heard about the trapdoor incident, but of course, Jack had his own actual cases to deal with.

“It seems like a lot,” Ellery agreed. “But it’s not the first time there was a problem with that trapdoor.”

“I still don’t buy it.”

“Unfortunately, the door was immediately boarded-up. So at this point I don’t think anyone would be able to tell if it had been tampered with. They didn’t just seal the trap door. They added a whole additional underlayer of planks and boards to the stage. I’m not sure that door will ever be operational again.”

“Who gave the orders to board up the trap door?”

“I couldn’t get a straight answer. Lara’s road crew led the effort, but it sounded like everyone from the stage hands to sound guys were down there within seconds. If she’d fallen through—”

“That woman’s got more lives than a cat.”

“She’s spending an awful lot of them in Pirate’s Cove.”

Jack took a bite of omelet, chewed reflectively, swallowed, and said, “Elon did time for embezzlement.”