A Secret Never Told by Shelley Noble

Author:Shelley Noble
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

16

It was after seven when the lights of Coney Island finally appeared on the horizon. Phil had spent the ride filling in Bev—at the top of her lungs—on the who, what, and where of the murder. And speculating about what they might find when they got to The Oddity Shop.

“I hope I haven’t brought you on a wild goose chase,” Phil called over the roar of the engine. “The shop may be closed.”

“I doubt it,” Bev called back. “The parks don’t close before midnight and I imagine everyone else stays open to take advantage of the last-minute rush to buy things.”

Bev turned onto Surf Avenue, the wide main thoroughfare that ran along the entrances to the individual parks and hotels. To one side of them, a forest of iron and steel pleasure rides and attractions rose like a magical kingdom; on the other, shops and eateries and vendors of every sort beckoned to the crowd. And what a crowd. The sidewalk and street teemed with revelers of all ages.

They’d gone less than two blocks when Bev slammed on the brakes, and a horde of people—dressed in work clothes or beach clothes, carrying bags and parasols, and all excited—rushed across the street in both directions.

“Train must have just gotten in,” Bev said, and drummed her fingernails on the steering wheel.

“Is Mermaid Avenue nearby?” Phil asked, feeling suddenly anxious to get the job done.

“It runs parallel to this one,” Bev said. “I’ll turn off Surf as soon as I can.”

Phil looked over her shoulder to Preswick and Lily. Lily’s head was cocked back, her mouth opened in amazement as she turned from one side of the street to the other. It looked like a pleasure outing was in the cards for her little family. Maybe they could bring Just a Friend along with them.

Preswick was also looking, but straight ahead. “I believe there is a cross street up ahead, my lady,” he called over the engine.

Bev saw an opening in the crowd and the Packard shot forward. Half a block later they turned onto Sixteenth Street.

The crowd was less dense here, but was still migrating toward the amusement parks and their many allures.

This street was lined with brick houses and wooden bungalows, small hotels and eateries not in the best state of repair. A few shops offered cheap souvenirs. Sign upon sign advertised what was inside the stores and what waited in the major attractions nearby.

At the end of the block, they turned onto Mermaid Avenue, and any semblance of family entertainment vanished. The souvenir stores were replaced by everyday needs: butchers, bakeries, hardware stores, and tobacconists.

Wooden houses and brick apartment buildings squeezed together as if holding each other up. Electric lines draped from pole to pole along the sidewalk, some sagging precariously close to the heads of passersby. Open bars spilled customers onto the street, who in turn spilled their beers over each other.

“This is what I was afraid of,” Bev said. “Not the most salubrious of neighborhoods. Though not the worst, either, I guess.

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