The Templeton case

A lazy Saturday drifts over Marsh Quay, where the tide lights the water like scattered glass and the small schooner Lucy bobs in quiet anticipation. Tom Gale, the vessel’s sole caretaker, spends his idle hours leaning on the bulwarks, swapping thoughts of beer at the nearby Mariner’s Arms for the soft hum of the estuary. The slow‑moving currents and autumn‑tinted woods frame a world that feels both insulated and poised for something to slip in.

That something arrives as a lone cutter‑rigged yacht, its white sails struggling against the ebb, hinting at a visitor who knows these waters intimately. The newcomer, Reginald Templeton, steps ashore with a purpose that immediately unsettles the tranquil rhythm of the quay. As Tom watches the strange sail lower, a sense of underlying tension grows, promising a mystery that will tug at the sleepy harbor’s seams.