Cold Paradise

50

Stone was woken from a sound sleep by the phone next to his bed. He picked it up. “Hello,” he said, sleepily. He looked at the bedside clock. It was shortly after ten a.m.

“Stone? It’s Fred Williamson. Can you have Mrs. Manning at the courthouse at three o’clock this afternoon?”

“Why?”

“We’ve got a hearing before Judge Coronado in his chambers at that time.”

“Why does Mrs. Manning have to be there?”

“This is an unusual situation, and the judge wants to talk to the couple face-to-face.”

“But why? I thought we could do it with just their attorneys.”

“He wants to know what the big rush is, I guess; whether these people are for real.”

For real? Stone thought. They are definitely not for real. “Have you spoken to Ed Ginsky?”

“Yes. He says he can have his client there.”

“Well, okay,” Stone said. “We’ll be there.”

“The judge is going to ask some questions, like how long have the Mannings lived in Florida. You know the answer to that one?”

“I’ll have to ask Mrs. Manning.”

“This whole petition is based on the fact that they’re Florida residents. Be sure you tell her that.”

“All right. Have you told Ginsky about this?”

“Yes. He says his client will bring proof of Florida residency. The judge is going to ask these people why they want a divorce, and there shouldn’t be any disagreement between them about that.”

“You told Ginsky that, too?”

“Yes.”

“All right.”

“I’ll see you at three o’clock in Judge Coronado’s chambers, which are behind courtroom A.”

“Good, see you then.”

Stone got dressed and found Liz and Thad having breakfast on deck. “Good news,” he said.

“I’m always up for good news,” Thad said.

“Liz, you’re getting divorced this afternoon.”

“Wonderful!” she nearly shouted.

“You and I have to appear in the chambers of a Judge Coronado this afternoon at three. Paul and his attorney will be there, too.”

“I don’t want to do that,” she said.

“I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter,” Stone said.

“I won’t be in the same room with him.”

“Look, this is not the first divorce this judge has heard. He’s accustomed to people who aren’t speaking to each other.”

“Liz,” Thad said, “Stone has gone to a lot of trouble to get this thing resolved this week. This is only going to take a few minutes, right, Stone?”

“That’s right. I shouldn’t think it would take more than half an hour, at the most.”

“Oh, all right,” Liz said. “I don’t have to talk to him, do I?”

“No, but you’ll have to talk. The judge will ask you both some questions, and be warned, he’s not going to like it if you argue about the answers. Just don’t disagree with Paul.”

“That may be difficult,” she said.

“Liz, this is the quickest, quietest way possible to get you out of this marriage. Just do what you have to do,” Thad said.

“All right, darling,” she said, and put her hand on his.

“Can I be there?” Thad asked. “Liz might feel better.”

“Absolutely not,” Stone said. “You’re a very recognizable figure in Palm Beach, and I don’t want you anywhere near that courthouse.”

“Oh, all right,” Thad said. “Sit down and have some breakfast.”

Juanito appeared, and Stone ordered. “Now, Liz, tell me: How long have you been a Florida resident?”

“Since I married Winston, I guess. Three years. He was a Florida resident well before that, for tax reasons.”

“The judge will ask you that.”

“What about Paul? He’s not a Florida resident. At least, I don’t think he is.”

“His lawyer says he can show proof of residency. The judge will ask you things like how long you’ve been married, and he’s going to ask you why you want a divorce. What are you going to tell him?”

“That my husband led me into a life of crime and that, when he murdered three people, I didn’t want to live with him anymore.”

“No, no, no,” Stone said. “You want to be general, not specific.”

“You mean like, we just grew apart over the years?”

“That’s better. And if he asks Paul first, just go along with whatever he says. Don’t worry, he has a very good lawyer, and he will have been well briefed.”

“Whatever you say,” she said.

“That’s the right answer, too. Now, another thing. Your agreement with Paul requires you to wire-transfer the money into his lawyer’s trust account as soon as the divorce is final. What I’d like is for you to transfer the money to my trust account today, and I’ll take it from there.”

“The two million dollars?” she asked.

“That’s right.”

“God, but I hate to give that son of a bitch any money.”

“Liz, get a grip. You’ve already signed an agreement to that effect. Yesterday, you were delighted to get off so cheaply.”

“Liz, honey,” Thad said, “two million dollars is small change to me. Let me take care of that.”

“I couldn’t let you do that,” Liz replied.

“No, really. I’d consider it a great favor if you’d let me do that”

“Oh, Thad,” she said, putting her hand on his cheek. “You’re so sweet.”

Thad turned to Stone. “I’ll move the money this morning.”

“You’re sure that’s the way you want to do this?”

“Yes, I am.”

Stone watched, amazed, as they kissed.

Later, when they were driving to the golf course, Stone brought Dino up to date.

Dino’s mouth fell open. “He’s giving her two million bucks?”

“Like Thad says, it’s small change to him.”

“Holy mother! She’s good, isn’t she? She meets this guy, what, three weeks ago, and now he’s paying her ex-husband two million bucks to go away?”

“You’ve got it.”

“Well, Thad is either the sweetest guy in the world or the dumbest, or both,” Dino said.

“Don’t talk about my client that way,” Stone said.

“Yeah, yeah, I know; he pays his legal bills.”

“That’s very important,” Stone said.

“And you don’t even know if he’s really going to go away.”

“Oh, I know that,” Stone said. “When the FBI takes him away, he’ll be gone.”

“How do you know they can get a conviction?” Dino asked. “After all, when he gets Thad’s two million, he’s going to be able to afford a very good lawyer.”

“I thought you said they have his fingerprint on a note he handed a teller.”

“Sure they do,” Dino said. “Gee, I hope the FBI hasn’t misplaced it during the years that have passed since the robbery. They would never do that, would they?”

“They’ll have the tellers’ identification of Manning,” Stone said.

“How do you know? Maybe he dressed up like Ronald McDonald. And it’s been four years since the last robbery. I’d be willing to bet you that at least one of the four tellers is dead, and a couple more are retired and living in Costa Rica or someplace, and that the remaining one has come down with Alzheimer’s. And even if one of them is still around and can identify Manning, Ginsky is going to turn him inside out on the witness stand. ”But, sir, it’s been four years since you say you saw the robber, and you also say he was wearing a red wig, a big nose and floppy shoes. How could you possibly say that man is my client?“”

“You’re starting to annoy me, Dino.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, you’re not nearly as annoyed as you’re going to be when Manning gets off scot-free and hires somebody to put his ex-wife at the bottom of Lake Worth in a concrete bikini.”

Stone ran a red light, thinking about that.