Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 12

them? He must have had a reason.”
    â€œI suppose he did,” Stone said, “but there’s no way to know what it was.” He looked at Rawls closely. “Ed, you seem depressed.”
    â€œI’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.”
    â€œI 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.”
    â€œI 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.

34
    S TONE 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.
    â€œSo, how is the new job working out?” he asked.
    She took a sip of her wine. “Without getting too specific, very well.”
    â€œDo you like working with Lance?”
    â€œI do. He can be autocratic at times, but that’s to be expected, given the position he’s in.”
    â€œWhich is?”
    â€œLet’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.”
    â€œFrom what I hear Lance is held in high regard at the Agency, and that should rub off on you.”
    â€œThat would be nice.”
    They ate silently for a moment, then Holly spoke up again. “Arrington was up here for a visit, wasn’t she?”
    â€œWell, yes.”
    â€œNot a very long one, though. What happened?”
    â€œShe was upset about the murders: Janey Harris’s body was found while she was here.”
    â€œIs that all?”
    â€œWell, 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.”
    â€œDon’t worry, you’re not.” He poured her some more wine.
    â€œI got a little worried when you let Seth put our luggage in different rooms.”
    â€œI was just catering to Seth’s sensibilities; I didn’t want to shock him.”
    â€œCan Seth hear what goes on in the house?”
    â€œNo, his place is well out of earshot.”
    â€œThat’s good,” Holly said. “I wouldn’t want him to hear your pitiful cries tonight.”
    Stone laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, Seth and his wife are on the mainland tonight. They went to dinner at her sister’s house in Rockland, and the last ferry is at seven P . M ., so they’re staying the night. We can lock down the house and not worry about being disturbed.”
    â€œThe best of all possible worlds,” Holly said.
    Â 
    THEY WERE DRIVING HOME when Stone’s cell phone vibrated. “Hello?”
    â€œIt’s Ed Rawls.”
    â€œWhat’s up, Ed?”
    â€œI thought you ought to know that Janey’s mother just told me her daughter’s diary disappeared.”
    â€œWhen?”
    â€œShe can’t be sure, but since her death. She saw her in her room writing in it the afternoon before the evening she disappeared.”
    â€œCould she have had it in a pocket or purse?”
    â€œI asked about that: It was big, about eight by ten, so probably not. Her mother thinks someone came into the house, searched her room and stole it.”
    â€œSo whatever Janey might have told Don Brown might have been in her diary?”
    â€œRight. Do you know if Esme had a diary?”
    â€œAs a matter of fact, I do, and I’ve got it in a safe place.”
    â€œHave you read it?”
    â€œNo, but in light of the theft