Vineyard Blues by Philip R. Craig

Author:Philip R. Craig [Craig, Philip R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2010-07-06T12:54:54.210000+00:00

Ben Krane's first wife, Elaine, still lived in Edgartown. She was remarried and had three teenaged kids. Her husband was another of the island's builders, who make up about 49 percent of the Vineyard's permanent population, and sell their wares through another 49 percent who are in the real estate business. The remaining 2 percent of the island's citizens do everything else. Elaine was one of the 2 percent. She worked in the town hall. I found her in her office, surrounded by piles of paper. All of the people who work in the town hall are surrounded by piles of paper. The same is probably true of all of the people who work in all of the town offices in all of the towns in the world. And since the invention of computers, I'm told, the situation is worse than ever. The more computers, the more paper. If I had any sense, I'd invest my money, if I had any money, in paper stocks. I was glad to see that she was alone.

"What can I do for you, J.W.?" she asked, seemingly glad to temporarily stop whatever work she'd been doing when I came in. "Is this your boy?" "It is. Joshua, say hello to Mrs. Simmons." He did that, taking her hand in his and giving it a solemn shake.

Elaine smiled at him, then at me. "What are you doing downtown on a nice day like this, J.W.? I'd have thought you'd be fishing or clamming far from the madding crowd."

I decided to get right to the point. "Your ex has hired me to find out who's burning down his houses. I hope you can tell me something that might help me do the job."

She tipped her head to one side and the smile faded. "Is somebody burning down his houses?" "So it seems. Or so he thinks, anyway." "Or so he says he thinks." She smiled a thin smile. "What do you mean?" She shrugged. "Oh, nothing. Never mind."

There were two chairs on my side of her desk, and I sat Joshua and me in them. "I don't think it's nothing," I said. "Does Ben say things he doesn't mean?" Again the shrug. "Maybe he should get the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he's changed in the years since I was married to him."

"If I can't believe what he tells me, maybe I shouldn't work for him."

"Maybe you shouldn't." She touched the papers she'd pushed aside, which I took as an indication that she didn't want to continue the conversation. I thought I'd try to get her interested again.

"Did you hear that another of his houses burned down last night?"

"Of course. This building is a gossip mill. Everybody in it hears everything almost before it happens." "It's the second house of his that's burned this week, and the third this year."

"Ben never spends a penny on the places. He buys wrecks and lets them fall down even further. It's a miracle more of them haven't burned!"

It was a popular idea.

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