Shoot Him If He Runs

30

Holly and her party went directly to their table at the inn, but Irene was late and without Harry.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, “and Harry’s even later. He had some business he had to take care of at the marina.” She sat down and accepted a rum punch from the pitcher on the table.

“So Harry’s sticking around for a while?” Stone asked.

She smiled. “I must admit, I’m getting used to having him here. He’s good around the house, and a lot of things I was letting go are getting taken care of.”

“Good around the house,” Genevieve said, leering. “I’ll bet he is.”

“Well, that, too,” Irene admitted. “It’s been so long since I lived with a man, I’d forgotten what it was like.”

Holly felt the same way, but she didn’t say so. “What are your long-term plans, Irene? Are you going to make this your permanent home?”

“I guess it already is,” she replied, sipping her drink. “I’ve settled in very well, which wasn’t the case in St. Barts. I’m too old to start learning a language, and everybody here speaks English, and the government is stable-no bands of rebels in the hills. I think St. Marks may be heaven for me.”

“Does Harry feel the same way?”

“Well, he hasn’t been here long enough for that to happen, but he likes it, and he’s comfortable here. He may also get on his boat and sail away; we’ll see how it goes.”

“That’s a good attitude when dealing with men,” Genevieve said. “Just see how it goes.” She gave Dino a sidelong glance.

“On the other hand,” Dino said, “that attitude doesn’t work so well with women.”

“Why not?” Holly asked.

“Well, you go along for a while, seeing how it goes, and you think you’ve got it all figured out, then they change everything.”

Stone spoke up. “Well, if we’re going to listen to Dino’s theories about women, this is going to be a very long and boring evening.”

“Oh, here’s Harry,” Irene said, waving him over.

Harry bustled in, greeted everybody, took a seat and poured himself a glass of rum punch. A waiter appeared with a fresh pitcher and took the nearly empty one away. “Man, that’s good!” he enthused, taking a long draft of his drink.

“Did you get your work done at the marina?” Irene asked.

“Yep, the boat is in the best shape of its life.”

“You sticking around for a while?” Stone asked.

“Maybe. I’ve done Virginia, and Ft. Lauderdale seemed too crowded for me, though if I stay longer that would be the best place to sell the boat.” He smiled at Irene. “And nobody in either place cooks like Irene.” He slapped his belly. “I’ve been putting on weight.”

“I’m going to put you on a diet,” Irene said.

Stone felt his cell phone vibrate and stood up. “Excuse me; phone call.” He walked toward the bar. “Hello?”

“It’s Lance.”

“Hi, what’s up?”

“I tried to call Ginny, but she didn’t answer on either the satphone or her cell phone; is she all right?”

“Yes, of course; we’re at dinner at the inn with Irene Foster and her friend Harry. Why wouldn’t she be okay?”

“I’ve been unable to locate Bill Pepper or his wife, and I’m worried. I just wanted to be sure Ginny was all right.”

“Has this ever happened before?”

“Standard operating procedure is for Pepper to always be reachable within an hour of the initial contact.”

“I see.”

“I’d like you and Holly to go to his house, get inside and call me back.”

“I don’t think we can do that for a couple of hours without causing suspicion. Remember, we’re vacationers here; we can’t just make an excuse and walk away from a dinner party.”

“All right, when you’re rid of Irene and her friend, go there. Got a pencil?”

Stone took out a jotting pad and his pen. “Shoot.” He wrote down the address and the burglar alarm code. “Got it.”

“There’s a note in Pepper’s file: a key is taped to the underside of the mailbox. When you leave, reset the alarm with the same code and replace the key, then have Holly call me at home on the satphone.” He gave Stone the number.

“All right, we’ll be in touch.”

“Don’t take Dino and Genevieve with you; tell them that if you’re not back at the inn in two hours, to call me.”

“Thanks, Lance, Ginny will call you later.” Stone closed his phone and went back to the table. “Sorry about that; my secretary is working late and needed some client information for billing. She can’t always read my handwriting.”

Holly wasn’t buying that, but Stone wasn’t sending any signals, either. She tried to relax and get back to pumping Irene. “What’s new on Black Mountain?” she asked.

“Not much.”

“Do you ever see your neighbors up there?”

“Not often. The Pembertons and the Weatherbys still haven’t turned up, and we hardly ever spot Sir Winston outside of his car. I think it’s more neighborly farther down the mountain, where the houses are thicker on the ground. I got a letter from someone wanting to start a neighborhood association, but I can’t imagine what such a group would do. After all, we have the prime minister for a neighbor, and if there were a pothole, or something like that, his people would be all over it.”

“Have you ever even seen the Pembertons or the Weatherbys?” Holly asked.

“Never laid eyes on them.”

Harry spoke up. “Irene says you’re leaving on Saturday.”

“Yep,” Holly said. “I’ve got flying lessons scheduled for next week, and Stone claims he has to work, too.”

“Nobody has ever actually caught Stone working,” Dino said.

“How would you all like to come for a sail tomorrow?” Harry asked.

“That sounds like fun,” Holly said. “There was talk of tennis with some other guests; can we call you in the morning and let you know?”

“Sure, that’s fine. I just want to keep the barnacles off the hull.”

“I’ll fix us a lunch,” Irene said. “It would be fun.”

“We’d love it, if we’re able to come,” Holly said.

They continued with dinner, laughing and talking. When Irene and Harry finally said their good-byes, Stone and Holly began walking back toward the cottage.

“That was Lance on the phone,” he said. “He tried you, then tried me.”

“What’s up?”

“We have a little job to do for Lance.” He handed Dino a slip of paper. “Dino, we have to disappear for a while. If we’re not back in two hours, call Lance at that number and let him know.”

“Let him know what?”

“Just that we’re not back. You might try my cell phone before you call him.”

“Okay.” Dino put the number in his pocket.

Holly followed Stone to the car. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you on the way.”