The Body in the Lighthouse by Katherine Hall Page Read Free Book Online

vent, so there won’t be any more return visits from these guys or all the relatives who will have heard by now of the fine cuisine we offer.”
    â€œWhat’s happening today?”
    â€œWe’re starting on the counters and cabinets. Kenny’s finishing the upstairs ceiling.”
    â€œIs he the young one? Tall, skinny, crew cut, not used to women in dishabille?”
    â€œSounds like Kenny, except he must have seen his mother plenty. He’s Persis Sanford’s son, never married and lives at home with her.”
    It was at moments like these that Faith especially missed Pix, who filled in all the blanks for her, both in Aleford and on Sanpere. It was slightly galling to have her husband so much more in the know than she was, but Faith was feeling generous. The skunks were gone. All was right with the world.
    â€œSo tell me, who’s Persis Sanford?”
    â€œShe’s a real estate agent, local, as you might guess from the name. Also Grand Marshal of the Fourth of July parade not once, but twice, and general mover and shaker on the island with a finger in every pie.”
    â€œMixed metaphors aside, how do you know all this?”
    â€œOh, the guys talk, and when Lyle said he was hiring Kenny as extra help, I heard all about Persis. Apparently, she was quite a hot ticket in her youth.”
    â€œBut Kenny’s not in the business?” Now that she thought about it, Sanford Realty sounded familiar, although Faith couldn’t recall seeing any signs dotting front yards or along the roadside. What did adorn local front yards this summer were black plywood silhouettes of bear cubs, granny in a rocking chair, gramps with a corncob pipe, and everything in between. They’d replaced the ornaments of yesteryear, the Smurfs and bloomer-clad fat ladies bending over.
    â€œKenny’s not in the business. He’s a very good carpenter. Period.”
    â€œSlightly dim?”
    â€œNot that. Just not all that bright.”
    Faith nodded; she understood the difference. He wasn’t slow, simply wasn’t burning up the road the way his mother seemed to be.
    â€œWell, he has time. He could be a late bloomer. What is he, twenty-two, twenty-three?”
    Tom laughed. “For an astute observer, you’reway off on this one. Kenny’s in his early thirties. About our age. But he does look like a kid—as do you,” he added charitably, and truthfully. Faith was wearing a white T-shirt and khaki shorts. She’d let her thick blond hair grow longer over the winter, and now it was pulled back in a scrunch. Like the rest of the family, she was slender, and despite heavy applications of sunscreen, her skin had acquired a light tan.
    â€œI didn’t get that good a look at him,” Faith said, defending herself. “Now, do you have what you need for lunch? I’m going to Blue Hill to do a big marketing. After that, I’ll pick up the kids and bring them here.”
    She realized she hadn’t mentioned her conversation with Ursula—or her own late-night Emersonian thoughts.
    â€œMaybe we can get some time to talk after the guys leave,” she added. “Ursula was telling me that some pretty disturbing things have been going on this summer. Sanpere’s own version of ecoterrorism, and a lobster war.”
    â€œI’ve been picking up some of this, but both topics are pretty off-limits. Especially the lobster war. Elwell is a Hamilton and Lyle’s sister’s son is married to a Prescott. As for the other, they pretty much think it’s this nutty group and want nothing to do with any of it.”
    â€œIt’s more complicated than that. KSS, I mean. I don’t know about the Hatfields and the McCoys.”
    â€œKSS?”
    â€œKeep Sanpere Sanpere.”
    â€œI hate it already,” Tom said as Faith got into the car and set off for the mainland.
    Â 
    Feeling guilty for shopping off island but needing to stock