Anything Goes

shade.
    “You’re going to fire me, aren’t you?“ Kessler said.
    “I’m afraid so,“ Lily replied. “But I’m also going to tell you something you’ll like, I hope. I’m afraid I’ve interfered in your life a little. Yesterday I borrowed some of your carved works from Mrs. Prinney and went to an art dealer in New York City with them.“
    “Why?“
    “Because they’re very good. The art dealer agreed.”
    Kessler gawked at her. “You don’t say! They’re just a hobby.“
    “They can be more than a hobby, if you’re willing. He wants to try selling a dozen of them. And I’m sure he’ll want more. If he thinks something will sell, he’s always right and he sells at very high prices. You can make a better living than you’re making now. I also offered to act as your agent for selling them to him. He’ll pay you fifty-five percent what he’s selling them for and I’ll take five percent for protecting you from him. You don’t need to accept my offer, but...“
    “But you don’t think I know how to make money. I sure haven’t with the newspaper. I just don’t know where I went wrong.“
    “It doesn’t matter anymore. You’re fired from the newspaper,“ she added with a smile. “You have a new business now. If you want it.”
    Kessler nearly got teary. “I don’t know how to thank you.“
    “I do,“ Lily said. “I want you to tell me about the boat trip our uncle died on.”
    Kessler’s face seemed to shut down. “I don’t know anything but what I printed in the paper. I can give you a copy.“
    “I’ve read your report. It only gave names. I want to know what you saw and thought.”
    Kessler fished around in his pocket, got out his penknife and opened and shut it a few times while he composed his thoughts. “All right. You did me a good turn. I guess I owe you one. We were going around the island, taking a look at all of it before docking. The storm came up out of nowhere—this huge, black cloud came over Storm King Mountain like a freight train. We were just coming downstream along that west side that’s so sheer when the rain started coming down in buckets. There was an awful wind and it raised terrific waves. The boat started bucking and scraping against the wall of rock. I saw Mr. Brewster heading for the cabin. I even took his arm and said, ‘Get in the dinghy before we sink.’ And he just shrugged me off. Said he had to get something.“
    “Did he say what it was?“
    “No, he’d gotten away from me before I could ask. And I wasn’t in the mood to stand around arguing. By then it seemed we’d turned east and there was a terrific tearing, ripping sound below. I thought I could see one of those guard towers in front of us, but I couldn’t be sure. I wanted on the dinghy before the boat went down.“
    “Did you see anyone follow Uncle Horatio?“ Kessler opened and shut the penknife again and nodded. “But I couldn’t tell who it was. Just a dark shape behind the torrent of rain.“
    “Could it have been Billy Smith?”
    He shook his head. “No. He was a little scrawny thing. This was a big shape. But nothing more than a shape.“
    “You didn’t even have an impression of who it might have been?“ Lily asked.
    “I had an ‘impression,’ as you say, but nothing whatsoever to back it up. And I’m not going to ruin someone’s life by giving you a name.”
    Lily thought for a moment. “If I were to give you a name, would you confirm it?“
    “Maybe.“
    “Then when I have one, we’ll give it a try.“ They sat in uneasy silence for a while. Kessler finally said, “Who are you going to get to replace me at the paper?“
    “I was thinking of letting Jack Summer try it.“ She expected him to object, but to her surprise, he said, “He might do it well with a little reining in. You’ll have to see to that. You or Mr. Prinney. If I were you, I’d insist on seeing drafts of what he’s planning to print. He tends to want to liven up articles with his own opinions. He could get himself—and you—in trouble with that. When do you want me to leave?“
    “I hadn’t even thought about it. Tomorrow is the next paper, right? Let’s talk to Jack first, then you can get in an announcement that you’re taking a new job and the paper’s getting a new editor—if he takes the job. Can you find a front-page spot for it?“
    “Only if I move the garden club minutes to the back,“ Kessler said with a grin.
     
    Lily went to the greengrocer first with her