Stuart Woods - Dark Harbor

“Yes, my father’s, but it’s been laid up in a shed since he died.”

“Do you own a gun?”

“My father had a deer rifle. It’s locked in a case over at the house, and it hasn’t been fired since he got sick.”

“You know Dick Stone’s house?” Stone asked.

“Sure, I do; my dad and I built the study, the kitchen and the dressing rooms. Why?”

“I recall that you once did some other work, besides burglary,” Dino said. “Something more specialized.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rhinehart said.

“Vito Thomasini, shot in his bed,” Dino said. “Edgar Bromfield, shot on his front doorstep from a roof across the street.”

“I’ve heard of Thomasini. Who hasn’t? Never heard of Bromfield, and I was nowhere near either of them when they were killed.”

“If you’ve never heard of Bromfield, why do you know you were nowhere near him when he was shot?” Stone asked.

“I mean, I heard of him, when I saw it in the papers, but I never laid eyes on the guy.”

“Not even through a scope?” Dino asked.

“listen, if there’d been the slightest evidence against me for those killings, you guys would have been all over me at the time. Why are you asking about Dick Stone? You think I killed him, too?”

“Did you?” Stone asked.

“Of course not. I liked the guy, and he paid us well for our work, I had no motive to kill him.”

“Sometimes, all the motive you need is a phone call and some cash,” Dino pointed out. “It’s not as though you have a conscience about these things.”

“Look, I stole a lot of jewelry, cash and other stuff, but I’ve never killed anybody.”

“Funny how you have this reputation, then,” Dino said.

“I don’t believe I do. Anyway, the only people who know I’m even on this island are those who live here, the state cops and my parole officer. Nobody I ever knew in that old life has ever even heard of Islesboro.”

“You’re in the phone book,” Stone said.

“The cabinet shop is; I’m not. I’m dug in here. I’ve got a wife and a kid and a fine business; I don’t need to steal from people or kill them for money. Go talk to my banker.”

“I believe you,” Stone said.

Dino looked at him as if he were crazy.

“I don’t think anybody who built that study for Dick Stone, who knew him, could kill him.”

“Thank you,” Rhinehart said.

“Let’s go, Dino,” Stone said, standing up.

“You really think we’re done here?” Dino asked. They were all on their feet now.

“What’s your interest in Dick Stone?” Rhinehart asked, as they moved back into the shop and toward the front door.

“He was my first cousin.”

“I see.”

Stone looked around the shop. “My father was a cabinet and furniture maker in New York.”

Rhinehart looked thoughtful. “Not Malon Barrington?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve seen some of his work. He was as good as they come.”

Stone wondered if he’d seen that work in people’s homes, after breaking in. “You said you liked Dick?”

“I did. He was easy to work with, and he paid on time. He understood what we were doing for him and how good the work was.”

“Would you like to do something for Dick?” Stone asked.

“What could I do for him now?” Rhinehart asked, as they reached the front door.

“You could break into his house,” Stone said.

“What?”

“I want to know how hard it is. You know the place.”

“I know he has an elaborate security system,” Rhinehart said. “A bunch of guys from out of the state were just beginning to install it when we were finishing the study.”

“Will you come and take a look?” Stone said. “I’d really like your opinion; it might help me learn who killed Dick.”

“Since you put it that way,” Rhinehart said.

Stone shook his hand. “After work?”

“Around six.”

“See you then.” Stone led Dino out of the place.

DINO WAS FUMING as they drove away from the cabinet shop. “Jesus, I’m glad you’re not a cop anymore. You’ve gone all squishy soft. We might have gotten something out of him.”

“No, we wouldn’t,” Stone said. “He was trying to be cooperative, against his better instincts, and I didn’t want to piss him off.”

“Why the hell should you care if you piss him off?”

“Because it’s a small island, and I might need some cabinet work done someday. And because we need him.”

“What, that business about breaking into Dick’s house?”

“You know anybody more qualified?”

“Now that you mentioned it, no,” Dino replied, settling down a little. “Of course, it’s a perfect opportunity for him to case the place in preparation for a later visit, maybe in the winter, when you’re not here.”

“No, Rhinehart has too much to lose. He’s got a new life now and, apparently, a good one. He’s not going to piss in his own well.”

“Oh, all right,” Dino said. “I never could talk to you when you get this way.”

RHINEHART SHOWED UP at six, when Stone and Dino were having a drink in the study.

“Would you like a drink, Hal?”

“Thanks, no. I’d better get started. I’m going to go outside, and I want you to go through the house and make sure that every window and door is closed and locked, then turn on the alarm system.” He turned and left.

“You take the upstairs,” Stone said to Dino, then headed for the kitchen. He went around the ground floor, checking and locking windows and doors, then went to the front door, tapped in the alarm code, then back to the study and his drink. Dino was already there. He had barely sat down when he looked up to see Hal Rhinehart standing in the doorway.

“How the hell did you get in?” Dino asked.

“Upstairs bathroom window on the south side,” Rhinehart said.

“What are you, a human fly?”

“No, the climbing part was easy; there was a ladder leaning against the house.”

Stone looked at Dino. “I believe that was one of your windows,” he said. “You want to go close it and double-check the others?”

Dino got up and stalked from the room.

Rhinehart crooked a finger. “Come here, I want to show you something.” He led Stone to the keypad by the front door, then opened the door. “Tap in the code,” he said, looking away.

Stone tapped in the code.

“Now look at the little screen on the keypad. What does it say?”

Stone peered at the screen. “Front door open,” he said.

“Before, it would have said ”Upstairs bathroom window open.“ And the alarm won’t arm if there’s something open. The house has to be sealed tight.”

Dino came back downstairs. “All right, everything’s closed.”

“I’m going outside again,” Rhinehart said. “Arm the alarm.”

Stone did so, then returned to the study with Dino. They had finished their drinks when the front doorbell rang. He went and let Rhinehart in. “Will you have a drink now?”

“Yes, thanks. Scotch, if you have it.”

Stone poured them all another one, and they sat down in front of the fireplace.

“I couldn’t get in,” Rhinehart said. “Not without taking a chainsaw to a wall, anyway. This is the most secure family home I’ve ever been in, and I’ve been in a lot of them. The front door is steel, sheathed in mahogany; the windows are steel and the glass armored; and there are no gaps in the installation-every door and window is alarmed.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Stone said.

“What the hell was Dick expecting?” Rhinehart asked. “He must have spent fifty thousand dollars on security.”

“Dick worked for the State Department,” Stone said. “I think they had the work done.”