Criminal Mischief

27

They landed at Oahu and, after clearing customs, borrowed a golf cart and searched the FBOs for the other Gulfstream. Nothing.

The good news was that, when they checked into the Royal Hawaiian, Dino’s laundry was on his bed.

“Feel better?” Stone asked.

“You bet your ass.”

“Do you want the music and menu of the main dining room, or something more intimate?”

“I want a steak,” Dino said.

They found another restaurant in the hotel and ordered steaks.

When they got back to their suite, there was an envelope slipped under the door. Written on Royal Hawaiian stationery, it read: I want more cookies. It was signed, Felix. Stone handed it to Dino.

“They’re here?” Dino asked.

“Apparently, but under what name?”

“What was the name last time?”

“Marty and Frances, but I can’t remember their last names. Can you?”

“Ah, no.”

Stone dug out his notebook and looked up a number.

“Who are you calling?” Dino asked.

“Felix.”

“Does he have his own phone?”

“He has his own number.”

A woman answered. “Yes?”

“I was looking for Felix,” Stone said. “Isn’t this his number?”

She laughed. “Well, now that you mention it. Felix is indisposed at the moment. He’s walking Marty on the beach.”

“How long does this operation usually take?”

“Half an hour, but they’ve already been gone for twenty minutes.”

“Poor planning on my part,” Stone said. “Perhaps lunch tomorrow?”

“May I bring Felix?”

“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

“Where and when?”

“In my palatial suite.” He gave her the number.

“Will Fred be there?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it, and I will. Noon?”

“Felix and I will look forward to it.” She hung up.

“I take it I’m persona non grata at lunch tomorrow,” Dino said.

“You’re very perceptive.”

“She’s bringing Felix?”

“Yes.”

“You’d better remember to order him something from room service. He’s very persistent, as I recall.”

“You have a point.”

Dino yawned. “I don’t know when to get sleepy anymore.”

“I think now is a good time,” Stone said. “Good night.”

The following day, Stone called room service and ordered two lobster salads, a bottle of good chardonnay, lunch for a dog, and a bag of dog treats, all for delivery at, and not before, one pm. “Don’t be early,” he said to them.

At one minute past noon, Stone’s doorbell rang, and he opened it to find Frances and Felix standing there. He let them in, gave Felix a treat, then snaked an arm around her waist and kissed Frances, getting a much warmer reception than he had expected.

“What time is lunch?” she asked, a little breathlessly.

“Not before one o’clock,” he said, hanging out the do not disturb sign and locking the door. He followed her directly to the bedroom, where she flung back the covers, then undid something and her wraparound dress unwrapped.

Stone was in bed to greet her when she finished. “We couldn’t manage this last time,” he said.

“I was sorry about that,” she replied, taking him in her hand, “but now we can make up for it.” She squeezed. “Oh, that was quick.”

“No, you were quick. It’s just following instructions.”

Frances rolled over and pulled him on top of her. “New instructions,” she said.

A few minutes before one, Stone unlocked the front door and removed the do not disturb sign from the doorknob, then he found them both robes. “Let’s not shock the room-service waiter,” he said.

“I’ll leave that to you,” she said. “I’m having lunch right here, and I’m not dressing for the occasion.”

The doorbell rang precisely at one o’clock. Stone received the tray on wheels, signed the check, and handed it back. “I’ll take it from here,” he said to the waiter, replacing the sign and locking the door.

He wheeled the tray into the bedroom. “We won’t be disturbed,” he said. He served Felix first, then piled up some pillows and handed Frances her lobster salad. “I hope you’re not allergic to shellfish,” he said, then served himself and poured two glasses of wine and slipped in beside her.

“How long are you here for?” she asked.

“That depends on how long you’re here for,” Stone replied.

“Only a day or two,” she said.

“Then I’ll be here a day or two. What is your last name?” Stone asked.

“You pick one, and that’s who I’ll be,” she replied.

“I don’t have a preference, as long as I can reach you through Felix. Where will you go from here?”

“To be determined by Marty,” she said.

“What is Marty’s last name?”

“Whatever you choose for me.”

“Is he running from somebody?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because his routing is odd.”

“So is yours. What brought you back here?” she asked.

“I got bored with flying long legs, and when I discovered that it was going to take a week of paperwork to get into Hong Kong, I said, ‘The hell with it, let’s go back to the States. I’ve got enough suits.’ ”

“Why are you interested in Marty?”

“Because where he goes, you go.”

“That’s very flattering,” she said.

“Why don’t you just switch Gulfstreams and come with me?”

“First time I’ve had an offer involving two Gulfstreams.”

“Does it appeal to you?”

“It does, but there’s a hitch.”

“So what? There’s always a hitch. They’re there to be unhitched.”

“This one is financial. When I met Marty, I let him invest all my money.”

“Uh-oh,” Stone said. “This is beginning to sound familiar. Has he been in the news lately?”

“Oh, that’s right, you never get the news.”

“I get the occasional International New York Times.”

“Is there something in it about Marty today?”

“I haven’t read it yet,” Stone said. “All I could think about was lunch with you.”

“Are you interested in the reward for Marty?”

“How much is the reward?”

“Ten million dollars.”

“I don’t need another ten million.”

She laughed. “Good answer.”

“How much are you into Marty for?”

“Two million, plus.”

“What are your chances of getting it out of him?”

“I’m not sure. He keeps saying he’ll give it to me whenever I want it, but then he dodges.”

“Why don’t you just tell him to give you your money, or you’ll turn him in for the reward?”

Frances sighed. “Because then he’d kill me. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we travel with a pair of assassins aboard.”

“I had not noticed,” he said, wondering how he could have been so stupid. Stone set their clean dishes on the tray, then pushed it out of the room and into the hallway. When he came back, she had kicked off the covers and was spread-eagle on the bed.

Stone put Marty right out of his mind.