Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 12

learning?” he asked.
    Lance picked up the papers and consulted them. “Our boy, Caleb, is married to the former Vivian Smith; two sons, Eben and Enos, who share a birthday. Caleb graduated Yale and Yale Law in the bottom half of both classes; he is employed by the Boston law firm of Marsh, Andrews, Fields and Schwartz. Note his name is not on the letterhead. He’s been with the firm since law school but took twelve years to make partner. He heads their estate planning division, and given the number of the firm’s employees, I’m inclined to think he is the firm’s estate planning division.
    â€œHe belongs to a couple of good clubs, lives in a respectable suburb of Boston, summers here, and from his tax returns and credit report, it appears that he lives at the very limit of his income while still managing to pay his bills on time. I think he will be very relieved when his boys finish Yale next year.”
    â€œAny criminal record?”
    â€œNone. He appears to have trod the straight and narrow his whole life long.”
    â€œIf he’s as financially strapped as you say he is, he must have been very disappointed, indeed, when he read Dick’s will.”
    â€œNo doubt. I expect he’s reassessing his retirement plans as we speak. One good thing: Since he now has no hope of ever seeing Dick’s and Barbara’s money, he has no motive to kill you.”
    â€œYes, well…”
    â€œCaleb has led the most boring of all lives, I expect,” Lance said. “One of quiet desperation, as the saying goes. I hope his family loves him, because it seems to me that’s about his only comfort.”
    â€œMy experience of him is that he’s not an easy fellow to love,” Stone said.
    Seth Hotchkiss came into the room. “Anything I can do for anybody?”
    â€œSeth,” Stone said, “let’s you and I have a talk.” Stone led the caretaker outside, and they took seats on teak furniture on the stone patio. The sun was pleasantly warm, though Stone knew that by nightfall there would be a chill in the air. After all, it was only June in Maine.
    â€œWhat can I do for you, Stone?”
    â€œTell me what Dick and Caleb’s relationship was like.”
    â€œWell, you remember what it was like when they were boys?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œIt was pretty much like that, except that Dick seemed to do better in life than Caleb, had a better job and a nicer wife. Dick was able to build this house, while Caleb had to be content with propping up the old family place. Funny, I would have stayed on there out of loyalty, but Caleb fired me a week after his parents died in that car crash. Dick hired me the same day, and I’ve been very happy ever since.”
    â€œCaleb inherited the house?”
    â€œThey both did, but Dick signed his half over to Caleb, said to me he didn’t want any part of it; the place was filled with unhappy memories for him.”
    â€œWhy did he stay on the island?”
    â€œOh, he loved the island, he just didn’t love the old house. I think he took some pleasure in sticking Caleb with it.”
    â€œHave you ever heard Caleb express any animosity toward Dick?”
    â€œCaleb’s whole attitude toward most everybody is animosity, I guess. He was nice to those folks he had to get along with, which were most of the summer people. After all, he wanted the yacht club and the golf club, so he was nice to the members. The year-rounders hated him pretty good; he had trouble keeping help and all that. When he wanted a new roof, he had to go to somebody on the mainland, which cost him more money. He puts away the booze pretty good, and so does his wife.”
    â€œHow did the locals feel about Dick and his family?”
    â€œOh, Dick was a sweetheart, and everybody knew it. Barbara and Esme, too. If Mabel and I weren’t doing this job, folks would be lined up to get it.”
    â€œI expect there’s a pretty good grapevine on the island among the locals?”
    â€œThere is.”
    â€œI’d like to know what you hear on it.”
    â€œFolks are real interested in you, Stone.”
    â€œWell, I don’t have any secrets, so feel free to talk. In particular, you might let it be known that I’m not very happy with the murder-suicide theory held by your state trooper.”
    â€œMe, neither,” Seth said, “and nobody who knew Dick is going to put much stock in