Lucid Intervals

21

They found Wight before the fireplace, momentarily alone.

“Lord Wight,” Stone said, “I’d like to introduce you to Mr. William Eggers.”

Wight nodded. “Howjado?”

“Bill is the managing partner of the law firm of Woodman and Weld. I’m of counsel to the firm.”

“Oh, yes,” Wight said, suddenly interested. “I believe someone in London mentioned your firm to me in a favorable light.”

“That’s very gratifying,” Eggers said.

“Perhaps we should have a chat in more businesslike surroundings.”

“If you’re going to be in New York a few days, why don’t you come up to our offices and have lunch with Stone and me?”

“I’d like that,” Wight said. “Are you available tomorrow?”

“I am,” Eggers replied, “and I’m sure Stone is, too.”

“Of course,” Stone said.

“We’re in the Seagram Building on Park Avenue,” Eggers said. “May we say twelve-thirty tomorrow?”

“Very good,” Wight replied. “I know the building, of course.”

The butler stood at the door. “The ambassador invites you to rejoin the ladies,” he said more quietly than usual.

As Stone was leaving the study, Smith materialized at his elbow. “A word?” he said.

Stone remained in the study with him while the others made their way out. “Certainly,” he replied.

“Are you aware of Lord Wight’s former relationship to Stanley Whitestone?”

“I’ve heard it mentioned,” Stone said. “Are you sure it’s former?”

“Lord Wight has been at some pains the past few years to make it seem so.”

“Perhaps all is not what it seems,” Stone pointed out.

“Should you discover that they are still… acquainted, you must be careful not to let Wight know that you know.”

“Why not?”

“Because Wight is also… acquainted with some dangerous people who would not like you or anyone else to know.”

“What do you mean by ‘dangerous’?” Stone asked.

“Wight is not entirely his own man,” Smith said, “and some of his associates have a way of making people who annoy them disappear.”

“I’ll certainly keep that in mind,” Stone said. “Now, shall we join the ladies?” And they did so.

THE EVENING WAS over promptly at ten-thirty, and Stone was careful to say nothing of his impending meeting while they were in the car. They were let into the house by Jake Musket.

“Nothing to report,” Musket said, then saw them onto the elevator.

“Who was the man you introduced to Wight?” Felicity asked as they moved upward.

Smith had apparently had a word with her. “The managing partner at Woodman and Weld,” Stone replied. “Bill Eggers.”

“Why did you make the introduction?”

“Bill asked me to; he’s interested in Wight as a possible client.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” she asked.

“Bill does. He and I are having lunch with Wight tomorrow at the firm’s offices.”

“I don’t suppose you can get out of it.”

“Why should I want to do that?” Stone asked. “It might give me an opportunity to raise the subject of Stanley Whitestone again.”

“I believe Smith had a word with you.”

“He did. Told me that Wight has dangerous associates.”

They reached the bedroom, and Felicity turned so that Stone could unzip her dress. “Smith is right,” she said. “I shouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Neither would I,” Stone said, moving her hair aside and kissing the nape of her neck.

She stepped out of her dress and tossed it onto a chair.

Stone waited until after they had attended to each other’s desires before he spoke again. “Felicity, are you telling me all I need to know about Whitestone and Wight?”

“I’ve told you all I can,” she replied.

“That may not be all I need to know,” he said.

“Go to sleep,” she commanded.

STONE GOT TO the offices of Woodman & Weld a few minutes early and found Eggers alone in his office. He sat down. “What do you know about Lord Wight?” he asked.

“We have a London office, as you know,” Eggers said. “It’s in a building that Wight’s company built and manages.”

“So he’s your landlord, and that’s it?”

“A solicitor I know in London tells me that Wight is a large consumer of legal services,” Eggers said.

“Given his past, do you want to be seen to represent him?”

Eggers shrugged. “His reputation in this country is better than in his own, and I happen to know that he has acquired two building sites in midtown. He also owns a building on East Fifty-seventh Street that houses Strategic Services.”

Stone knew that Strategic Services was one of the two or three largest private security companies in the United States. “Have you had any dealings with them?” he asked.

“I’ve played tennis with Jim Hackett a couple of times at the Racquet Club,” Eggers replied, referring to the owner of the company. “We had a drink afterward last week, and I think he might be a good source of referrals.”

“He sounds worth cultivating,” Stone said. “I don’t know much about his background.”

“He’s ex-Paratroop Regiment.”

“He’s British?”

“Scottish, but you wouldn’t know it to talk to him,” Eggers said. “He came to this country twenty-five years ago, and he’s very much assimilated.”

“He has a lot of ex-special ops people on staff, doesn’t he?”

“That’s the rumor,” Eggers said. “And from both sides of the Atlantic. His corporate protection people are mostly former U.S. Secret Service.”

“I don’t know a lot about his company,” Stone said, “but I have the impression that they have been mixed up in some unsavory things, for their clients.”

“I’ve never heard of any evidence to support that,” Eggers said, “but any outfit that’s as secretive as Strategic Services is bound to generate rumors. They never speak to the press, never comment on their work or so much as acknowledge the name of a client.”

“I can see how that might perk up some ears,” Stone said.

Eggers’s phone buzzed, and he picked it up. “Yes? Please send him to my dining room.” He hung up. “Our possible future client has arrived,” he said.