Dark Harbor (Stone Barrington 12)

“They were squeaky clean, both in Boston and New Haven, where they’re in college. The boys got an especially good report from the Yale campus police. So it’s a dead end.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Rawls said, “but how come Don ran the check on them? He must have had a reason.”

“I suppose he did,” Stone said, “but there’s no way to know what it was.” He looked at Rawls closely. “Ed, you seem depressed.”

“I’m not depressed,” Rawls said. “I’m angry, angry at what was done to these murdered people, all of whom were friends of mine. If I met the man who did this face to face, I’m not sure I could account for my actions.”

“I understand your feelings,” Stone said, “but what Sergeant Young had to say about firearms was important. If you take a shot at someone the consequences could be worse for you than for your victim. I’ve seen this happen before: Some citizen fires a weapon at a supposed criminal, kills or wounds him, then he has to deal with criminal charges, followed by a lawsuit. Believe me, it’s not a position you’d want to put yourself in.”

“I hear you,” Rawls said. “See you later.” He turned and walked back toward the yacht club parking lot.

Stone hoped to God Rawls had truly heard him.

Chapter 34

STONE TOOK HOLLY TO the Dark Harbor Inn that night for dinner. He wanted to wipe away all the tension surrounding the murders on the island, if only for the evening.

“So, how is the new job working out?” he asked.

She took a sip of her wine. “Without getting too specific, very well.”

“Do you like working with Lance?”

“I do. He can be autocratic at times, but that’s to be expected, given the position he’s in.”

“Which is?”

“Let’s just say that he has a lot of responsibility. But most of the time, he’s open to the ideas of others, and he’s inclined to delegate responsibility among those he trusts, and that seems to include me. I’m lucky, in that being pretty new on this job, I’m getting a lot more responsibility than I would if I had come out of training and started work at Langley.”

“From what I hear Lance is held in high regard at the Agency, and that should rub off on you.”

“That would be nice.”

They ate silently for a moment, then Holly spoke up again. “Arrington was up here for a visit, wasn’t she?”

“Well, yes.”

“Not a very long one, though. What happened?"

“She was upset about the murders: Janey Harris’s body was found while she was here.”

“Is that all?”

“Well, she and I pretty much agreed that there’s no permanent relationship in store for us.”

Holly smiled. “That’s awfully nice to hear. I’d hate to think that I’m up here only as an investigator.”

“Don’t worry, you’re not.” He poured her some more wine.

“I got a little worried when you let Seth put our luggage in different rooms.”

“I was just catering to Seth’s sensibilities; I didn’t want to shock him.”

“Can Seth hear what goes on in the house?”

“No, his place is well out of earshot.”

“That’s good,” Holly said. “I wouldn’t want him to hear your pitiful cries tonight.”