Part 19 (1/2)

”She stayed down at the beach.”

”I thought you said you didn't want her to be alone.”

”I meant I didn't want to leave her on the island by herself. She's a bit fragile right now.”

I turned to face him and took his great paw in my much smaller hands. ”Etienne, is Jean-Jacques back?”

He looked away and dabbed his forehead with the towel. ”I do not know. I have not seen him. I have only seen evidence of his comings and goings. Gabrielle is convinced he's been here.”

I thought about Gabrielle's increasingly nervous disposition. ”How long has this been going on?”

”She discovered the playhouse had been fixed up shortly after we finished the spring cleaning. It looked occupied, I think you'll agree. She kept going over to investigate, insisting she'd seen smoke from the chimney. But then we'd get there and find no one, just charred wood in the fireplace.”

”Why didn't you tell me?”

”You had so many worries. So much responsibility.”

”Oh, Etienne.”

He gave me a small, sad smile. ”We all have our burdens.”

”What about the room with the clothes in Windsholme? Did you know about that?”

He nodded, moving the rocker a little as he did. ”Yes, I knew. Once the clambake started there would be people all over the island-and in summer no further need of the fireplace at the playhouse. By then, the electricians who'd done that rewiring for you were gone. Gabrielle is convinced Jean-Jacques moved into Windsholme after the first police search because the mansion was quieter and more private.”

That made sense. Inasmuch as any of it made sense. I switched subjects. ”You were on the mainland the night of Ray Wilson's murder.”

Etienne sighed. His face settled into its familiar outlines, but I could tell he was exhausted. ”This has all been very stressful for Gabby. She's been so anxious her doctor prescribed some medication for her nerves. That night she couldn't sleep. With the wedding here in the morning, she was terrified someone would stumble upon Jean-Jacques. And we had run out of her medication.”

That alone told me how stressed and distracted Etienne's little household was. When you lived on an island, you became an expert planner, an obsessive list maker. You never ran out of staples or medication.

”Gabrielle was so agitated that night. Neither of us had slept one wink, and with the wedding the next day, I decided we had to go across to the pharmacy.”

”Etienne, why didn't you call our house? I could have picked up the prescription and met you at the dock, at least.”

”You had a big day the next day, too.”

His reluctance to ask for help cut me to the quick. Our families were intertwined in business and friends.h.i.+p. I would have helped him, if only he'd asked.

”If you know we were in town that night, you probably know the rest,” he said. ”I asked that Tony Poitras for a ride to the pharmacy. He was cruising by the dock. I had no idea he was the groom until we got to chatting on the car ride.”

”Did you know he was Ray Wilson's partner?”

”No, it never came up. Gabrielle was obviously in distress and I think we both wanted to get the errand over with as quickly as possible.”

Now I was the one who sighed. I turned away so he couldn't see the tears in my eyes. ”Etienne, I wish you had trusted me more.”

”It's funny. I wanted to say exactly that to you.”

”You wish I had trusted you more?” I had trusted him with my business, my family's livelihood, and our island every single day.

”Your father compensated me well, and gave me a third of the clambake's profits every year.”

I knew that from my study of the books, and if the clambake was ever profitable again, I intended to continue that tradition.

”My expenses have been low,” Etienne said.

”Neither Gabrielle nor I have extravagant tastes.”

I nodded. I knew he and Gabrielle to be frugal Mainers.

”The long and the short of it is, we have plenty of money. I want to help you with the clambake, become your business partner. I should have said something earlier. I guess I was hurt that you never asked, never even considered bringing Gabby and me into the business. Into the family.”

”Etienne, I'm so sorry. I never thought-”

”No. You never did. Now I am tired of waiting to be asked. I am offering.”

”I'm afraid it's not that simple. Unless something dramatic happens, First Busman's Bank will call our loan on Monday. With an infusion of cash like I think you're offering, we could try to restructure the debt, but honestly, I don't know if it's still possible. If there was an arrest for the murder, it would help with the bank because we could guarantee we'd be open. But we owe a million and a half dollars. If we can't fully pay off that debt, your help may not matter.”

”I can handle that amount-the million and a half.”

Was this a bad joke? How could Etienne possibly have that kind of money? But then, as I thought about it, the idea seemed more plausible. The bonuses my father had given him during the boom years were healthy. Etienne and Gabrielle had next to no living expenses-the summer rental paid for their house, they'd had no college expenses for Jean-Jacques.

”But I do have some conditions,” Etienne continued. ”One, I want to be a partner. For that kind of money, I'd expect to own a third of the business. I don't want an interest in the properties, those belong to your family. But I do want to be a formal partner in the business.”

The amount he was offering, a million and a half dollars for a third of the business, was more than fair. I was completely comfortable with what he proposed. My father had always treated him like he was an owner anyway. I indicated that he should go on.

”Two-no more work on Windsholme. Leave it as it is. It's the only part of your plan I never agreed with. Three-you stay, at least for the rest of the summer.”

Those also were easy. There'd be no money for further improvements to Windsholme even with the cash from Etienne. And I'd always planned to stay for the whole summer, as long as there was a business to run.

”Four-Sonny goes. He's out of the business.”

I sat stunned. ”Sonny has worked at the clambake since he was a teenager. I don't think he ever meant to harm the business. He's family. I can't throw him out.”

”Wake up, Julia. Sonny is a know-it-all who won't listen to advice from anyone. Or take direction. He's stubborn and aggressive. He's impossible for you to work with. Or me to work with. If I am part owner, he has to go.” Etienne's voice was insistent. I didn't doubt he meant what he said.

What could I say? My mother had begged me to find a way to keep the island in the family and this was that way. Quite probably the only way. My stomach hurt just to think about it. Etienne had asked me to destroy my family in order to save it, but if we took his deal, the property would still belong to my mother, would pa.s.s to Livvie and me, and ultimately, to Page and my children. ”I'll think about it. And talk to my family.”

Etienne stared down the lawn at his house and the dock, my borrowed dinghy bouncing on the waves. ”Good.”

I had one more thing to ask. ”Do you think Jean-Jacques killed Ray Wilson and set fire to the porch?”

Etienne shook his head. ”I am certain he did not. My boy is not a killer. That was why he could not go back to Iraq. He is incapable of killing anyone.”

I left the island in the little outboard. The skies were gray by then and a steady wind had come up. I fought the current and small swells all the way back through the harbor. Large, ploppy raindrops fell just as I got back to Chris's boat slip. No one was around. I was beyond grateful I didn't have to see him.