Dead In The Water

CHAPTER 10

Thomas drove while Stone sat beside him and Allison took the backseat. For all of Stone's life, extreme worry had caused him to become sleepy, and right now he was having a very hard time staying awake.

"God, but I'm glad to be out of that place," Allison said.

"Were you treated all right?" Thomas asked.

"Well, yes, and contrary to what I've heard about jail, the food was pretty good. I had a cell to myself, and except for the open toilet, it wasn't bad."

"I'm glad to hear it," Thomas replied.

"I had some absolutely fascinating conversations with the woman in the next cell, too; she was in for shoplifting, and it wasn't her first time, so she knew the drill. Stone, I can't thank you enough for getting me out of there."

Stone stirred from his lassitude. "Don't mention it," he said.

They pulled up at the restaurant, and Stone and Allison got out so that Thomas could park the car. An American-looking man was seated at the bar, drinking what looked like a gin and tonic; his suit and briefcase made him look out of place, made him look like an insurance salesman. He seemed to recognize Allison and approached her, handing her a card. "Mrs.Manning, I wonder if I could speak with you for a few minutes."

Stone turned to Allison. "If you don't need me for a moment, I have some phone calls to make."

"Go right ahead," she said to him, then turned to the other man. "Of course," she said,"let's take a table."

Stone went up to his new room over the bar, threw his newly acquired barrister's robe at the wall, and called Bill Eggers.

"Yes, Stone, are we a go for the London man?"

"I'm afraid not, Bill; it seems I've wasted his time and yours."

"Why? What happened?"

"Bill, I hardly know where to begin: I have this perfectly innocent woman for a client who it seems is being railroaded by the judicial system in this godforsaken island country, and unless I can think of something fast they're going to hang her."

"Hang her?"

"I'm afraid so." Stone explained the chain of events thus far.

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard," Eggers said when Stone had finished.

"I wish I were hearing about it instead of living it," Stone said.

"And your barrister is gaga?"

"At least some of the time; he appeared to be perfectly normal in court, except that he seemed to forget that we were bringing in the London man."

"Well, at least he knows the score down there; that's worth something."

"I hope you're right, but it's Tuesday, and I'm going to have to be prepared to try this case next Monday morning."

"Is there anything else I can do to help?"

"Not right now; believe me, I'll call in a hurry if there is."

"I'm here if you need me," Eggers said, then hung up.

Stone made another call, to Bob Cantor, a retired cop who had been helpful on a previous Case.

"Hello?"

"Bob, it's Stone Barrington."

"Hi, Stone; aren't you supposed to be on vacation?"

"I'd rather not talk about that; I'm in big trouble on a case, and I want you to do some things for me. Can you clear the decks for the next week?"

"Sure; I'm not all that busy."

"Good. The first thing I want you to do is to get on a plane for the Canary Islands."

"Where the hell is that?"

"It's a Spanish possession a few hundred miles out in the Atlantic, off North Africa."

"Back up here, Stone; tell me what's going on."

Stone related the events of the past few days.

"That's the craziest thing I ever heard," Cantor said. "They want to hang her?"

"That's right. Now look, their last landfall before St.Marks was the Canaries; they were in Las Palmas, the capital, for some work on the boat, then they stopped on the southernmost island, which is called Puerto Rico, their last night before starting the transatlantic. I want you to go to both places and ask about the yacht, which is called Expansive."

"Got that," Cantor said, obviously scribbling.

"Talk to anybody who saw them, talked to them, had a meal with them, saw how they interacted."

"What exactly are you looking for?"

"Straws to grasp at; God knows I've got nothing else. See if you can find me a witness who can, from personal experience, characterize the relationship between Paul Manning and his wife during the last few days they were in the Canaries-ideally somebody who can say he saw a lot of them and that they obviously adored each other."

"Anything else?"

"Anything else you can possibly think of. You understand the situation now and something of what I need. If I'm going to get this woman off I'm pretty much going to have to prove that she didn't do it."

"That's impossible," Cantor said. "There were no witnesses."

"I'm going to have to do it anyway."

"What airline goes to the Canaries?"

"I haven't the faintest idea; call my secretary and tell her to book it for you, tonight if possible."

"Right. Anything else?"

"Yes, I want you to dig up everything you can on Paul Manning for me-library, Internet, credit report, criminal record, military record, anything you possibly can before you leave for Las Palmas. FedEx it to me here." He gave Cantor the address and phone and fax numbers. "If you can think of any other avenue to pursue, pursue it; if you need outside help, hire it; if you have any ideas for me, fax them, okay?"

"I'm on it," Cantor said, then hung up.

Stone called his secretary. "Hi, Alma."

"Hi, Stone. I saw Arrington this morning; why is she still here?"

"Don't ask; she's not coming. I'm going to be busy down here for at least another week, so scrub anything I've scheduled through the middle of next week-reschedule or tell them I'll call as soon as I'm back."

"Okay."

"Any calls or correspondence worth bothering with?"

"Nothing that won't wait until you're back."

"Oh; call one of the judges' clerks and find out where they buy robes, then get one in my size and FedEx it to me."

"You doing some judging down there?"

"I'll explain later. Is Arrington upstairs?"

"She was on the way out when I saw her; a limo was waiting for her."

"I'll call her later, then." He gave her his address and numbers. "You can always leave a message at the bar if I'm not here. I'm still sleeping on the boat; it's all the use I'm getting out of it."

"Okay; anything else?"

"Oh, I almost forgot: Bob Cantor is going to call you in a minute about some travel arrangements. Get him on a plane tonight, if possible, and give him a thousand dollars in cash for expenses. Anything else he needs, get it for him, all right?"

"All right."

Stone hung up. He felt a little better now that he was actually doing something about the mess he was in. He went back downstairs just as Allison was saying goodbye to the businessman.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"An investigator from Paul's insurance company. If we need any cash for legal expenses, it'll be in my bank account in Greenwich shortly."

"Good; we ought to give Leslie Hewitt his fee up front; it's usual in this kind of case." "He's such a sweet old man,"she said. "I just loved him."

"Yeah," Stone said. "Allison," he said, taking her arm and leading her to a table, "you and I have to talk, and right now."

"Sure," she said. "You're looking pretty grim."

"I'm feeling pretty grim, and I'm going to tell you why." He pulled out a chair for her and sat her down, then took a deep breath and started in.