“I take it that those are the twins,” she said from Stone’s chair.
“Clever of you to figure that out,” Stone said, “since they’re identical.”
“You don’t want to watch this?”
“Looking at them makes me a little sick to my stomach,” Stone replied. “Besides, nothing is happening. They’re just staring at the camera.” He stretched out on the sofa. “I’m going to take a nap.”
“Suit yourself.”
Stone closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, then drifted off.
* * *
—
Then Joan was calling him. “Wake up! The jury is back!”
Stone sat up and rubbed his eyes. “They’re not a jury; they’re a parole board.”
“Same thing,” she said, rising from his chair.
Stone moved to his desk. The board’s chairman was rapping on the table with a gavel. “The board has made a decision,” he said. “By a vote of five to two, parole of Eben and Enos Stone is granted. Terms and conditions will be discussed by the parolees with their new parole officer. Before we adjourn, however, the governor’s chief of staff, Edwin Ealy, would like to read to you a communication from the governor.
A man at the end of the table sat while the microphone was moved in front of him. “Go ahead, Mr. Ealy,” the now-distant voice of the chairman said.
Ealy opened a leather envelope, removed a sheet of paper, and began to read:
I, Preston Farmer, the duly chosen governor of the State of Maine, do hereby pardon the defendants Enos Stone and Eben Stone of any and all crimes committed in the State of Maine up until this date, and I commute their sentences to time served.
Ealy distributed copies of the decree to the board members and to the Stone twins. “Gentlemen,” he said, “you are free to go.”
The chairman gaveled the meeting to a close, then a remarkable thing happened: the members of the parole board and the governor’s chief of staff lined up to shake the twins’ hands. Two of the three women on the board actually hugged and kissed them.
“Joan,” Stone said, “please give me a couple of those Alka-Seltzer gummies you’re so fond of.” He sat and watched the people file out of the room, many of them stopping to shake the twins’ hands. An attractive young blonde came and stood between them while somebody with a cell phone took their pictures, then the screen went dark.
“The feature has ended,” Joan said. “Popcorn, Milk Duds, and Alka-Seltzer gummies on the concession stand to your right. The newsreel, cartoon, and adverts begin in one minute.”
Stone chewed and swallowed his gummies, then lay back on the sofa and dropped off.
9
Stone had a sandwich at his desk and was refreshed by his nap. Joan buzzed him. “A Tracey Hotchkiss for you on one.”
Stone picked it up. “Hello, Tracey.”
“Hi, Stone. Billy tells me you’re desperate for a decorator.”
“No, just in a hurry.”
“How fast do you want this done?”
“Last Thursday.”
“Could you stand it if I took a month?”
“That would please me.”
“If you’ll authorize a trip to New York I can pick up showroom furniture samples and floor displays, have them delivered to a warehouse, then trucked up here toward the end of the project. We won’t have to wait four months for special orders.”
“I like it.”
“In the meantime, I can get the painting and wallpapering and curtains done and be ready to place the furniture when it arrives.’’
“You’re my kind of designer, Tracey.”
“I used to do plays on Broadway and off, and the occasional movie. I learned how to do fast and good. I had a look at your house. Did you know that I designed it for Dick?”
“No, I didn’t, but you did it right. By the way, I’ll need a gun safe in a closet. And landscaping and flowers. Can you handle that?”
“With pleasure. I’ll start moving earth tomorrow. Would you like paving on the driveway, or do you want to stick with dirt?”
“I think I’d like cobblestones from good Maine granite—on the walkways, too, but not too rough; I like smooth stones.”
“Got it. We’ve just added about $150,000 to your budget.”
“That’s okay. You want a deposit?”
“I can use cash for buying a lot of your things. My fee is ten percent of everything, but I’ll get you good enough prices to more than offset that.”
“Great. I’ll send cash today. I’ll put you on with Joan for wiring details.” He put her on hold and called Joan. “Wire this lady $250,000 on account, please, and tell her to let me know when she needs anything else.”
They hung up, and Stone was happy for the first time that day.
Joan came into his office. “I sent her the quarter mil,” she said. “Mind if I ask a question?”
“Shoot.”
“Why are you buying and decorating and landscaping a house in a place where you already have a gorgeous home. Is this just to keep the twins from getting it?”
“Yes,” Stone said. “There are other reasons, too, I think, but I don’t know what they are.”
* * *
—
Late that afternoon, Tracey called back. “I had a look around your new property this afternoon, and there’s a barn building full of whatever was in the house before all the trouble. There are some glorious eighteenth-century American pieces of furniture, out of Boston and Newport—a dining table and chairs, a breakfront, and some other chests of drawers and odd tables. There’s also a lot of old silver. They’ll give the house great character.”
“Then use them, but I don’t want any upholstered furniture or bedding used. See that all of that is burned, in a responsible way, of course.”
“Got it. I’ll send you photographs as I progress.”
“Don’t. Surprise me when it’s all done.”
“As you wish.” She hung up.
Later, after some thought, he called Tracey back. “I’d like you to put the eighteenth-century furniture and silver in my current house, and put the stuff it replaces into the new place.”
“Good idea.”