“I hope this restaurant is a good one,” Grandfather said when they got into the car. “The owner of the inn recommended it to me. It’s supposed to have wonderful food and a great view of the ocean.”
As they drove, the children told Grandfather all about the turtles. They had so much to tell they were still talking when Grandfather got to the causeway.
“Is that the restaurant?” Jessie asked, noticing a big white building close to the water. “The Laughing Gull? A woman we met on the beach mentioned it.”
“That’s it,” Grandfather said. “It has quite a view. The side that faces the water is almost all windows.”
Grandfather parked at the back of the building, and together the Aldens walked around to the entrance. “Look,” said Henry, pointing to a small building across the street. “That must be Tommy Fischer’s office.” The small wooden building had a big sign across the top with the picture of the leaping fish. Henry explained to Grandfather about Mr. Fischer and his driving.
“He doesn’t seem very nice,” Benny said. “He yelled at us.”
There was a light on inside the building, and they could see Mr. Fischer sitting behind a counter. He had his head propped up with one hand and his eyes closed. “It looks like he’s asleep,” Violet said.
“That’s funny,” Benny said. “He should go home.”
“It looks like he’s in the middle of doing some work, judging by that big stack of paper in front of him,” Grandfather said. “I suppose he’s tired at the end of the day. It’s hard work running a business.”
When the Aldens reached the entrance of the restaurant, a big group had just gone in but had stopped on the other side of the doorway. One of the men said, “This restaurant is too fancy. Let’s eat someplace more casual.” He pointed down to his flip-flops. “I don’t think they’d want us in here.”
The hostess said, “Please, stay. We don’t have a dress code. You’re fine.”
“No,” the man said. “This wasn’t the kind of restaurant we were looking for.” The group walked out.
“Is it too fancy for us too?”’ Benny asked Grandfather.
“No, we’re fine,” Grandfather said.
The hostess gave the Aldens a big smile when they came in. “You can pick where you’d like to sit. As you can see, we’re not busy.”
The Aldens picked a table. “It is a fancy restaurant with the white tablecloths and chandeliers,” Violet said. She didn’t say it out loud, but she didn’t like the way the restaurant had been decorated. The walls and the chairs were gray, and it made the whole place seem gloomy.
The back section of the restaurant was roped off, and there were stacks of supplies sitting on the floor. A glass tank covered a big stretch of the wall.
“It looks like they are putting in a big aquarium,” Henry said.
Grandfather picked up his napkin. “An aquarium will be a nice touch. It will brighten up the place a bit.”
A woman carrying menus came over to their table. “I’m sorry about the construction,” she said. “The new aquarium is almost done. The water is in, and some of the fish will go in tomorrow.”
“I’ve never seen an aquarium that big,” Henry said. “It’s going to take up almost the whole wall.”
“The owner loves tropical fish. He’s an expert in them.” She lowered her voice. “If he comes in tonight, just don’t ask him any questions about the fish unless you want an earful of information. He likes to talk, and once he gets started, you’ll never get away.”
The Aldens’ food arrived quickly. Benny and Violet’s meals came in baskets that looked like little boats.
“You can take the baskets with you when you leave if you want to play with them later,” the server told them.
“I like this place!” said Benny. He pretended to drive the boat around the table.
Henry took a bite of his meal. “The food is really good,” he said.
“It’s too bad they don’t have more customers,” Jessie said.
It didn’t take long for everyone to eat. “I guess you were all very hungry,” the server said as she collected the empty plates.
“We were.” Benny picked up his boat. “If we come back, do I get another boat?”
“Of course! A boat at each visit!” the server said. “And if you come back, you’ll get to see the fish!”
After Grandfather paid the bill, the Aldens walked out of the restaurant and around to the parking lot. Tommy Fischer’s office was dark. “It appears that fellow has finally gone home,” Grandfather said. “I bet he’ll be right back at work first thing tomorrow morning. People who own small businesses put in a lot of hours.”
When they reached the parking lot, the Aldens had to wait to get to their car as a big white van pulled up and parked at the back entrance of the restaurant. The area wasn’t very well lit, but they saw a man in a large straw hat get out and hurry in the door. It had a sign on it that said Employees Only.
“Wasn’t that Mr. Chatman?” Jessie asked. “He’s a man we saw on the beach,” she explained to Grandfather. “He knows a lot about sea turtles.”
“Yes, that was him,” Henry said. “He must work at the restaurant. I wonder why he’s coming to work so late.”
“I suppose he’s getting food ready for tomorrow,” Grandfather said as he got in the car. “I like this place. We’ll definitely have to come back to see the fish.”
After Grandfather dropped them off at the campsite, Jessie looked through their supplies. “I think we need some dessert. How about roasting marshmallows?”
“Yes!” Benny said.
Once the fire was ready, Benny toasted a marshmallow just a little and then ate it quickly.
“Well, Benny, now that you’ve had dinner and dessert, can we talk about clues?”
“Mm-hmm,” said Benny, his mouth full of marshmallow.
Jessie told Henry what she and Violet had learned while he was windsurfing.
Henry poked the fire with a stick. “So Martina makes artwork with the shells she finds on the beach? That explains why she is always on the beach. But we still don’t know why she needed one of those coolers from the ranger station so badly.”
“Or why she was walking down the beach in the middle of the night,” said Benny. “Was she looking for night shells?”
Jessie laughed. “I think the shells at night are the same ones during the day.”
“Benny and I learned something today too,” said Henry. He told Jessie and Violet about Tommy Fischer and his unhappy customers.
When he was done, Violet said, “Maybe that’s why Mr. Fischer is in such a rush all the time. His business is doing poorly. Grandfather did say that owning a business is hard work.”
“But if his business isn’t doing well, why would he ask Ms. Thakur if she wanted to make money?” Jessie wondered, remembering the note they had found in the ranger’s office. “Wouldn’t he be the one who needed money?”
The children sat looking at the fire, thinking about Jessie’s question. Then Benny said, “What about Mr. Chatman? He knows a lot about the turtles. Maybe he took them.”
Violet thought back to the first time they met Mr. Chatman. “Did you notice how he didn’t seem to want anyone around when we found that nest? Maybe he wanted to take the eggs for himself.”
“That was strange,” said Henry. “It seems like we have a lot of questions and not many answers, and I don’t think we’ll find any more clues tonight. Let’s get to sleep and keep an eye out for more clues tomorrow.”
But the children did not need to wait until the morning to find another clue.
