Black Dog

Thirteen

When Stone got downstairs to his office the following morning, he had to make his own coffee because Joan was nowhere to be found. He checked his watch: she was always on time. “What the hell?”

The phone rang, and since Joan was not there to screen the calls, curiosity required him to answer it. “Stone Barrington.”

“Hey, Stone, it’s Eddie Jr.”

“Why are you calling me, Junior?” Stone asked. “You’re not supposed to.”

“Well, this is a special occasion,” Junior said, “and don’t call me Junior.”

“What do you want?”

“I just woke up and turned on the TV, and it said that my stepmother is dead.”

“I can confirm that bit of news. Where are you, Eddie?”

“In East Hampton. I’ve been here for two days.”

“And you just heard about Annetta?”

“I haven’t been watching TV, and Annetta doesn’t get the papers delivered out here. I didn’t kill her. Did you kill her?”

“Certainly not,” Stone replied. “Funny you should ask. The police want to ask you that same question.”

“Me? I’m in the Hamptons. How could I kill her?”

“Well, there are some holes in your alibi, Eddie.”

“What holes?”

“First of all, you said ‘I didn’t kill her,’ ” Stone said. “That’s not an alibi, that’s a contention.”

“Okay, number two: I’m in East Hampton.”

“Prove it.”

“How do I do that?”

“Is anyone with you?”

“No, I’m alone.”

“Has anybody seen you there? A maid, maybe?”

“No.”

“Well, you’d better get to work thinking of some way to prove you weren’t in New York, in her house yesterday afternoon.”

“I told you, I was in East Hampton. I still am.”

“Be sure and mention that to your lawyer, when he comes to bail you out.”

“You seem to think I’m going to be arrested,” Eddie said plaintively.

“I’d say you’re the prime suspect unless you can come up with a plausible alibi.”

“You’re my lawyer, Stone. You think of a way I can do that.”

“For the umpteenth time, Eddie, I am not your lawyer. I’m your stepmother’s lawyer.”

“Can’t I inherit you from her?”

“That was not mentioned in her will,” Stone replied.

“Speaking of her will, I get the money now, right?”

“Wrong, Eddie. She specifically excluded you as an heir.”

“She can’t do that after she’s dead, can she?”

“She did it when she was alive and kicking,” Stone replied. “You’d better get yourself a lawyer, get back to the city, and convince the police you had nothing to do with her death.”

“How do I do that?”

“I thought I just explained it. First, you have to be innocent. Second, you’d better have an alibi to back up your claim of being in East Hampton. Maybe you’d better write that down. Goodbye, Eddie, and good luck staying out of prison for the rest of your life.” Stone hung up. The phone began to ring again, but this time Joan answered it. She must have arrived. His intercom buzzed. “Yes?”

“Eddie Jr. on one for you. What shall I tell him?”

“As W. C. Fields once memorably said, ‘Tell him to go fuck himself.’ I’m sorry I don’t do a better W. C. Fields impression.”

“Who’s W. C. Fields?”

“You’re old enough to know. Eddie is going to ask you how to get himself a lawyer.”

“Who should I recommend?”

“First of all, don’t recommend Herbie Fisher. He’d never forgive either of us — and he might actually get Eddie off. And if he does, the phone will never stop ringing.”

“Got it, I think. Any lawyer you really hate?”

“Not enough to sic Eddie Jr. on him.” He thought for a moment. “Tiffany Baldwin.”

“She’s the federal DA for the Southern District, isn’t she?”

“I heard she either retired or got booted. Anyway, she and Eddie Jr. deserve each other.”

“Okay, I’ll give Eddie her number.”

“After that, come in and let’s talk.”

Ten minutes passed before Joan appeared.

“Have a seat,” Stone said.

“What did I do wrong?” she asked, alarmed.

“You haven’t done anything wrong,” Stone said. “I just think you need to sit down to hear this.”

Joan perched nervously on the edge of a chair. “What?”

“You know that Annetta is dead, right? Murdered?”

“Yes, I was here when you heard, but you know I didn’t do it.”

“I know that, and nobody suspects you of it.”

“You mean I can get away with it?”

“What?”

“Sorry, just kidding. What else?”

“First, some questions. Did Annetta have any relatives? Brothers, sisters, cousins, distant cousins?”

“Nary a one. She’s alone in the world.”

“Except for you.”

Joan thought about that.

“Your mother is deceased, right?”

“Right.”

“Then you are Annetta’s only heir.”

“Well, she did leave me one hundred thousand dollars in her will.”

“That was the old will. She made a new one, and she left everything to you.”

“I typed her will. That wasn’t in it.”

“No, I typed it into her new will, so that you wouldn’t know you were her only heir.”

Joan blinked. “When had you planned to tell me?”

“Right after she died.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me immediately?”

“You’re hearing about it first thing the next morning. Right now.” Stone handed her his copy of the will. “Page two, near the top.”

Joan read the page. “Is this legal?” she asked. “I mean, if I typed the will I could just have put my name in there, couldn’t I?”

“No, I typed that page, and I can tell you, Annetta read it very carefully before signing it. This is authentic, real, witnessed, and legal. You now possess everything Annetta possessed, and that includes everything Eddie Sr. possessed.”

“How much is that?”

“Remains to be seen — at least a couple hundred million dollars.”

Joan collapsed onto the floor.