Wilmington, NC 10 - Much Ado About Murder

build furniture. In fact, some of the wood being raised is so old, it’s got the King’s stamp on it.”
    “That’s what our new-old house is made of,” I said, “heart pine. Very durable.”
    “It’s lasted 240 years,” Jon said. “Most of our old houses were destroyed by fire.”
    Sailing upstream we passed a landmass at the fork in the river. “That’s Point Peter,” Captain Doug told us. “During the Revolutionary War, Wilmington was occupied by British soldiers. A citizen here, a Welshman named Colonel Thomas Bludworth , despised the British and vowed to do something about their invasion of his city. One day while out hunting at Point Peter, Bludworth came upon the largest cypress tree in that swamp. The tree was said to have been seven feet in diameter, and seventy feet tall. Inside it was hollow with enough room to accommodate a small family. Surprisingly, the exterior was perfectly sound.
    “ Bludworth possessed mechanical abilities. He was a genius at making sword blades, pikes, pistols, and the best rifles. Bludworth had an idea. He would make a very long rifle, one capable of firing a two-ounce ball from Point Peter to the dock at Market Street.”
    We listened intently as Captain Doug narrated his story over the sound system.
    “ Bludworth took his son Tim, and Jim Paget, a lad who worked for him, to the cypress tree on Point Peter. Inside the tree, they constructed a scaffold and from its height carved a hole in the tree large enough for the muzzle of the long rifle. When the Redcoats assembled at the Market Street dock, outside Nelson’s liquor store, Bludworth , his son, and Jim Paget took turns shooting two-ounce balls from the rifle.
    “Over the course of a week, they shot three Redcoats and created turmoil in the British ranks. The Brits sailed over to Eagles Island thinking the shots had been fired from there, but found no one.
    “Eventually, they rowed here to Point Peter but Bludworth and his lads escaped during the night.”
    Captain Doug’s tale of adventure during Wilmington’s early days reminded me of something. “ Ohmygosh ,” I said to Jon. “With all the excitement at the house, I completely forgot. We’ve got an appointment this afternoon with the arborist. She’s coming to look at that dying oak tree we’ve got at the new house to see if we can save it. I’ll call and cancel as soon as we get home and I can find her number.”
    But later, as we climbed Nun Street after the cruise, and turned the corner onto Front Street, we were surprised to find the crime scene tape had been removed and the law enforcement vehicles and gas company truck were gone. No one there at all, with the exception of one man who sat at the round table up on the porch, looking for all the world like he owned the house. Nick!
    I stopped in my tracks. “Oh dear Lord, is that man stalking me?”
    Jon reached for my hand. “Take it easy, babe. He may have good news for us. Let’s give him a chance.”
    Jon is a better person than I am.
    Nick got up when he saw us approaching. “Hi. I called your house and your Aunt Ruby told me Jon had taken you on a river cruise. I knew you’d be walking up this way so I thought I’d wait for you and brief you on our findings.”
    “That was good of you, Nick,” Jon said. “What have you learned?”
    “First of all, the gas company inspected all your lines and connections and there is not a problem with your gas lines. The gas in the parlor fireplace was turned on but the pilot light had somehow gone out. Pending our finding a reason to think the pilot light was deliberately extinguished, we are treating this incident as an accident. Montjoy is getting older and may not have realized the pilot light had gone out.”
    “But why would he even want to burn gas logs?” I asked. “It’s too warm.”
    Nick shrugged his magnificent shoulders. “Don’t know. Maybe he just wanted to warm the morning chill. We’ll question him when he wakes up. If he wakes up.”
    “What do you mean, if he wakes up?” Jon asked.
    “According to the ER doctor over at the medical center, Montjoy has suffered a concussion.”
    “There was blood on the back of his head,” I said.
    “We think he was hurrying to the door for fresh air when he lost his balance and fell. He does have a hip problem. He might have hit his head on a piece of furniture.”
    Frustrated, I jammed my fists on my hips and glared at him. “That’s exactly what I told you yesterday. Did you