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years because we figured the day would come when you’d want to say thank you, make things even, and I bet you’ve understood that all along.”
    â€œYou saying I owe this to you?” said Calhoun.
    The Man in the Suit nodded. “Absolutely. Well, not me personally. You might say, your country is calling you. It needs you, and here’s your chance to pay back your country for all it’s done for you. It’ll take maybe a month—six weeks at the outside—of your life.”
    â€œSix weeks away from the shop,” said Calhoun, “right at the height of the fishing season. Our busiest time.”
    â€œThat’s right. Too bad. Can’t be helped.” The Man in the Suit looked hard at Calhoun. “You must not tell Kate—or your friend the sheriff, or anybody else, for that matter—what you’re doing or where you’re going. Not even a hint. You understand that, right?”
    Calhoun shrugged. “So if I agree to do this—before you even tell me what it is—you’ll take care of the lease on the shopand guarantee that Walter will always have a spot in that rehab place?”
    â€œYou’ve got my word on it,” said the Man in the Suit. “Tomorrow. If you agree to do this right now, I’ll see that both matters are resolved tomorrow.”
    Calhoun cocked his head and smiled. “Your word.”
    â€œI’ve never lied to you, Stoney. I’ve always been absolutely straight with you. You might not like me or what I do, but you’ve got to admit, I’ve always been a man of my word.”
    â€œI was going to shoot you the first time you trespassed on my property,” Calhoun said. “I still sometimes think it was a mistake not to.”
    â€œIf not me,” said the Man in the Suit, “it just would’ve been somebody else. No matter how deep in the Maine woods you go, we’ll always have you in our sights.”
    â€œSo okay,” said Calhoun. “I obviously got no choice. So I’ll do it, whatever it is. What happens next?”
    â€œNext,” said the Man in the Suit, “you’ll get a call from a man who calls himself Mr. Brescia.”
    â€œBrescia,” said Calhoun.
    â€œHe goes by Mister,” he said. “
Mr.
Brescia. He’ll give you the details.”
    â€œWhen?”
    â€œPretty soon, I’d expect,” said the Man in the Suit. “We’ve got something pretty urgent going on, Stoney. Your country needs you.”

 
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CHAPTER FOUR
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    A little before noontime the next morning Calhoun was sitting in one of the wooden rocking chairs on the front porch of the shop sipping coffee with the Orvis sales rep, who said he wanted to talk about their new line of waders and wading boots, but who seemed even more interested in telling Calhoun about his recent bonefishing trip to the Bahamas.
    Calhoun had never fished for bonefish. He had a lot of questions. He figured one of these winters he and Kate would shut down the shop for the month of February or March and go someplace equatorial and fish for tarpon and bonefish and permit and snook. Venezeula, maybe. Or Belize. As much as he loved the coming of springtime, Calhoun didn’t think he’d ever get used to those damn New England winters.
    The Orvis guy’s name was Rumley, and everybody called him Rummie. He was a young guy—barely thirty, Calhoun guessed—and he seemed way more interested in fishing than in selling waders, although with all of his stories and his general enthusiasm for fishing, he was actually a very effective salesman. Calhoun was all set to stock some of the new Orvis stuff, justbecause he liked talking with Rummie and always looked forward to his visits.
    He heard the phone ring inside the shop, and a minute later Kate, who’d been at the counter, poked her head out. She gave Rummie a quick smile, then looked at Calhoun. “I got an important