“A little out of the ordinary,” Billy replied. Grace and Henry Lee Jackson pretend to buy the house for Stone, then they . . .”

“Were murdered,” Stone said.

“Not too long after that, Grace’s brother shows up, looks at two houses and buys yours immediately.”

“Did he inquire about who lived across the road?”

“Not only did he inquire, but if you’ll remember, he walked over there and introduced himself to Eben.”

“And offered to withdraw from the sale, if the twins still wanted it?”

“Right. Oh, and something else. The Petersons traveled here in a friend’s King Air, directly to our airfield.”

“What’s hinky about that?” Dino asked.

“He brought a long weapon with him. It’s on the parcel shelf of his rental car. I’m sure you know, Stone, that the shooting of firearms is prohibited on the island. Indeed, anywhere in Maine except hunting areas and only with a hunting license. Nobody hunts on the island.”

“Rifle or shotgun?”

“Couldn’t tell; it was in a leather pouch.”

“That smell wasn’t fish, Dino,” Stone said. “Maybe it was revenge.”

“What should we do about that?” Dino asked.

“We should get out of Smith Peterson’s way,” Stone replied.

Billy lifted his hands, as if in surrender. “I was never part of this conversation,” he said, taking the documents from Stone, “and I don’t remember anything said. Good day, gentlemen.” Billy fled the house.

51

Stone and Dino got into the MG and drove down to Ed Rawls’s house. They were admitted through the gates.

Ed was sitting on his front porch, working on the Times crossword. “Gents,” he said.

“May we have a word, Ed?”

Ed looked at them suspiciously, but waved them to chairs. “Is this trouble?”

“Not necessarily,” Stone said. “It’s just that some new information has come to light, which might affect our actions.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“We may have some competition in dealing with the twins.”

“Competition? On the island?”

“Recently arrived,” Stone replied.

“How recently?”

“Very. Now stop asking questions, and let me explain. Then you can ask questions.”

“Promise?”

“Shut up and listen, Ed.” Stone explained about the new buyers of his house and Billy’s research.

“So, you’re telling me that these people paid three and a half mil for your house, just to get a shot at the twins?”

“Not entirely. I think they may have heard about the house from the Jacksons and got interested. On the other hand, I think they knew that having the house would give them an opportunity to take a shot at the boys, while giving them a legit reason to be on the island. Who would believe they bought an expensive house merely to use it as a shooting platform?”

“Okay,” Ed said, “let’s assume that you’re not entirely crazy and that this guy, Peterson, is fairly sane, too.”

“Agreed on both accounts.”