One clipping called Thomas’s disappearance a boating accident in uncertain waters. The phrase made Nora’s jaw tighten. She remembered what the paper had omitted: the murmurs on the quay, the neighbors lowering their voices, and the certainty that he had gone after something pale seen moving offshore before sunrise.
Nora asked, “Did anyone even investigate it properly?” but Maggie only sighed and said, “Stories in small villages gather and borrow, until people are too scared to ask further.” Still, after a moment, she gave Nora the name of one person who might know more—Cal Brewer, who was now the harbor master.