The Mystery of the Scar-faced Beggar - M. V. Carey [16]
Pete stared. “You made that up!” he accused.
“I didn’t. I’m repeating exactly what she said. She’s afraid, and so is that guy who was out on the boat when we first got here. Hearing about that dream scared him stiff.
He knows something about the blind man, and he doesn’t want anyone to know that he knows! He has something to do with our puzzle. I intend to find out what it is!”
Chapter 7
Pete Gatecrashes a Meeting
IT WAS PETE WHO decided that he
would stay near the Denicola pier and
watch the man named Ernie.
“If he’s up to something, we’d better
find out what it is,” said Pete, “and he’s
seen you. He’ll think it’s funny if you hang
around. He hasn’t seen me, so I can stick
close. He’ll never notice.”
“Be careful,” warned Jupe.
“You know I’ll be careful — which is
more than I can say for you!”
Jupe went off then, skimming down the
highway, and Pete crossed the road to the
beach. He wheeled his bicycle in under the
pier, which near the water’s edge was tall
enough to stand up under, and locked it to
one of the pilings. He was careful not to
show any interest in Denicola’s. Anyone
watching him would think he was just
another kid looking for a safe place to park
his bike.
Pete moved down the beach a short
distance, past some fishermen. Then he sat
on the sand and looked out across the
water towards the Maria-III. Ernie was aboard the boat again. He was polishing the brass fittings.
The morning passed pleasantly enough. A group of children came to play in the sand near the pier. Pete found out they lived nearby and started questioning them.
They told Pete that Ernie lived in the little house just up the highway, and that he had two friends who lived with him. They were men who spoke to each other in a foreign language. Pete was pleased with the information. He thought that Jupe couldn’t have done any better.
Pete lunched on a sandwich which he bought in a small market down the highway from Denicola’s. Then he returned to the beach and watched Ernie through the afternoon. Shortly after five, Ernie left the pier and started up the highway, walking on the shoulder of the road. Pete followed at a distance.
Ernie made straight for a dilapidated little house that stood with its face to the highway and its back extending out over the sand, supported by pilings. When he disappeared into the seedy, sagging cottage, Pete stood and wondered what to do next. How could he find out more about this man who might know the beggar?
A shabby old truck came
rumbling up the highway. It
pulled to the side of the road
across from Ernie’s cottage,
and a young man got out of the
cab. He waved and called out
thanks to the driver, then
crossed the road and went into
the house. The truck went on
its way.
A few minutes later a third
young man appeared on the
scene. This one was driving an
ancient Buick. He parked it in
a weed-choked patch of level ground next to the house, then went into the house and slammed the door.
There were few fishermen left on the beach now. The sun was dipping towards the west. Pete decided that he would watch for ten more minutes, and then he would get his bike and go home.
No sooner had he made the decision than the door of Ernie’s cottage opened.
Ernie and the other two men came out and headed down the highway. Pete trailed after them. The men passed Denicola’s, then crossed the road and began trudging up a winding driveway. It led to a building that stood atop the cliffs and overlooked the sea. A sign on the hillside announced that this was the Oceanview Motel.
Ernie had his friends had reached the top of the hill when a car turned into the motel driveway and climbed the grade. A second car arrived and followed the first one up the hill, and a third car stopped beside the road. A man and a woman got out of that car and started up the drive on foot, just as