Black Dog

Forty-Six

Stone was at his desk the following morning when Dino called.

“Good morning,” Stone said.

“I read the file. There was a murder the other night at Joan’s house.”

“Told you as much. Was anybody else hurt?”

“Just the maid. I think Eddie Jr. did it.”

“Do you have any evidence to support that contention?”

“Only my long experience as an investigator of homicides.”

“And that, as the saying goes, will get you a cup of coffee, if you already have seven bucks in your pocket.”

“You are a cynic.”

“I still haven’t heard any actual evidence from you.”

“We both know he did it.”

“Don’t point that thing at me! What’s your next move?”

“My people are already searching every room.”

“Did they notice that the extra Mercedes wagon in the garage was gone?”

“That was pointed out to them. It occurs to me that Joan may be in danger.”

“Why?”

“Because if she dies intestate, the estate will go to Eddie Jr.”

“She is not intestate. She made a new will early on, and the only mention in it of Eddie Jr. is that he be excluded from inheriting any part of it.”

“He could be looking for revenge.”

“Now that is a possibility. Is your supposition a good enough excuse to put a guard on her?”

“My superiors require actual evidence of intent before they’ll let me do that.”

“Then I’ll have to get Mike Freeman’s people on the job.”

“She can afford it,” Dino said.

“Well, I guess I’d better find out how stingy she is.”

“Let me know.”

They both hung up.

Stone walked out of his office into Joan’s and sat down. “I’ve just been on the phone with Dino, and we agree that you need some personal security.”

“Is Dino going to spring for that?”

“No, you are. You’re richer than the NYPD.”

“So you want me to put my hard-earned money into the pocket of Strategic Services?”

“You didn’t earn a cent of it. It was an inheritance.”

“Nevertheless.”

“You can’t enjoy spending it if you’re dead.”

“You’re pointing out the obvious.”

“Somebody has to.”

“How much is that going to cost?”

“Whatever it costs.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“I’ll talk with Mike about that, and he’ll have them in place before you get home from work.”

“Oh, all right. Tell him to send at least one cute one.”

“I’ll mention it.”

“I have a big bed.”

“They’re not going to sleep with you. That’s another service entirely, and Strategic Services doesn’t provide it.” He left — before she could make any other suggestions — and called Mike Freeman.

“I’ve been expecting to hear from you,” Mike said.

“How many people is it going to take?” Stone asked.

“Well, I surveyed the house, once, for a party, and I still have the plans. I think what we have to do is seal off a couple of floors for Joan to live on. That will mean two on the stairs, above and below, and one on the elevator. We’ll also need two men in the garage and one on the roof. I assume we’re expecting some sort of attention from Eddie Jr.?”

“That’s a reasonable assumption.”

“Does the guy have any athletic abilities I should know about?”

“What sort of abilities?”

“Can he climb the sides of buildings?”

“He’s not Spider-Man.”

“Is he a dead shot?”

“Well, he’s shot two women dead. Does that count?”

“Then I guess either he hits what he aims at, or he just gets close enough.”

“I think that’s a good guess. Oh, he may have bought a Mercedes station wagon, metallic beige. It was in the garage for at least a few hours, so he probably has a remote for the garage doors.”

“We’ll replace it and give Joan and her staff new devices.”

“Oh,” Stone remembered. “The interior and exterior locks have all been replaced with Israeli hardware.”

“Then we’ll need those keys from Joan. We don’t have time to pick those things.”

“So I hear.”

“What else do you hear?”

“Eddie Sr. may have left some loose hardware, in the form of handguns, lying around. The police are searching the house now. They’ll probably find them.”

“Let’s not count on that,” Mike said. “We’ll do our own search.”

“And Joan is packing her trusty, rusty .45. She used it to take out a home invader in East Hampton and the police returned it to her.”

“I’ve read the file on that. It’s my guess that Joan is going to be her own greatest threat to both herself and us.”

“You can’t go wrong assuming that,” Stone agreed. “She has a history of not being afraid to shoot people who invade her space — or mine.”

“That’s both attractive and scary,” Mike said.

“Well put. Why don’t you have your chat with her here instead of at her house. She’ll be less likely to blow you away.”

“I’ll be right over,” Mike said. “Tell her it will be me ringing the bell and not to shoot.”