Hit List

41

Fred met them at the airport and drove them and the Eagles back to Stone’s house, while Dino’s official car met him and took him to his office.

Joan greeted them at the house, and Fred dealt with their luggage.

“All quiet here?” Stone asked Joan.

“So far. The latest killings have been on the news.”

“Yes, and Dino thinks he has a leak in his department.”

The moment Dino reached his office he called in his secretary and his deputy. “We’ve got a leak in the department,” he said to them, “probably high up. I want the files of everybody who had any knowledge of the protection of the witness, Frances Bowers, regardless of rank.”

“Yes, sir,” the secretary said, going to her filing cabinets, while Dino’s deputy, Chief Bill Jenkins, hung back.

“Is there anybody you suspect?” Jenkins asked Dino.

“I’ve been thinking about it, but I haven’t come up with anything. You requisition a couple of investigators from down the ladder and go through every personnel file of anyone who could be involved. Look for recent, large bank deposits, purchase of new cars, houses, etcetera. Let’s see if we can pare down the list of suspects.”

“My wife was at the supermarket yesterday,” Jenkins said, “and she saw Marty Case’s wife getting into a new Mercedes.” Case was deputy chief of detectives.

“Start there,” Dino said. “Find out if the wife has money of her own and which dealer she bought the car from. I want to know if they took out a loan or paid cash.”

“I’m on it,” Jenkins said, then left. Half an hour later, he returned. “She has no family money, and they paid cash to the Manhattan dealer: $125,000.”

“Get Marty up here now,” Dino said. “Tell him we need his help on a case and to keep his mouth shut about it. And don’t tell the chief of detectives.”

Jenkins picked up a phone and made a call. “He’s on his way.”

Marty Case was shown into Dino’s office.

“Have a seat, Marty,” Dino said. “I hear you bought a new Mercedes. Congratulations.”

Case’s shoulders sagged. “I should have known you’d find out.”

“Tell us how you paid for a $125,000 car,” Dino said.

“I was hoping to keep this quiet,” Case said. “Can we keep it in this room?”

“That depends on your answer,” Dino said.

“Okay, but if word gets around our lives are going to be hell.”

“Why is that?” Dino asked.

“Because I’m going to take a ragging from everybody I work with, and my wife’s family are going to be all over us, demanding money. I told her not to buy anything big, and the next day she went out and bought the Mercedes.”

“Where’d the money come from, Marty?” Dino asked again.

“My wife hit a number on the lottery,” he said.

Dino and Jenkins exchanged a glance.

“How much?” Dino asked.

“A little over three hundred grand net, after taxes.”

“You’re going to need to substantiate that,” Dino said.

Case took a sheet of folded paper from his coat pocket and handed it to Dino, who read it carefully, then handed it to Jenkins. “It’s from the New York State Lottery, addressed to his wife.”

“Yeah,” Case said, “she bought the ticket with money I gave her, but now she says the winnings are all hers, and that she didn’t need my permission to buy the car. I may have to sue my own wife. But my guess is, if I do, she’ll divorce me.”

“New York is an equitable division state,” Dino said. “You’ll get half the money she says is hers.”

“I don’t think she’s thought that far ahead.”

“Then you’d better have a sit-down with her today and take control of the situation.”

“Yes, Commissioner, I’ll do that,” Case said.

“You can go. I want to hear how the meeting works out.”

Case left, and Dino and Jenkins burst out laughing.

“I was getting ready to arrest the guy,” Jenkins said.

“He’s right about what’s going to happen, if people find out,” Dino said.

The first people from Strategic Services arrived, and Stone showed them the house. While they were at it, they checked every window and door and made sure they were all secure.

Jenna was in Stone’s office when he returned.

“I missed my plane,” she said.

“That’s okay. We’ve got full-time protection now,” Stone said, “and these people are good. Three of the four people Larkin has killed used to work at Strategic Services, so they’re taking a keen interest in him.”

“I’m delighted to hear that. Is it going to be all right if I do some shopping?”

“Let’s wait a day, and see what happens,” Stone said. “We’ll have the Bacchettis and the Eagles to dinner here this evening, and I have an excellent cook.”

“Sounds good,” Jenna said. “I’m very impressed with the house. Your card says you’re a lawyer; what with the house and the airplane, business must be very good.”

Stone laughed. “You’re very observant, but I don’t rely on my income from the law firm. I was once married to the widow of a movie star — you may remember Vance Calder?”

“Of course.”

“She inherited his considerable wealth, and she died a few months after we were married, leaving her estate to our son’s trust and to me. I’m a partner in an investment company that manages everything for me, and my net worth has grown substantially since then.”

“Ah. I think I remember her death.”

“Yes, she was murdered by a former lover. Do you have any murderous former lovers lurking in your background?”

Jenna laughed. “There are lurkers, but not murderous ones, so you can concentrate on Mr. Larkin.”

“Fortunately, Dino is in charge of that. He’s the police commissioner. He and I were partners when, in my youth, I was an NYPD detective.”

“That’s very convenient,” Jenna said. “With all this” — she waved a hand — “I don’t know why you’re still single.”

“Just lucky, I guess.”

“Oh, was the marriage bad?”

“No, it was very good, but since that time, I’ve stayed lucky.”

“Any other marriages?”

“None to speak of. How about you?”

“No, I’ve been lucky, too.”

As she spoke, an alarm went off in the house.