Dead In The Water

CHAPTER 62

Stone dreamed that he and Allison were making love. Then, just as he was about to come, she vanished, and the bed was empty. He stirred and turned over, kicking off the covers. Cool fingers brushed the damp hair from his forehead. He opened his eyes.

"You were dreaming," Allison said.

Stone blinked rapidly. "I still am." He closed his eyes and tried to recapture the dream.

"Stone," she said, quietly but insistently.

Stone jerked as if he had received an electric shock. "Whaaat!" he yelled, sitting up and pushing away from her. He seemed to go from deep sleep to maximum adrenaline in a fraction of a second. His heart hammered against his rib cage, and he made himself look at her. She seemed perfectly normal.

"It's all right, Stone," she said. "Really it is. You're awake; I'm here; I'm alive."

Stone took a deep breath and tried to stop shaking. A moment ago, he had been making love to this woman, and now he was frightened and confused. "Tell me," he said, then took another deep breath.

"I'm sorry to have put you through this," Allison said, "but it had to be done this way. I didn't know for sure myself when they marched me into the courtyard and I saw the gallows. I thought it hadn't worked, that I was done for."

"That what hadn't worked?" Stone panted.

"Leslie's plan."

"What plan?"

"He insisted that I shouldn't tell you; he wanted absolute secrecy."

Stone was recovering from his shock now. "Allison, what the hell are you talking about?"

"We bribed the prime minister."

"You what?"

"Leslie didn't think you would let him do it; that's why we didn't tell you."

"Well, if he had suggested that, I suppose I would have been against it. I would have thought it very risky."

"He told me what we had to do that day out at his cottage, when he sent you for the milk." "The milk he didn't need," Stone said, half to himself.

"Yes, that milk. While you were gone, Leslie told me what he had in mind."

"And what did he have in mind?"

"He said that the only thing that worked with these people was money and not even that would work with Sir Winston Sutherland-he was already too committed to a conviction. The prime minister, though, was another matter. He was retiring, and there was always the chance that he hadn't stolen enough to make him happy, Leslie said."

"And how did Leslie go about this?"

"He said nothing to Sutherland; in fact, he said nothing to anybody. When Leslie handed the appeal to judge, there was a cashier's check for a million dollars in the envelope, along with the appeal document."

"Jesus Christ."

"That's pretty much what I said. It seemed awfully risky, until you consider that at that moment, I had already been convicted and that the prime minister had no motivation to overturn the appeal."

"Didn't the flood of faxes and telephone calls from the States mean anything at all?"

"Merely a nuisance to the old man. He knew he Wouldn't be around all that much longer, and that he wouldn't have to deal with any consequences. Sir Winston is, apparently, his hand-picked boy, and he could deal with the aftermath."

"Does Leslie know he succeeded with his bribe?"

She nodded. "When he made that last phone call to the prime minister from the jail, he was given the word, but he couldn't tell me, because you and the priest were there."

"What about Sir Winston?"

"What about him?"

"Does he know about the deal?"

"He knows nothing. That's why I have to get out of here now and why you can't say anything to anybody, either here or in the States. Does the press know about the hanging?"

Stone nodded, "Bill Eggers, in New York, had a press release sent out."

"Good; let's leave it that way."

"For how long?"

"I don't know. Until I let you know it's okay."

The rush of adrenaline was gone now, and Stone was sagging. "What happened after they took you into the courtyard?"

"They whisked me out of the building and into a car and delivered me here, to the motor yacht."

"But I saw it leaving earlier this evening."

"I was already aboard. I made them stop outside the harbor and bring me back in the tender. I had to see you and explain." She looked at him oddly. "Aren't you at all glad to see me?"

He put his arms around her and held her close. "You bet I am," he whispered.

"I'm so sorry to have put you through all this, but there just wasn't any other way."

He held her back and looked at her. "You can read your obituary in the Times in a couple of days, I expect."

She smiled. "Well, that will be fun. I'd just as soon be dead for a little while. I have a lot to do, and I can do it better without a lot of reporters and cameras around. Promise me you'll keep my secret until you hear from me."

"I think that comes under the heading of attorney-client confidentiality."

"Don't tell even Hilary Kramer and Jim Forrester. They'd spill the beans."

"As you wish."

She looked at her watch. "I have to get going; I've a long way to travel."

He got out of bed and walked into the saloon with switching on the chart table light. "Your duffel is Over there," he said, indicating the sofa.

She went and picked it up. "Thanks; a girl can't get far without her makeup."

He picked up the envelope on the chart table and began to open it, but she took it from him and put it back.

"Not now," she said. "You can do that when I'm gone. Right now, you have to kiss me good-bye." She put her arms around his waist, pressed her body against his, and kissed him for a long time.

"You sure you, have to rush off?" he breathed in her ear.

"I wish I didn't, but I do. I'll make it up to you later."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Stone," she said, an uncertainty creeping into her voice, "that envelope contains my last wishes; I want you to promise me that you'll honor them in every respect, as if I really were dead."

"All right, I promise."

She kissed him again. "The days and nights I spent with you on this boat were among the happiest of my life. Remember that, too."

"How could I forget it?"

She kissed him again, grabbed the duffel, and ran up the companionway stairs.

He followed her on deck and watched her get back into the Boston Whaler, which putted slowly away from the yacht. He didn't hear the engine rev up until it was out of sight around a corner of the harbor.

Stone went back below, went to the bar, and poured himself a brandy. His heart was still beating very fast, and he was going to have to wind down a bit if he expected to get any sleep that night. He sat down at the chart table and picked up Allison's envelope, ripping it open. Inside were a letter, some papers, and a U.S. Coast Guard yacht document. He picked up the letter.

Dear Stone,

With any luck, there should be a happy ending to all this.

Don't be mad at Leslie; I swore him to silence. I've paid his fee, and yours is in the envelope with this letter.

I will be very angry if you feel I'm being foolish, and I don't want to hear a word about it from you. This all feels very right to me.

The yacht, Expansive, is yours now, to do with what you will.

Unfortunately, Libby's dear old mother is yours, too, and you can handle that situation as you see fit.

Whatever happens, wherever I go, I will always be grateful to you for the time we spent together and for all your hard work. I hope next year you can have a better sailing vacation.

With great affection,

Allison

Stone put down the letter and went through the other documents. There was one conveying the yacht to him as his fee for legal services, and the Coast Guard, U.S. Customs, and State of Connecticut documents were all signed, notarized, and in perfect order.

Stone took a stiff gulp of brandy. Now he would never get any sleep on this night.