Summer in Eclipse Bay

turn out to be just a couple of regular guys, after all? You ever believe that, Fred?"
    "Wonders never cease." Fred walked out from behind the bar. "I'm gonna go talk to Walt and Torrance. I kinda like the idea of green and brown on the walls."
    Eugene waited until he had moved off into the pool room where the Willis brothers were now working. Then he looked down the bar at Nick and Jeremy. He stopped smiling.
    "You know, Dwayne and me, we never thanked you two for getting us out of the car that night we went into the water," he said.
    "Forget it," Nick said. "That was a long time ago."
    "Yeah." Eugene took a long pull on his beer. "A long time ago."
    No one said anything for a while. Eugene and Dwayne worked steadily on their beers.
    "After it happened," Eugene said eventually, "we figured you'd go straight to Chief Yates, you know? Maybe tell him about that little game of chicken we were all playing."
    "You mean, tell him how you tried to run us off the road?" Jeremy asked neutrally.
    "Maybe things got a little outta hand," Eugene said. "Me and Dwayne were really pissed after you showed us up at the races that night. If you'd gone to Yates and told him your version of events, he'd have believed you on accounta you and Harte, here, come from such fine, upstanding families and all."
    "I don't want to belabor the issue," Jeremy said, "but our version of events would have been the truth."
    "We were just foolin' around," Eugene insisted. "Like I said, things got outta hand. But that ain't the point. Point is, Yates and everybody else would have believed you guys. Nobody would have even listened to our side of the story on accounta everyone around here figures me and Dwayne for trash."
    Nick glanced at Jeremy. Eugene was right and they both knew it. Nobody in Eclipse Bay would have taken Eugene's or Dwayne's word over the word of a Harte or a Seaton, regardless of the circumstances.
    Eugene looked at Nick. "The other night, I'd had a few beers. I maybe said some things about your girlfriend that I shouldn't have said."
    Nick inclined his head. "True."
    "You know, that Miss Brightwell always says something nice when she sees us on the street," Eugene continued. "Ain't that right, Dwayne?"
    "Yeah." Dwayne drank more beer. "Always says somethin' like,
Good morning,
or
How are you?
or
Beautiful day, ain't it?"
    Nick looked at Dwayne. "She says,
Beautiful day, ain't it
?"
    "Nan, that ain't right." Dwayne's thin face twisted into a tight little knot with the effort of trying to think. "She says,
Beautiful day, isn't it?
Yeah, that's it.
Isn't it."
    "Sure glad we got that straight," Jeremy said under his breath.
    "Anyhow," Eugene went on with a doggedly determined air, "point is, she's a nice lady, even if she did swipe that painting. Me and Dwayne shouldn't have said that stuff about her deliberately screwing your brains out just so you wouldn't figure her for the thief. I mean, so what if that's the reason she's sleeping with you? It's a damn good reason, if you ask me. Goes to show she's smart."
    "It takes a real man to apologize," Nick said. "Far as I can tell, you were among the first to hear the rumors at Fulton's. If you really want to settle things between us, you can tell me the name of the person who gave you the story."
    Eugene and Dwayne exchanged nods. "It was that prissy old bitch, Mrs. Burke, wasn't it? Remember, Dwayne, she was talking to Carla from the beauty shop? I was in the ice cream section getting a couple of quarts of chocolate fudge swirl and they were right across from me in frozen orange juice. Acted like they never saw us."
    "Sure," Dwayne said. "I remember. Old Lady Burke and Carla from the beauty parlor."
    Nick saw Jeremy's eyes narrow a little at the names. He put down his unfinished beer and got to his feet.
    "Thanks, Eugene," he said. "You, too, Dwayne. I appreciate the information. And the beer, too."
    "Same here." Jeremy set his unfinished glass down on the bar next to Nick's.
    "Ain'tcha gonna finish your beers?" Eugene asked, looking offended.
    "The thing is," Nick said, "you've given us a hot new clue and we've got to get to work on it immediately."
    "A clue, huh?" Eugene sounded pleased. "How about that, Dwayne? We gave 'em a clue. If they find that missing picture it'll be on accounta us."
    "You'll have our undying gratitude," Nick said.
    "I like the sound of that," Eugene said. "You sure you don't want the rest of your beer?"
    "I wish I could hang around to finish it, but time is of the