“Nevertheless, neither snow nor rain nor sleet nor gloom of night will stay us from the swift conclusion of our appointed duties.”

“That is a misquotation and a horribly chosen metaphor,” Stone said. “But I’ll take your word, such as it is, and trust Ed Rawls to keep you alive.”

44

As bedtime was approaching, there was a ring of the front doorbell. Stone checked the peephole. Ed Rawls stood there, a rifle slung over his shoulder and Sally at his side. Stone let them in.

“Sorry to drop by so late,” Ed said. “But something’s afoot with the twins.”

Stone hustled them into the house and gave them each a drink. “What’s up?”

“The twins. We drove into the village to get some ice cream, and when we left, their boat was tied up at their dock.”

“Is that somehow sinister?” Stone asked. “Am I missing something?”

“What we’re missing is the twins. When we got back to our place I saw their boat headed out and turning south toward the point.”

“What’s to the south that should make us wary here?”

“Well, if they go around the point, then head north, what’s in their path is the cove right out there—and more to the point, your boat and your house.”

“I’m sorry, Ed, I was a little slow on the uptake.”

“That’s all right. It occurred to me that, if they’re headed here, we might have an opportunity to catch them trespassing. And if we do, we’ve got a legal right to take a shot or two at them. I brought my nightscope,” he said, patting the rifle.

Dino stepped up. “I’d like some of that,” he said.

Stone got the men rifles from Dick Stone’s weapons trove and they pocketed loaded magazines. “Why don’t we wait for them on my boat,” Stone said.

“Will it stop a bullet?”

“Hinckley says their hulls are bulletproof. There’s Kevlar in them.”

“Their boat’s a Hinckley, too,” Ed said. “The new one with three outboards. I expect their hull is made of the same materials.”

“Are we living in a Hinckley commercial?” Dino asked. “Or can we go shoot at these people? Just for the fun of it, of course. No harm intended.”

“Save it for the state police, Dino,” Ed said. They moved down to Stone’s dock.

“How do you want to do this, Ed?”

“Well, if I had my druthers, I’d set up a cross fire, but only one position is available to us: your boat.”

“We should have surprise on our side,” Stone said.

“Always a good idea,” Ed replied.

They climbed aboard and made preparations.

“I’d like them to take the first shot,” Stone said. “I prefer provocation to straight-up assassination.”

“Tell you what,” Ed said. “When they get close, you stand up, wave your arms, and call them dirty names.”

“That’s provocation,” Dino said.