Double Jeopardy

33

The two FBI agents rose to leave. “Ms. Riggs...”

“Why don’t you just call me Carly,” she said. “Everybody else does.”

“Carly, you mentioned that the twins are in residence at their home?”

“I did.”

“Would you kindly show us where that is?”

Carly thought about it for a moment. “What kind of car are you driving?”

“A Chevrolet four-door sedan, a Malibu, I believe. A couple of years old.”

“Does it have a government sticker on the door?”

“Um, I don’t know,” Olshan said.

“Does it have a government license plate?”

“We’ll have to check,” he said.

“I’ll come with you.”

They walked out to the car, which was as Olshan had described it.

“There,” Carly said, pointing at a front door. “I believe that sticker identifies the car as government property.” She walked around to the rear. “You gentlemen are not exactly undercover, are you?” she asked, pointing at the license plate, which read USGOVT, along with a number.

“Why should we mind if they know we’re government?”

“Because you don’t want them to know anything more about you than they already do.”

Olshan looked around. “Where are we going to find other transportation on this island?”

“We’ll borrow Stone’s car,” she said, and went inside for the keys.

“What’s up?” Stone asked.

“These two doofuses want to tool around the island in a government vehicle with badges all over it.”

He handed her a key. “Take the station wagon.”

“Thank you.” She went back outside. “Did you bring a change of clothes with you?” she asked Olshan.

“Well, yes. For downtime.”

“Go into the garage and lose the suits, hats, ties, and white shirts, and put on the most casual clothing you have. Right now, you’re the only people on the island dressed in suits and ties.”

They got cases out of the trunk and went into the garage.

They came out wearing short-sleeved plaid shirts and khakis.

“Do you always wear wingtips with khakis?” Carly asked.

“Ah...”

“Do you have baseball caps?” Carly asked.

“Yes, but they have FBI on them.”

“Let’s pop into the village store and get you some better gear.”

She drove them into the town and took them into the shop. “Hey, Billy,” she said. “It’s Carly, Stone’s friend.”

“Hey, Carly. Who are the two dweebs?”

“We need something that makes them look less dweeby.”

Billy waved a hand. “Knock themselves out.”

They left a few minutes later. Olshan wore a yellow V-neck sweater and a Sam Snead — style straw hat. Agent Paul wore a red windbreaker and a matching ball cap that simply read MAINE. And they both wore sneakers.

Carly stopped them on the way out and went over them for tags. “Now,” she said, “you are presentable, which is to say, unnoticeable. Hop in, I’m driving.”

Billy watched them from the front porch.

“Billy, you want to come along for camouflage?”

“What am I camouflaging?”

“Two obvious FBI agents.”

She introduced them, and they all got into the car, Carly and Billy in the front seat.

“Are we supposed to be looking at real estate?” Billy asked. “Is that the idea?”

“Yep.”

“Then why don’t they have wives? No man looks at houses without his wife.”

“They’re gay,” Carly said.

“Now wait a minute,” Paul objected.

“For purposes of this excursion. You’ll have plenty of time to deny it later.”

Olshan burst out laughing.

“One of them laughs,” Billy said, deadpan. “Here we go,” Billy said as they approached the new property of the Stone twins. “Just pull into the driveway.”

“We don’t want to be obvious,” Olshan said.

“Then act like a buyer.”

Carly pulled into the drive and stopped short of the yard, where various pieces of equipment were moving around.

Billy got out of the car and stood in the group, pointing here and there. “Camden is up that way. Lincolnville, where you got the ferry, is down that way. And a couple of doors away lives a guy named Ed Rawls, who’s ex-CIA, with his girlfriend. If you approach his property in an untoward way, he’ll shoot you where you stand. Remember that.”

Billy turned back and pointed at the house. “They’ve skinned it back to the bones and are starting over. The electrical and plumbing work is nearly finished, and the plastering is underway. The twins live in a big room on that corner of the house. They brought in enough furniture to make themselves comfortable. Any questions?”

“Can we take photographs?” Agent Paul asked.

“Sure, as long as your gear isn’t professional-looking.”

“How about with an iPhone?”

“Fire away.”

Paul took a dozen photos, and they got back into the car.

“All right,” Billy said. “Now we get a tour of the island.”

“I’m not sure if we have time before the ferry,” Olshan said.

“Unless you want your cover blown, act like a normal person,” Billy said, pointing at an upcoming house. “Primmy Primrose lives right there.”

“We met her at the Barrington house,” Olshan said.

“Yeah, she’s afraid to stay at home with the twins hovering.”

“Everyone is being very respectful of the twins,” Olshan remarked.

“Shit-scared would be a better description,” Billy said. “Those boys were pulling the heads off small, furry creatures when they were six. Everybody has been scared of them ever since. I’ve never seen the island relax the way it did the day they started their prison term. Now, they’re all tense again.”

“I’m negatively impressed,” Paul said.

“Me, too,” Olshan commented. “Make a note, Bob, we go armed at all times while we’re here.”

“Don’t think you’re safe off the island,” Billy said, “if they take an interest in you.”

“Let’s see that they don’t,” Olshan said.

“Too late,” Carly replied. “All you can do now is just try to look harmless.”