“I mean, I heard of him, when I saw it in the papers, but I never laid eyes on the guy.”

“Not even through a scope?” Dino asked.

“Listen, if there’d been the slightest evidence against me for those killings, you guys would have been all over me at the time. Why are you asking about Dick Stone? You think I killed him, too?”

“Did you?” Stone asked.

“Of course not. I liked the guy, and he paid us well for our work. I had no motive to kill him.”

“Sometimes, all the motive you need is a phone call and some cash,” Dino pointed out. “It’s not as though you have a conscience about these things.”

“Look, I stole a lot of jewelry, cash and other stuff, but I’ve never killed anybody.”

“Funny how you have this reputation, then,” Dino said.

“I don’t believe I do. Anyway, the only people who know I’m even on this island are those who live here, the state cops and my parole officer. Nobody I ever knew in that old life has ever even heard of Islesboro.”

“You’re in the phone book,” Stone said.

“The cabinet shop is; I’m not. I’m dug in here. I’ve got a wife and a kid and a fine business; I don’t need to steal from people or kill them for money. Go talk to my banker.”

“I believe you,” Stone said.

Dino looked at him as if he were crazy.

“I don’t think anybody who built that study for Dick Stone, who knew him, could kill him.”

“Thank you,” Rhinehart said.

“Let’s go, Dino,” Stone said, standing up.

“You really think we’re done here?” Dino asked. They were all on their feet now.

“What’s your interest in Dick Stone?” Rhinehart asked, as they moved back into the shop and toward the front door.

“He was my first cousin.”

“I see.”

Stone looked around the shop. “My father was a cabinetmaker and furniture maker in New York.”

Rhinehart looked thoughtful. “Not Malon Barrington?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve seen some of his work. He was as good as they come.”

Stone wondered if he’d seen that work in people’s homes, after breaking in. “You said you liked Dick?”

“I did. He was easy to work with, and he paid on time. He understood what we were doing for him and how good the work was.”

“Would you like to do something for Dick?” Stone asked.

“What could I do for him now?” Rhinehart asked, as they reached the front door.

“You could break into his house,” Stone said.

“What?”

“I want to know how hard it is. You know the place.”

“I know he has an elaborate security system,” Rhinehart said. “A bunch of guys from out of the state were just beginning to install it when we were finishing the study.”