Hit List

14

When Stone and Vanessa came downstairs an hour later, Mike Freeman filled them in on what he’d been trying to tell Stone when their call was cut off. On closer examination of the hit list, he’d recognized the names of many of the victims. More than that, he had a suspect in mind for the killer: an ex — Strategic Services employee named Sig Larkin.

Dino got out his cell phone and made a call to New York. He came back shortly. “Larkin has three arrests,” he said, “two bar fights and a domestic violence. He agreed to get counseling for anger management and was released, on his own recognizance. Oh, one other thing: everybody on the list worked at Strategic Services at one time or another.”

“I knew I recognized some of the names, though not all,” Mike said. “But I remember Sig Larkin.”

“Tell me all about Larkin,” Stone said.

Mike led the two of them to a sofa. “I’ll tell you what I can.”

Stone and Dino sat.

“Larkin was hired initially as a security guard on the building staff. He was licensed and had had such experience. Not long after that, our whole security system went blooey, and we didn’t have a tech in the building. Larkin looked at it and said he could fix it. He got some tools from his car, and in half an hour had it up and running again. I figured someone who could do that with a very complex system at first sight was wasted as a security guard, so I introduced him to the head of our tech services department, and he hired him as an installer and trained him on our systems. He was a quick study, and in a week or ten days he was making calls to homes and offices where we had installed systems.”

“You said he was obstreperous,” Stone said.

“Right, he couldn’t work with anybody else. Usually, we sent a two-man team, but we started sending him alone. He was all right in dealing with customers, but he didn’t like partnering with another tech. He took a swing at a supervisor, and after that, he worked alone.”

“How long was he there?”

“Five, six years,” Mike said. “Eventually, we decided that we needed somebody in-house full time, so we pulled him off business and house calls and gave him a desk downstairs.”

“Would he have met the people on the hit list while doing his work?”

“Sure, he was all over the building.”

“Why would he send the list to me? I didn’t work in the building.”

“No, but you were there a lot — board meetings, visits with me, luncheons, etcetera.”

“Buy why am I even on the list?”

“He must have some reason for remembering you unfavorably. Remember, this is a man who takes offense easily. You might have insulted him without even knowing it.”

“Anything else about him?”

“Our human resources department had a couple of mild complaints from women about him being handsy, and he was reprimanded twice. The second time, he quit. I never heard from him again.”

“How long ago was that?”

“A year, give or take.”

“Okay,” Dino said. “I’ll have my guys run him down and chat with him. We’ll want to hear from his wife, too, the one he beat up. Excuse me.” Dino went across the room and starting making calls.

The crews from both airplanes joined them for dinner, so they had a full table. Dino missed the first course but got there in time for the roast beef.

“It’s unlike you to be late for eating, Dino,” Stone said.

“Well, I got busy with your Mr. Sig Larkin.”

“Busy how?”

“Busy like Larkin. He moved out of his apartment a few months ago, owing three months’ rent. Funny, he could afford to pay it, but he didn’t.”

“How do you know he could afford it?”

“Because he won the lottery.”

“And he still didn’t pay his rent? How much did he win?”

“Oh, not the big-time stuff, but a neighbor said it was something in the range of two million dollars.”

“I guess he can afford an airplane ticket, then.”

“First class,” Dino replied.

“Some people, when they have a windfall, get drunk with power,” Mike said. “Think they can get away with anything, because they’re rich.”

“Gee, I wonder where they get that idea,” Dino said.

The crews had returned to their cottages, and everybody else was on cognac and coffee when a dog barked somewhere.

“Your dog is on guard,” Mike said.

“I don’t have a dog here,” Stone replied.

Mike picked up his cell phone and pressed a couple of buttons. “You hear the dog?” he asked. “They don’t have a dog. Find out where it’s coming from and what it’s barking at.”

Vanessa was looking uncomfortable. “That’s creepy,” she said.

“It’s better than the dog that didn’t bark in the night,” Mike replied. “I don’t really care who the warning comes from, as long as it comes.”

“Mike,” Stone said, “I’ve got a very nice matched pair of 12-gauge shotguns over there in the cabinet. You want to take a walk?”

Mike shook his head. “My people are looking for armed men; we don’t want them shooting us.”

“Good point,” Stone said.

Twenty minutes of silence and acute listening passed, then Mike’s phone rang. “Yeah? Good.” He hung up. “The dog’s owner came home and was greeted noisily.”

“Whew!” Vanessa said. “Can I persuade anybody to go to bed with me?”

Stone raised a hand. “I’ll volunteer. Good night, everybody. There’s more cognac in the cabinet, if you’re really thirsty.”

Upstairs, Vanessa led him into the room. “Why are the curtain’s drawn? It’s night.”

“Because it’s night. Old English tradition, drawing the curtains at dusk. I’ve always liked dusk. However, there is a point. Until a couple of decades ago, there wasn’t a lot of central heating in British houses, so they’d open the drapes to the sun in the morning, then pull them to keep the heat in at night, so they’re not entirely crazy.”

“I guess not,” she said, starting to remove clothing. Stone got done first and propped himself up in bed. “I enjoy watching you get undressed,” he said, as she slipped out of her bra.

“I enjoy being enjoyed.” She crawled in beside him. “And, as you are aware, I enjoy other things, too.”

He searched for the other things.

In the middle of the night, Stone’s cell phone rang. He picked it up from the bedside table and checked the caller ID. “Name blocked,” it read. He checked the recents; the calling number was blocked, too. Robocall? Probably. Still, he got out of bed and walked naked into the hallway. He stood at the rail and looked downstairs. No lights burning. He looked at the bedroom doors down the hallway: no lights there, either. He took a few deep breaths, then held one and listened. He could hear the big clock near the front door, but nothing between the ticks and the tocks. He exhaled and went back to bed.

He stretched out, and kicked off most of the covers to cool down, and found himself listening hard again. It was awfully quiet in the English countryside, he reflected, as he drifted off.