Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 12

out.”
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    THEY WENT BACK to the Dark Harbor Shop, and Stone led Dino to the rear office, where he rapped on the door. The man at the desk looked up.
    â€œHi,” Stone said, “I’m Stone Barrington, and this is Dino Bacchetti.”
    The man stood up. “Jimmy Hotchkiss.”
    â€œYou’re Seth’s cousin, right?”
    â€œRight, and you’re Dick’s cousin.”
    â€œRight.”
    â€œTake a seat.” Jimmy waved them to a pair of rickety chairs next to the desk.
    â€œWe were in here earlier and saw somebody we used to know,” Stone said.
    â€œAnd who would that be?”
    â€œHis name is Harold Rhinehart.”
    â€œSure, I know Hal.”
    â€œYou know where he lives?”
    â€œYep. It’s about three miles north on the main road. You’ll see a sign: RHINEHART CABINETS .”
    â€œHe’s a cabinetmaker?”
    â€œAnd his father before him. Hal took over the business when his old man died a few years back.”
    â€œHe grew up on the island?”
    â€œYeah, then he went away to some tech college in New York State, and we didn’t see much of him after that, until he came back and took over the business. His dad was sick then, lived a few more months. Hal grew up in that shop, though, so he didn’t have any problem taking over.”
    â€œIs there a police officer on the island?”
    â€œConstable,” Jimmy said. “You’re looking at him.”
    â€œJimmy, have you had any reports of burglaries on the island?”
    â€œOver what period of time?”
    â€œAfter Hal Rhinehart came back.”
    Jimmy looked at them both carefully before replying. “What’s your interest in this?”
    â€œDino is a police lieutenant in New York. He and I used to be partners in the NYPD, and we arrested Rhinehart for burglary a few years back.”
    â€œI heard about that,” Jimmy said. “I also heard from his parole officer—indirectly, through the state police—when he came back.”
    â€œThat’s what we were wondering about,” Dino said. “How Rhinehart could be here, when he’s supposed to be on parole.” As if he didn’t know.
    â€œApparently, he arranged things with his parole officer when his dad got sick,” Jimmy said. “He reports by phone, I’m told.”
    â€œYou never answered my question, Jimmy,” Stone said.
    â€œWhich question was that?”
    â€œHave there been any burglaries on the island since Rhinehart came home?”
    â€œNo.” Jimmy took a long beat. “But Camden and Rockland have had a rash of them. You think it’s Hal?”
    â€œWhat kind of burglaries?”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œBig, small? Jewelry, lawn mowers, what?”
    â€œJewelry and cash, it said in the paper.”
    Stone and Dino exchanged a glance.
    â€œWe had some burglaries here, too,” Jimmy said.
    â€œWhen and how many?”
    â€œWhen Hal was a teenager; a dozen or more. Come to think of it, they stopped when he went to college. I never made the connection.” Jimmy sighed. “I hope to hell this new rash is not Hal’s doing. We need a cabinetmaker around here; you go to the mainland for something like that, and it’s a lot more money, and Hal’s gotten to be as good as his dad.”
    â€œI expect the folks in Camden and Rockland wouldn’t feel the same regrets you would, if he turned out to be the guy,” Stone said.
    â€œYou want me to talk to him?” Jimmy asked.
    Dino spoke up. “Let me do that,” he said.
    â€œOkay, you’re the pro; I’m just here to call the state boys if something happens. You want me to call them about this?”
    â€œNot yet,” Dino said.

21
    T HE CABINET SHOP was in a low building behind a neat, shingled house close to the road, and the smell of sawdust rolled over Stone in a wave of memory. All woodworking shops smelled like this, and his father’s shop had been no exception. It was a clean, fresh smell, sometimes tinged with burning when a saw cut hardwood.
    There was a lot of machinery, some of it not new. A huge bandsaw appeared to be at least fifty years old, but it was clean, rust-free and well oiled. Three men were working on different machines, each with hearing protection and goggles. Half a dozen newly completed kitchen cabinets hung on a wall, awaiting painting and hardware.
    Stone let Dino take the