“Yeah, I’m still wondering about that,” Ellery said. “You’re the last person in the world I’d picture being happy living on a little island in the middle of nowhere.”
“Why not? You’re happy here. Anyway, you don’t know me. You never really did, but you sure as heck don’t know me now.”
Ellery shrugged. “Fair enough.”
“The real reason I’m here is to apologize for last night. I didn’t realize Elliot Parker was such a deep dark secret.”
“He—it—is not.”
“It sure seemed like it. The way you recoiled, you’d think I pulled your pants down.” Brandon waggled his eyebrows. “Which, as I recall—”
“Okay, stop.” Ellery was not kidding.
Brandon made a face. “You didn’t use to be such a prude.”
“I’m not a prude. But we’re not in college either.” Ellery tried to find a diplomatic way to get his feelings across. “I’m a businessman. This is my community. That part of my life is over. Okay?”
“And you’re embarrassed about it.”
“Not really. I mean, they were terrible movies, and I was terrible in them, but they were fun at first, and I made money. I understand why you maybe feel a little defensive about the character of Noah Street, but you didn’t actually write all those screenplays, so I’m not sure why you’re taking any of this personally.”
“I think you know why.”
“I don’t.”
“Nobody is that clueless.”
“I am.” Ellery reconsidered. “Uh, that is, I have no idea what you’re getting at.”
“Come to dinner with me on Saturday, and I’ll spell it out for you.”
Ellery sighed. “I can’t. It’s opening night.”
“For what?”
This was a little uncomfortable.
“I’m involved with the local theater group.”
Brandon looked horrified. “You’re acting in community theater?”
“Not exactly. The point is, I’ve got plans.”
“Okay. Tonight.”
“Rehearsal.”
Brandon got that stubborn look Ellery remembered only too well. “Tomorrow night.”
“I’ve got a date.” Ellery couldn’t help smiling at the thought of Jack.
Brandon frowned. “With who?”
“What does it matter?”
“Thursday, then?”
“Rehearsal.”
Brandon said slowly, “I don’t believe it. You’re afraid to go out with me.”
Ellery laughed with real amusement. “Nope. Not at all. I just have other things going on. We could meet for drinks on Friday after dress rehearsal, if you’d like. There’s a wine bar on Church Street that will stay open until eleven if they’ve got customers.”
Brandon considered, then shrugged. “I guess I’ll have to take what I can get. Seeing that you’re in such demand.”
Ellery made a face. He knew sarcasm when he heard it.
“What’s the name of the wine bar?”
“Wine and Rosés.”
“Cute.”
“It’s a cute little village.”
“Maybe on the surface,” Brandon said. He didn’t seem to be kidding. At Ellery’s look of surprise, he said, “Are you saying you don’t know about the Witherspoon case?”
“The Witherspoon case? Never heard of it.”
Brandon glanced past Ellery again toward the office door. “Your cute little village has a murky history.”
Ellery snorted.
“I’m not kidding.”
“Sure you are.”
“There are dark undercurrents here. I’ll fill you in on Friday.”
The air of mystery, i.e., manufactured drama, was like the Brandon of old. “Sure,” Ellery said, unimpressed. “See you then.”
Brandon didn’t hang around long after that. When the bell above the door signaled his departure, Nora reemerged, conveniently done with whatever she’d been pretending to do for the last ten minutes.
“I don’t think we need to get carried away stocking his books,” she announced. “People are curious about him, that’s all. They’ll have their fill soon enough. His last book was a flop. I looked it up.”
“Yeah, but the others have done well. He’s not a bad writer.” Ellery was grudging but honest.
Nora eyed him, as though trying to make up her mind about something. She said finally, “You should be careful of him, dearie. I know his type. He likes mixing things up, stirring the pot.”
“Is there something to stir up?” Ellery asked, watching her.
Nora was no longer looking at him. She tidied the desk counter, repositioned the small bronze crow paperweight just so.
“Every town has its secrets,” she said.
Chapter Five
Why the heck was he so nervous?
It was just a meal between friends.
Well, no. Jack had specifically said it was a date.
Which was great. Right? Given how attracted he was to Jack? Except…maybe he was too attracted to Jack. Ellery was in a good place right now; mostly over the hurt inflicted by Todd’s betrayal, and content with his own company. He had plenty to keep him busy. He was, well, happy. Granted, he’d be happier if the bookshop was doing well, happier if the roof at Captain’s Seat didn’t leak and the chimney didn’t smoke, but still. Life was good.
He finished shaving for the second time that day and scowled at his reflection in the silvered mirror over the sink in the tiny back bathroom at the Crow’s Nest. Don’t make too much of this.
A dab of hair gel wouldn’t hurt. The sea air tended to turn his wavy dark brown hair curly, and because he hadn’t bothered with a haircut in weeks, he looked a little…crazed. Not as crazed as he had before he trimmed his eyebrows with his desk scissors. Ellery studied his reflection ruefully. Hopefully it was the dingy lighting giving his hazel eyes that hollow, haunted look. It could be worse. He had good bones, good skin, and perfect—thank you, Mom and Dad, for the braces—teeth. Which was lucky because these days his entire grooming arsenal consisted of aftershave and lip balm. Hey, his jeans were clean and his black lambswool sweater smelled only faintly of mothballs. What more could a guy ask for?
It’s not like Pirate’s Cove was teaming with members of the LGBTQ community. As far as Ellery could tell, he and Jack seemed to be it, and Jack was bisexual.
At least, that was Ellery’s assumption. They hadn’t ever really discussed it. And that would be because they hadn’t really discussed a lot of things. In fact, as Ellery thought about it, he had to admit he really didn’t know a whole heck of a lot about Jack. They talked plenty, sure, but it was never about anything serious. Never anything really personal. He talked about the book business, and Jack talked about police work. They shared amusing anecdotes about their day—one of the things Ellery did for sure like about Jack was the fact that they had similar senses of humor. And they shared that fish-out-of-water worldview of Pirate’s Cove.
Oh, and they talked quite a bit about home renovation. Jack turned out to know a lot about things like knob and tube wiring and thinset mortar—in fact, that was something Jack had shared: his father had owned his own construction company. Jack had been appalled the first time he’d seen Ellery trying to rip up old linoleum without safety glasses or a reusable respirator.