“What?”
“Hal Rhinehart.”
“What about him?”
“I heard a pretty good rumor one time from a guy on the organized crime task force that Rhinehart was doing some contract hit work, but they could never nail him.”
That stopped Stone in his tracks. “Why don’t you get on the phone and find out whether Rhinehart has jumped parole?”
Chapter 20
DINO PUT THE PHONE DOWN. “Rhinehart must have a very smart lawyer; he did a deal that allows him to live up here and report in by phone every week.”
“Ankle bracelet?”
“I didn’t ask,” Dino said, “but he could be out of range up here.”
“Put your stuff in the guest house, then let’s go see Rhinehart.”
“You know where he lives?”
“No, but I know how to find out.”
THEY WENT BACK to the Dark Harbor Shop, and Stone led Dino to the rear office, where he rapped on the door. The man at the desk looked up.
“Hi,” Stone said, “I’m Stone Barrington, and this is Dino Bacchetti.”
The man stood up. “Jimmy Hotchkiss.”
“You’re Seth’s cousin, right?”
“Right, and you’re Dick’s cousin.”
“Right.”
“Take a seat.” Jimmy waved them to a pair of rickety chairs next to the desk.
“We were in here earlier and saw somebody we used to know,” Stone said.
“And who would that be?”
“His name is Harold Rhinehart.”
“Sure, I know Hal.”
“You know where he lives?”
“Yep. It’s about three miles north on the main road. You’ll see a sign: RHINEHART CABINETS.”
“He’s a cabinet maker?”
“And his father before him. Hal took over the business when his old man died a few years back.”
“He grew up on the island?”
“Yeah, then he went away to some tech college in New York State, and we didn’t see much of him after that, until he came back and took over the business. His dad was sick then, lived a few more months. Hal grew up in that shop, though, so he didn’t have any problem taking over.”
“Is there a police officer on the island?”