Criminal Mischief

50

After lunch the following day, while they were on coffee, a handsome runabout came alongside and offered an envelope, extended on a pole. Stone took it and found his name written in a florid style on the front. He opened it and found an invitation to dinner for the three of them that evening aboard Star of Saud at seven pm, black tie.

Stone looked at the boatman who shouted, “Yes? No?”

Stone nodded. “Yes!” he shouted back.

The man saluted him and drove away. Stone looked around: the big yacht was nowhere in sight.

“What was that about?” Brio asked.

“We’ve been invited to dinner aboard the royal yacht, Star of Saud,” Stone said, handing her the envelope.

“Did we accept?”

“I decided for all of us: yes. I want to get a look at her, up close.”

“Where is she?” Wilcox asked, looking around.

“A location wasn’t specified, but they knew where to find us,” Stone said. “I expect she’ll turn up.”

They were anchored in what passed for a cove, a mere indentation in the shoreline, when Star appeared at around five o’clock and with a great clatter of machinery and chain, dropped anchor a hundred yards away. Music — Vivaldi, Stone thought — wafted faintly across the water. The captain lowered the teak boarding steps for later use.

Everyone came on deck, dressed for dinner, at six-thirty, and at just before seven, the runabout they had seen earlier was lowered from an upper deck and motored over to their yacht. The captain of their yacht handed Stone a slip of paper. “This is my cell number. Call me if you need a ride back.” The crew assisted them with boarding the tender, then they motored back to Star, which had larger and more accommodating boarding steps.

A white-jacketed crew member met them on the deck and invited them to follow him to the afterdeck for cocktails, and they did so.

A single man sat on the afterdeck, looking out to sea. He rose to greet them. He wore a naval-style dress uniform, or mess kit, trimmed with gold braid. It took Stone a moment to recognize Colonel Said. Hands were shaken all round, they sat down, and a steward took drink orders.

“Colonel,” Stone said, “I had not expected to see you at sea. Are you taking a vacation?”

“I am no longer a colonel,” Said said. “I had thought you would have heard.”

“Have you fallen out of favor with the sultan?” Wilcox asked.

“The sultan is now a prisoner in his own dungeon,” Said said. “I am commanding general of all of Saud’s armed forces.”

Everyone was stunned into silence for a moment. Finally, Stone managed to speak, “I had not noticed the five-star insignia,” he said. “We saw a mention in the International New York Times of rumors that the sultan had put down a rebellion.”

“Hardly,” Said said. “It was a bloodless coup.”

“Well,” Wilcox said, “I suppose congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you.”

Wilcox raised his glass. “The commanding general,” he said, and they all drank. “In what condition is the sultan?” Wilcox asked.

“The sultan is unhappy.”

“What are your intentions toward him?” Wilcox asked. “I ask these questions in my official capacity.”

“He will receive a trial,” Said said.

“What will be the charges?”

“I have left that in the hands of the judiciary. That is why I am here, to avoid even the appearance of influencing the court.”

“Will the trial be public?”

“That, also, is in the hands of the court.”

“If I may say so, while a public trial would be admirable in the eyes of the world, it would give the sultan an opportunity to both defend himself and to make accusations. It could be disruptive.”

“The capital and the people are serene, as are the military. We have nothing to fear from the sultan’s words. And while he has many wives and sons, he has never named a successor. His eldest son, an obvious candidate, has declared his personal loyalty to me, and has said that he has no wish to rule.”

“Then,” Stone said, “why are you here?”

“A little vacation, as you said. Others are working to smooth my path back. And after a few days or, perhaps, weeks, I shall return to Saud and take up my new position.”

Wilcox spoke up again, “Have the Saudi Arabians expressed any view on the subject of the coup?”

“Their position is hands-off, and they have been hospitable to me. That said, no one but the king and you three know where I am. The relaunch of the yacht after her refitting came at an opportune moment.”

“She is quite beautiful,” Stone said.

“There is still a little work to be done on her. When everything is in order, I shall see that you all have the first tour.”

“That would be very kind of you,” Stone replied.

There was a brief silence, then Said spoke again, “I expect there is something you might wish to ask me,” he said, with a slightly playful tone.

“May I?” Stone asked.

“Certainly, Mr. Barrington.”

“General, where is Viktor Zanian?”