Anything Goes

herself out of the car and given it to them.
    Uncle Horatio’ s boat had pride of place among the battered and rotting rowboats that populated the salvage yard. The boat was much larger than Lily had expected and very handsome. And except for the hole in the hull, it looked to be in good condition. It was resting upright, supported by an arrangement of wooden stilts and scaffolding.
    “Why isn’t it being repaired?“ she asked.
    “The keel was damaged,“ Jack said. “It would have to be completely dismantled to replace it. That would cost more than the boat is worth.“
    “Here! What are you three doing?“ a voice called from a shack. A very dirty, wizened old man emerged. He was wearing hip waders that came clear to his armpits and a hat and plaid shirt that must have been generations old.
    “Mr. Bond, I was just showing the Brewsters their uncle’s boat,“ Jack said.
    The old man’s expression softened. “A real pity. She was a beaut. Forty-five-foot Cris Craft. Solid wood clear through. And fine appointments. Hate to see her like this, but there’s nothing to do but strip her for parts. Mr. Horatio loved that boat like some men love a beautiful woman. So, are you Mr. Horatio’s kin?“
    “Niece and nephew,“ Robert said. “Could we climb up there and look it over?“
    “It’ll just break your heart,“ Mr. Bond said, “but go ahead. If there’s any of his personal stuff in there, I reckon it belongs to you. It’s real stable.”
    This last remark turned out to be something of a falsehood. The boat rocked gently as Robert and Jack climbed the scaffolding. Lily, who was wearing a skirt, decided she’d rely on their observations rather than attempting to follow them. She got out a handkerchief to put over a dirty stump nearby and sat and waited. She knew very little about boats, but enough to know the keel was like a person’s spine—the most vital part of the whole structure.
    She could barely hear Jack and Robert talking to each other. “What’s this?“ and “Where does this go?“ and “How does this work?“ The questions were Robert’s. Jack’s answers weren’t quite audible. Lily wished they’d hurry up. The ground was dry and dusty, littered with bits of metal that threatened the already thin soles of her shoes. The air reeked of rotting fish and mildewing wood.
    When the two young men had left the boat without seriously hurting themselves, though Robert was complaining loudly about a splinter in his hand, Lily asked, “Could you learn anything?”
    Robert shook his head. “Nothing that looks like evidence of any kind. All the furnishings are waterlogged and molding. The galley’s a mess, with pots and pans and broken dishes everywhere. We opened all the cabinets and drawers and there didn’t seem to be anything of interest or importance in them.“
    “Lots of things that could serve as weapons though,“ Jack said. “But it was underwater for more than a week after the divers found your uncle. There wouldn’t be bloodstains,“ he added bluntly.
    “I didn’t see anything round and heavy,“ Robert said, then glanced at Lily. Brother and sister exchanged a quick look. They hadn’t had time to discuss whether they’d share the information Mr.
    Prinney had given them. Jack Summer was, after all, a reporter.
    “Round and heavy? What does that mean?“ Jack asked suspiciously.
    “We’ll tell you later,“ Lily said firmly. “Let’s get away from this awful place.”
    They shouted goodbyes at Mr. Bond, who was sitting on the stoop of his shed, scratching at the dirt aimlessly with a stick, and drove slowly back to town. Lily made a point of looking away when they approached the dump, fearing she’d see something else that ripped at her heart.
    “Why would Uncle Horatio have gone below when it was obvious the boat was sinking?“ Lily said, when the garbage dump was safely behind them.
    Robert shrugged. “He must have left something in the cabin that he felt had to be saved, I suppose.“
    “What could have been important enough to risk your life for?“ Lily asked.
    “Maybe he just panicked, and tried to save something trivial,“ Jack Summer said. “People can do that in a crisis. More likely, he’d lost track of where everyone was and wanted to make sure nobody was left behind.”
    Lily nodded. “I guess either might make sense under the circumstances.”
    They rode in silence for a mile and Jack finally spoke again. “I’ve been asking a lot of