A Safe House

16

Stone and Jenna had a talk about the hearing, and they decided to send her to the library in a rented car with a driver. He did not think it a good idea for him to escort her or to even send her in his own car. After all, they might need to leave town again, and he wanted no one to draw the conclusion that he was the person hiding her.

Stone tuned in to C-SPAN and watched the two-hour hearing. Jenna made her opening statement without notes, then took questions. Her answers were brief and to the point. The Republicans on the committee, led by the senior senator from Texas, tried to give her a hard time and, largely, failed. Jenna maintained her composure, and even scored some points.

Then, during a brief wide shot of the hearing room, Stone spotted a black cowboy hat. Slade was, indeed, represented in the room. Stone called Mike Freeman.

“Yes, Stone?”

“Are you watching the hearing?”

“Sort of, but I’m also doing the crossword.”

“There’s a man wearing a black Stetson in the audience. He is Slade’s enforcer, perhaps even assassin.”

“I’ve stopped doing the crossword now,” Mike said.

“Please contact the head of your detail and have him or her put four people into the audience and place them as closely as possible to the hat. The man’s name is Harley Quince, and I want him to know that we’re on him, so tell them to crowd him.”

“Consider it done.”

“Then call the head of security for the committee and ask him to brace Quince at the earliest opportunity and check him for ID and weapons that might not have set off a metal detector. Then get Jenna into her car and out of there. If you can, send a vehicle to follow her that can block any tail, if necessary. When she’s clear of all tails, then drive her into my garage and deposit her there. Tell the driver of her car to wait a few minutes before departing the garage.”

“Got it,” Mike said.

“Are you free for dinner this evening?”

“Yes.”

“Come here, drinks at six-thirty, and bring a date. Do you own a necktie?”

“I do.”

“Wear it.”

“Love to.”

They said goodbye and hung up. Stone waited for another wide shot of the room, and it was a while coming, but when it did, Stone saw four men sitting close to Quince who hadn’t been there before. He smiled at the sight. He called Dino and invited him and Viv to dinner as well. Then he called Lance Cabot.

“Yes, Stone?”

“Are you available in New York for dinner at my house?”

“I am. Black tie?”

“Just a tie,” Stone replied. “Did you watch the hearing?”

“As much of it as I could.”

“Jenna did well, don’t you think?”

“She did. I was proud of her.”

“When is Slade going to be arrested?”

“That’s complicated. After all, the man is a sitting United States senator. The papers and the TV shows will be all over him, though.”

“I’d like to see him in prison.”

“So would a lot of people, and that could happen yet. We need more than Jenna’s testimony. The Texans are already calling her a woman scorned.”

“That had to happen. See you at six-thirty for drinks. Oh, will you be bringing anyone?”

“Probably not, but maybe I’ll get lucky.” They both hung up. Stone called Helene and told her to prepare for another guest.

Stone got a call later: “Mike Freeman is my boss. I’m in your garage.”

“I’ll be right there.” He went to the garage and opened the rear door of a black-on-black limo. Jenna fell into his arms, and she was trembling.

“What’s wrong?” Stone asked, but she was gasping for breath. He rapped sharply on the driver’s window, and the darkened glass slid down. “What happened?”

“We picked up a tail — guy in a black cowboy hat. We lost him, but the incident upset her.”

“Okay, get going,” Stone said, pressing the remote to open the garage door. The limo drove out and away, followed by two other vehicles.

Stone held Jenna close. “It’s all right. You’re safe.”

She finally could draw a deep breath. “It was Quince,” she said.

“I know, but they lost him, so he didn’t follow you here.” He steered her inside and gave her a drink, stayed with her until she calmed down, then sent her upstairs.

When Lance entered the house that night, he took Stone aside. “I have good news,” he said.

“I can always use some of that.”

“The FBI has concentrated its investigation of Senator Slade. They’ve put a heavy and very noticeable detail on him, to make him nervous.”

“Tell them they need to put a separate detail on Harley Quince, he of the black Stetson. He’s dangerous.”

“The good news is they already have. The bad news is they’ve already lost him.”

“Oh, swell.”

“They’ll find him, eventually.”

“I hope ‘eventually’ is soon enough.”

“So do I.”

Stone double-locked the front door, and they went into the living room for drinks. “I found this guy wandering around the neighborhood, looking lost,” he said to the group, “so I invited him to dinner.” Then Stone said, “He works for the government, so keep your hand on your wallet.”