Hit List

24

They had finished dinner, and Stone was making the rounds with the brandy bottle, when a sound came from outside the house. Everybody’s head turned toward the front door.

“What was that?” Viv asked.

Dino was on his feet. “I’m going to find out,” he said, pulling his gun and heading that way.

Rawls was right behind him. “Stone? You coming?”

“My gun is upstairs,” Stone said, rising. “Be right with you.” He got up and started for the stairs. When he was halfway up, he heard the door open and Dino shouting.

“Freeze!” Dino yelled.

Three or four gunshots followed, some louder than the others.

Stone forgot about arming himself and headed for the front door. Dino and Rawls were a dozen strides out, standing over an inert form on the ground, an assault rifle beside him.

“Is he dead?” Stone called from the front porch.

“If he’s not, he’s wishing he was,” Dino replied. “I caught him middle of the chest.”

“I didn’t even have a chance to fire,” Rawls said. “Dino was in the way, but I know that man fired his rifle before Dino shot him.”

Stone walked over to the man, who looked to be about six feet tall and heavy. He checked the wrist and neck for a heartbeat. “I can’t find a pulse,” Stone said. “Dino, you try.”

“What for?” Dino asked. “He’s shot right through the heart.” He poked the man with a foot. “He’s dead.”

“Okay,” Stone said. “You know the drill. Nobody touch him. I’ll call Tom Young.” He found the cell number and dialed it.

“This is Captain Young,” he said. There was a lot of background noise.

“Tom, it’s Stone Barrington. Our intruder took a shot at two of us, and he’s dead outside.”

“I’m on a police boat, halfway there,” Young said. “The ferry is through for the day. Give me an hour. I’ll come to your dock.”

“Thank you, Tom.” He hung up and went back into the living room, followed by Dino and Ed.

“I heard you say he’s dead,” Viv said.

“I did say that,” Stone said. “Listen, we’re not going to talk about this. It would look as though we were getting our stories straight. Everybody just remember what happened, and keep it to yourself.”

“Did he have any identification?” Vanessa asked.

“We haven’t searched him. The police will be here in an hour, and they’ll do that.”

“Can I go look at him?” she asked.

“Yes, but don’t touch him or his weapon.”

Vanessa went outside and was back in less than a minute. “I think he’s dead,” she said.

“That’s a safe assumption,” Stone said, “now change the subject.”

Nobody said anything.

Less than an hour had passed when Stone heard the sound of a boat approaching his dock, and a spotlight swept across the living room. He got up and went outside, down to the dock. He took the boat’s lines, tied them up, and shook hands with Tom Young. “Come with me,” he said.

Young stopped long enough in the living room to be introduced to everybody. “Everybody, sit down, please. I want to hear your accounts of what happened before I take a look at the body.” He had brought two state patrolmen with him, and they took people aside, one at a time and questioned them, taking notes.

“We all done with that?” Young asked. “Okay, Stone, where’s your corpse?”

Stone opened the front door, led him outside, and looked around. “I don’t see him,” he said.

Tom and his men joined him and they searched the grounds all the way to the road.

“I thought you said he was dead,” Tom said to Stone.

“I checked wrist and throat for a pulse and found nothing,” Stone said. “Dino said his shot went right through the man’s heart. I don’t think he got up and walked away.”

They went back into the house.

“Well?” Dino asked.

“He’s not there,” Stone said.

“Oh? You think he just got to his feet and, with a hop and a skip, walked away?”

“No, I think he had help,” Stone said.

“I’m inclined to agree,” Young said. “It appears he had an accomplice — or at least a ride. Did you hear any vehicles outside?”

“No,” Stone replied, “the house is fairly soundproof when it’s buttoned up. A car could have waited on the road while the man approached the house, and we wouldn’t have heard it.”

“But you all heard a noise outside?” Young asked.

Everybody nodded.

“What sort of a sound?”

“I don’t know,” Viv replied, “like someone on the front porch.”

Everybody else nodded.

Young got out his phone. “Okay, I’ve got to get some people over here, and we’ve got to search the island for a vehicle with a corpse in it and make sure it doesn’t get on the first ferry at, what, six o’clock?”

“That’s right,” Rawls said.

Young made his call and hung up. “The local sheriff is bringing half a dozen men. I suggest you all go to bed.”

Nobody moved.

“I think we’re still dealing with the adrenaline,” Stone said. “Would you and your men like beds, Tom?”

“No, I want to be awake when they get here. He said half an hour.”

“Would any of you like a brandy?”

“We’d better keep a clear head,” Young said.

The sheriff and his men arrived at the dock in due course. Young gave them his instructions. “Stone, can I borrow your car?”

“There are two in the garage, keys in them. Help yourself.” Stone poured himself another brandy and sat down.

Dawn was creeping in when Tom Young returned. “Come with me,” he said to Stone, Dino, and Rawls.

They followed him out the door, and he led them to Seth’s old station wagon and opened the rear door. “We found him near the ferry,” he said. “I guess somebody dumped him.” He directed a powerful flashlight at the rear compartment, and everybody got a good look at the body. “Ever seen him before?”

They all shook their heads. “No, but he’s a little like the photo we were sent.” He took the sheet of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Young, who compared it to the corpse.

“Not him,” Young said. “And he has no identification on him.”