“A tall man, you say. Very fair with light-brown hair?” the postal clerk asked.
“Yes. My father,” Derek said. “I know he was here about three months ago, perhaps a little longer than that.”
The postal clerk thought for a moment. “There was such a man as you describe. I recall him. His appearance was in such contrast to the rest of us here in Trinité. But I have not seen him for months.”
“I know. I haven’t heard from him either. I am desperately anxious for any hint as to where he might have gone.”
“Zook. That was his name, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, yes,” Derek replied eagerly.
“Again, the name I remember because it is so different from the names of the people who live here. Yes, many of us knew about this man. He was searching the waters of our treasure bay.”
“That was my father, all right.”
“It was rumored that he searched for pearls,” the clerk went on. “The people of this village had great interest in his activities.”
“Would there be any one person who might have known him well?”