Distant Thunder

43

The Strategic Services team, led by their boss, Mike Freeman, arrived and went carefully through the house, checking the electrical, phone, and security systems for anomalies or intrusions. Then they assigned people to posts around the house. When they were done, Stone and Dino sat down in front of the fire in the study and had a drink.

“You want to get out of town?” Stone asked.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Well, in this country we have Los Angeles and Key West available. I think we’ve blown England for a while, and Lance says there are too many Russians in Paris for us to feel safe there.”

“Can we wait until Viv gets back tonight and check with her? She should be at home and in bed by around ten this evening.”

“Sure. Tell her she gets to choose.”

Stone called Vanessa.

“Hey. How you doing?”

“Not so good,” Stone said. “A woman tried to kill Dino and me at Clarke’s last night, and she seriously injured a detective after Dino had her arrested.”

“Good God! You’d better stay away from women.”

“That’s too difficult a cure,” Stone said. “Dino and I were just talking about abandoning New York for a bit. He wants to talk to Viv about it when she gets home tonight. Are you up for more travel?”

“Where did you have in mind?”

“At the moment, the choices are L.A. or Key West.”

“I’ve never been to Key West.”

“Have you been talking to your ex-husband?”

“Nope. Haven’t heard a word.”

“Try and keep it that way, until we figure this out.”

“Okay.”

“Not a word to anybody.”

“I swear.”

“I’ll call you when Dino has talked to Viv.”

“I’ll stay by the phone.” The both hung up.

“Vanessa is good to go — just about anywhere, I think.”

They were nearly ready for dinner when Viv called Dino, and they chatted for a while. Dino hung up. “Viv is good for Key West, but she’d like to wait until the day after tomorrow, so she can clear her head of the jet lag.”

“Okay, wheels up at ten am the day after tomorrow.”

“You’re on,” Dino said.

Stone called Vanessa and gave her the news, and she was on board for the trip.

“We’ll snatch you off the curb at nine am sharp, day after tomorrow,” he said.

“I’ll be there.”

Stone called Joan and asked her to alert Faith and her crew, then Dino turned their attention to dinner, which Fred was serving.

Stone packed lightly, then got into the car to pick up the Bacchettis and Vanessa, who lived in the same building. When he arrived, Vanessa’s luggage was sitting under the building’s awning, and he asked her doorman to load it into the Bentley. Viv and Dino appeared and loaded up.

Stone went to see the doorman at the desk. “Heard from Ms. Morgan?” he asked the man.

“No, sir. I brought her bags down, but that was fifteen minutes ago.”

“Call her, please.”

The doorman rang her apartment, waited, then hung up. “No reply, Mr. Barrington.”

Stone went and got Dino. “Get the doorman to give you a key to Vanessa’s apartment.” Dino did so, and they took the elevator to her floor. They stepped into the vestibule outside her door.

“Are you packing?” Dino asked.

“Yes.”

“Then get it out. I don’t like this.”

Stone took out his .380, pumped a round into the chamber, and set the safety.

Dino put the key into the lock and turned it slowly, then nodded to Stone. He pushed open the door, and Stone went in first, with Dino right behind. They cleared the kitchen and the living room, and Dino went toward the bedroom. “In here!” he shouted, and Stone joined him.

Stone found Dino in the bathroom, kneeling over Vanessa. There was blood on the floor.

“She’s done,” Dino said. “This probably happened while we were loading the luggage.”

Dino picked up the house phone.

“Yes, sir?”

“There may be a man or woman coming down the service stairs. Don’t interfere with them, but watch to see where they go and get a license plate, if you can. The police will be here momentarily.”

Stone called 911 and made a standard report, then they went and sat in the living room to wait for the detectives to arrive.

“This is bad,” Dino said. “We’re consistently underestimating these people.”