Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 12

of firearms, and I want each of you who owns a weapon to take steps to see that you are entirely within the law. I will not tolerate the illegal possession or use of firearms on this island. I refer particularly to the securing of weapons to keep them out of the hands of children.
    â€œFurther, I want each of you to give serious thought about the circumstances under which you might use a firearm. It would be best if you had a plan of behavior if someone should enter your home, or if you should otherwise feel the need to use a weapon. Tomorrow afternoon at three, Corporal Best and I are going to hold a seminar here at the yacht club on the storage and use of firearms, and you should bring your weapons with you. Do not, however, bring any ammunition. Before you leave your home, check to see that your weapon is unloaded. We will only do dry firing during the seminar. Any other questions?”
    From a rear corner of the room came Ed Rawls’s distinctive voice. Stone had not seen him there. “At yesterday’s meeting somebody expressed some curiosity about Stone Barrington’s role or interest in all of this. Maybe Stone would like to address that now.”
    Sergeant Young turned toward Stone. “Mr. Barrington?”
    â€œThank you, Sergeant,” Stone said. “Dick was my first cousin, my mother and his father being brother and sister. On the day that Dick and his family were murdered, I was in New York City. I didn’t learn of their deaths until the following evening, when a colleague of Dick’s told me the news.”
    â€œI should say that we’ve verified Mr. Barrington’s whereabouts at the time of the murders,” Young said.
    â€œI want to tell you all I know,” Stone said. “Shortly before Dick’s death I received a package from him containing a letter hiring me as his attorney and naming me as his executor, as well as an envelope to be opened in the event of his death. When I opened the envelope, after being informed that he had died, I found a properly executed will, and since I am under no obligation to keep its contents confidential, I will tell you what his bequests were. Dick left the use of his house to me and my heirs in perpetuity; if I choose to sell the house, the proceeds would revert to his estate.” He thought it better not to mention the exclusion of Caleb and his family from ownership of the house. “There were a number of personal bequests to friends and relatives on Barbara’s side of the family, and the residue of the estate was left to a charitable foundation. Additionally, there were two large insurance policies in the estate: Three-quarters of their combined value went to Caleb Stone, and the other quarter to the foundation.”
    â€œWhy did Dick leave his house to you?” somebody asked.
    â€œQuite frankly, I don’t know, and Dick offered no explanation in his letter to me. I had seen him only once, for dinner, about eight years ago, since the summer I spent on this island when we were both eighteen. Dick said he planned to see me on his next trip to New York, when he might have explained things more fully, but, of course, that trip never took place.” Stone looked around. “Does anyone have any other questions?” Apparently, there were none.
    Sergeant Young spoke up again. “I should tell you, if you don’t already know, that Mr. Barrington spent fourteen years with the New York City Police Department, many of them as a homicide detective, and he has been very helpful to me in my investigation. Any other questions?” No one spoke. “Then, unless the commodore has something else, that concludes this meeting. I’ll be seeing you soon.”
    The crowd broke up, and people moved into the parking lot to collect their children and their cars. Stone shook a few hands, then started back toward his house.
    Ed Rawls caught up with him. “That was good,” he said. “You’ve nipped a lot of rumors in the bud.”
    â€œI hope so. By the way, Lance Cabot found out who Don Brown wanted checked for criminal records.”
    â€œWho?”
    â€œThe Stone boys, Eben and Enos.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œThey 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.”
    â€œYeah, maybe,” Rawls said, “but how come Don ran the check on