“We'l let you know what happens with the Athertons.
Duncan must have been upset that they were in his cabin and he blamed Samantha. But why he didn't confront her, I don't know. Usual y, he just yel s. I never expected violence'
Earl's lips were tight. 'He's been trouble since he arrived and we've been too soft with him. Not this time.'
“In his cabin?' Pix had missed the story so far.
“I'l let Samantha tel you. The doctor told me I had five minutes and they're up. Take care of yourself, Pix. I'l be by in the morning.' He gave her a quick hug and left. Before the door closed, she ran over and told him, 'Sam is on his way' Earl nodded. 'I'm Sony this happened. Samantha's a terrific kid. Now you get some rest, too.”
Samantha was barely conscious, but for different reasons than earlier. She had heard the last part of their conversation, though.
“Daddy's coming?'
“Yes, he'l be here in a couple of hours.'
“Good. I bet he wants to beat the shit out of Duncan'
Pix did not deny it. She wanted to do it herself.
* * *
The next morning, things were not so clear. Duncan Cowley had been at the nine o'clock movie that did not get out until past eleven. Two friends swore to it and Wendel Marshal , who manned the ticket booth, distinctly remembered sel ing him a ticket.
“It's hard to forget a kid with a hoop in his ear and green hair,' he'd told Earl. Duncan had apparently streaked his locks with some sort of dye for the evening out. Now in the hard light of day, it looked pretty pathetic as he sat in Earl's office uneasily flanked by his parents. The state police had come to the house the night before and Jim had stil not shaken off his indignation at his stepson for being the cause of their visit.
“In al my years on Sanpere Island, the police have never had to come to my house for any reason whatsoever.
Now we want some answers here and we want them fast.”
Earl thought this was his line, but he let it lie.
“Duncan,' he said to the boy in a milder tone. The kid looked like he'd been through the mil . 'We just want to know what happened. No one's accusing you of anything.'
“Be real,' the boy shouted. 'You're never going to believe a fucking word I say, so why don't you go ahead and lock me up!' Earl wondered where Duncan had found the energy. Since he'd come in with Valerie and Jim, he'd sat slumped over in the chair, dressed as usual in black and smel ing of stale beer and cigarettes. He was probably hungover from the night before. When the police had not found him at home, they'd driven around the island, turning their flashlight beams into a number of cars and soon locating Duncan in the backseat of one, trying to hide a six-pack under his scrawny frame.
Earl was pretty tired, too. This was the second time he'd talked with the Athertons and the boy himself.
Duncan's denial and alibi had left Earl in a dilemma. He'd been asking around. There were only a few other kids who had the same shoes, mostly summer people. Those things cost a fortune. But in light of Duncan's alibi, he'd have to track down every pair and owner. As alibis went, it was a pretty good one. Patrons who got up in the middle of the film, obscuring the sight of those behind them, did not go unnoticed or unremarked on Sanpere. The only possibility was that Duncan had bought a ticket from Wendel and then immediately went out by another door. Could he have been so furious at Samantha that he'd plotted the attack ahead of time, even providing himself with an alibi? Of course his friends would lie through their teeth for him. At the moment, Earl was trying to find others, less loyal, who might have seen him in the audience. The whole thing was complicated by the group's penchant for the same style and color of dress. He'd have to hope Duncan was the only one with the nifty hairdo.
The boy claimed that he had not even known Samantha and Arlene had been in his cabin. He seemed pretty upset about it. Until Jim told him to shut his mouth and keep it shut, Duncan had tried to turn the tables, inveighing against the two girls. 'They're the ones you should get. Trespassing. B and E. That's private property!”
Earl didn't say anything about the knife the girls had taken away. The night before, he'd taken it to the police station in Blue Hil for the state police to pick up. He hadn't heard anything since.
After a further wearying hour, Earl sent Duncan home with Jim and Valerie to what he was sure would be house arrest. Duncan cast an odd look back at the sergeant and Earl had the distinct impression that Duncan would have favored the one and only cel down the hal from the office—
mostly used to store stationery supplies for the town hal .
Valerie had sat tight-lipped and grim throughout the ordeal. She seemed to have erected a wal between herself and the rest of the world. She was dressed in a simple blue-checked skirt and white blouse, no hat, no makeup. At one point, Duncan turned to her and said, 'Why would I want to do anything to Samantha Mil er? I don't even know her.' Valerie just shook her head in utter defeat.
Earl walked out with them to their car. 'Thank you for coming in.'
“A rotten business,' Jim said, 'a sorry mess.
Samantha's one of the best sailing instructors we've ever had at Maine Sail.' He glared at Duncan.
An old pickup came roaring down the street—it needed a new muffler—and screeched to a halt next to them. John Eggleston, his hair a mess of disheveled fiery locks, leapt out and ran toward them.
“I just heard. Please, let's sit down and talk about what happened before anyone goes off the deep end”
During the long wait the night before, Pix had fil ed Earl in on everything Samantha had told her and had also mentioned her conversation with John. And John had, in fact, been in touch with Earl, asking him to keep an eye on the old quarry. Earl had touched on some of this with Duncan and the Athertons.
“You've done enough harm here! Al your little talks!
We know about the kinds of `literature: you've been recommending and you may be hearing from my lawyer.'
Jim had apparently already dived in.
John stood for a moment, openmouthed. 'Too late,' he muttered, 'too late”
He stood with Earl, watching the family drive away. 'I was hoping they'd let the boy stay with me for a while until things cool down.'
“I doubt there's much hope of that. One way or another, Duncan Cowley is going off this island.”
It was almost dark when Pix woke up. She lay stil for a moment. Sam had thrown a light blanket over her. The heat was final y breaking. She looked out the window at the familiar line of fir trees pointing to the boathouse and shore.
The outcroppings of pink granite were faintly visible, or maybe it was because she knew they were there that she could see them. She could hear Sam and Samantha talking in her room down the hal . Pix felt warm and safe. She stood up and draped the blanket around her shoulders, trailing it like a queen's mantle as she went in to see her daughter and husband.
“Mom, Daddy's cheating!' Samantha laughed. They were playing Uno.
“That's nice,' said Pix. 'What do you want for supper?”
Samantha was stil in a good mood three days later, but was beginning to get restless. She had been showered with attention in both tangible and intangible forms. The campers had al made cards for her. Susannah and Geoff had created three gushing ones each. The Fairchilds had sent a basket of yel ow roses, baby's breath, and daisies—
not the kind the Mil ers gathered in big bunches from the meadow to weave into crowns or set about the house in a variety of containers, but perfect daisies with huge yolk yel ow centers and every creamy white petal perfect. No tiny holes as evidence that some creature had rested there.
Gert Prescott left two lemon meringue pies. Ursula brought a beautiful conch shel Samantha had long coveted.
Valerie dropped by to leave a tiny porcelain box with the words FORGET ME NOT surrounded by the flowers on the lid. She tried to say how sorry they were to Pix, but Pix, feeling very uncomfortable, cut her off, thanking her and adding, 'Samantha is fine, thank God, and maybe Duncan wil get the help he needs now.”
That you al need, she finished silently.
Sam had stayed until Monday night and he and Pix had spent a great deal of time talking together and with Earl about what to do. In the end, with Samantha's approval, they decided not to press charges. It wasn't because
