have to deal with the police.â
Chadwick pursed his lips. âWhat do you suppose is your principalâs real reason? Do you know?â
I made a small gesture with one hand. âMy advice was to call the police, but my principal said no.â
He rubbed his chin. âCurious. Dealing with the police would seem to be much preferable to dealing with the vandals.â He eyed me. âBut we all have secrets, I suppose.â
âI have a couple,â I said. âHave you had any vandalism here at your place?â
âYouâve seen my stone wall.â
âYou donât have a front gate.â
âI have a motion light out there. Anyone coming in at night would set it off.â
âBabs Carson has a wall and a gate. Do people need that much security up here in the wilds of West Tisbury?â
âProbably not, but crime is hardly unknown here on the island, and I happen to be a wealthy man so my house would be a temptation to an enterprising thief. Ergo, the wall and the motion light. I also have a security system here in the house.â He arched a brow and smiled. âYou arenât actually casing the place, are you?â
âNo,â I said. âNot many college professors are wealthy. How did you manage it?â
âI did it the old-fashioned American way: I inherited my fortune. A good thing, too, because Iâm really not very good at handling money. Fortunately, I have bankers to do that for me. That allowed me to do what I really liked: teaching history. Iâm retired now, but I had a fine time for forty years. Iâve noticed that youâve been eyeing my books. Are you an academic yourself?â
âIâm a fisherman. Can you think of anyone who would have reason to hire people to vandalize Nunesâs property?â
He nodded. âThe two most obvious people are Babs and myself. Weâre both interested in buying the land, but Roland Nunes wonât move off it. If we could frighten him into moving, it would be to our benefit. Is that why youâre here, Mr. Jackson? To ask me if I employed the men who shot you last night?â
I felt a smile on my face. âI wasnât going to be quite that straightforward, but now that you mention it, did you?â
âOf course not. But Iâd say that anyway, wouldnât I?â He returned my smile. âThe fact of the matter is that I wouldnât know where to look for a vandal if I wanted one. I dare say I could find one if I set my mind to it, because Iâm a wealthy man and wealth opens many doors, but to date Iâve never done that.â
âCan you think of anyone else who might have hired the two men? Anyone who might have a grudge against Nunes?â
He spread his big hands. âThey call it an ivory tower, and it is. I know more about books than about the real lives most people lead. Even though Nunes has been my neighbor for years, I know almost nothing about him except that he seems to be a very gentle man who lives an incredibly simple life. He appears to be the least likely of men to have enemies.â
âIs it possible that your ex-wife might know something that you donât know?â
He gave a short, ironic laugh. âJoanna knows more about a lot of things than I do, including how to become wealthy by marrying and then divorcing, but I canât imagine her knowing or caring about anything having to do with Roland Nunes. She always had her sights set higher on the social and economic food chain. Iâm told sheâs in Cannes now, with her little prince, so I donât think youâll have an opportunity to question her. Even if she were here I think you could scratch her off of your list of suspects.â
âWhat do you know about Melissa Carson?â
His eyes widened for a second. âAh, Melissa. Sheâs certainly a woman who knows what she likes. Iâm actually very fond of her, if you want the truth. In a