After a long wait the door opened. “Yes?”

“Mr. Caleb Stone?”

“Yes?”

“I’m Sergeant Young of the Maine State Police. We spoke on the phone yesterday. I’d like to speak to your sons, Eben and Enos, please.”

“I gave you their cell phone number yesterday, Sergeant,” Caleb replied. “It hasn’t changed.”

“Yes sir, and I spoke to one of them, but I haven’t been able to confirm their whereabouts.”

“Well, I’m sorry about that, Sergeant, but I don’t see how I can help you. The boys are not here.”

“Sir, we have information that four people slept in your house last night. I assume that two of them were your wife and yourself. Who were the other two?”

“We, ah, had houseguests. They left this morning.”

“Did they take the ferry?”

“No, they came and left by boat; they’re cruising the coast and just stopped in for the night.”

“May I ask their names?”

“Bill and Julie Robertson.”

“And the name of their boat?”

“I don’t really know the boat’s name,” Caleb replied. “It’s a sailing boat, pretty good size, but I don’t know its name.”

“How can I contact the Robertsons?”

“Why do you want to contact them?”

“I need to verify their presence here last night.”

“Well, I suppose you’ll have to wait until they return to Boston in the fall. They’re cruising all summer.”

“Mr. Stone, would you mind if I had a look around your house?”

“What for?”

“I’d like to see for myself if your sons are here.”

“All right. Go ahead,” Caleb said, standing aside and holding the door open.

Sergeant Young stepped inside the house, and he heard the door close firmly behind him.

53

STONE FINISHED HIS LUNCH and pushed back from the table.

“I’m going to look for Sergeant Young,” he said.

“Take it easy, Stone,” Lance said. “He’s only been gone for an hour, and we know where he went. Relax and have some dessert.”

Stone tried to relax. “Ginny, how are you coming with Esme’s diary?”

“Slowly,” she replied. “I can go faster, if you don’t care if I destroy it.”

“Please do it as you see fit, Ginny.”

“It’s just that it’s all these thin sheets, and they’ve been mashed together by water and the pressure of the cover. If I use the heat from the hair dryer too much, they dry too fast and crumble.”

Lance spoke up. “Ginny, if it’s too difficult, I can send it back to Langley and let the experts have a go at it.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Stone said.

“You mean Holly doesn’t have time for that,” Ham said. It was the first time he had spoken during lunch.