Near Miss

Chapter 35

The Times and the Post arrived with breakfast the following morning. Both hinted that a big-time arrest by the feds was in the offing. Tomorrow, it would be headlines, Stone thought.

Joan buzzed. “Alexei Gromyko on one for you.”

Stone picked up, trying to sound casual. “Hello?”

“Have you done something that can’t be undone?” the Greek asked.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Stone said, keeping his voice steady. He wasn’t sure if Gromyko was talking about Trench or Greco or both.

“I believe you do.”

“Mr. Gromyko,” Stone said wearily, “do you have a point to make?”

“When I do, you’ll know it,” Gromyko said, then hung up.

Stone immediately called the Waldorf Towers and asked for Peter Greco.

“I’m sorry,” the operator said. “That party checked out early this morning.”

“Thank you.” Stone hung up and called Tom Kinder.

“Assistant Director Kinder.”

“It’s Stone. Have you heard from Peter Greco this morning?”

“No, we dropped him off at his suite door last evening. I had intended on leaving agents to guard his room, but Greco worried that would bring more attention to his presence. We compromised with leaving a couple agents in the lobby.”

“Then I take it your agents didn’t see him check out early this morning.”

“No, they did not,” Kinder said. “I’ll send my agents up to have a look at his suite. I’ll get back to you.” He hung up.

Joan buzzed again. “Herb Fisher on one for you.”

Stone picked up. “Good morning, Herb.”

“Not yet. What have you done with my associate?”

“Nothing at all.”

“She hasn’t shown up for work this morning, and she didn’t call. Normally, she’s meticulous in her work habits.”

“I saw her last evening when we finished work. That was about nine pm. I’ll see what I can find out.”

He buzzed Joan.

“Yes?”

“Carly is MIA. See if you can find her.”

“Righty-o.” Joan hung up.

Stone buzzed Fred.

“Yes, sir?”

“Have you seen Carly this morning?”

“No, I didn’t drive her anywhere.”

“Is her car still in the garage?”

“It is,” Fred said.

Stone played at working for another hour, then the phone rang.

“Assistant Director Kinder on one.”

Stone picked up. “Tom?”

“My guys went through Greco’s suite with a fine-tooth comb. Nothing to indicate foul play, or anything else.”

“Carly Riggs is out of pocket, too. She should be at Woodman & Weld, but she’s not. If either she or Greco were missing, I’d be concerned. Right now, I’m starting to feel panicky.”

“I’ll put out an APB for our New York office, but that’s not a lot of people on the street.”

“I’ll get back to you,” Stone said. He hung up and dialed Dino.

“Bacchetti.”

“I’ve got two missing persons on my hands,” Stone said.

“Anybody I know?”

“Peter Greco and Carly Riggs. Greco is turning state’s evidence against Gromyko, so I doubt the Greek is happy the FBI is looking for him. That bit is confidential.”

“I heard nothing. You want an APB on both?”

“Yes, please.”

“I’ll call you back.” He hung up.

Joan was standing in the door. “I haven’t been able to locate Carly anywhere.”

“Go through her apartment and see if you can find any sort of communication with us — notes, lipstick on the mirrors, anything.”

Joan walked in fifteen minutes later. “Nothing,” she said. “But Carly has four very nice handbags; I saw them when she moved in. They’re all in the apartment, and she wouldn’t have left the building without one of them.”

“Why not?”

“Because she’s a woman, and women don’t go anywhere without a handbag. Oh, and one of them had her wallet in it, and some money. That’s likely the one she intended to take with her.”

“Dino is on it,” Stone said. “He’s the best we can do.”

“I’ll wait for his call,” Joan said.

An hour later, Joan buzzed. “Carly on one.”

Stone yanked the receiver off the hook. “Carly, where are you?”

“On the corner of Fifty-Seventh and Third Avenue,” she said. “I had to borrow someone’s phone.”

“How did you get there?”

“A man came into my apartment last night and sprayed something in my face. I woke up about five minutes ago behind a dumpster and went to the street.”

“Do you see any cabs from where you are?”

“Yes! Be there soon.” She hung up.

Stone buzzed Joan. “Carly is on the way here in a cab. Keep watch for her, and go armed, just in case.”

“Gotcha!”

Stone grabbed a weapon from his desk drawer and ran to the front door of the house. He watched through the peephole, in case she got out there. Nothing.

Stone called Joan’s cell.

“No sign of her.”

“Here I am,” Carly said.

Stone turned to find her standing in the door of his office.

“I’m so relieved to see you,” Stone said.

“I’m relieved, too,” she replied.

He buzzed Joan. “Go pay for that cab out front and call everybody off the search for Carly,” he said.

Joan appeared in the doorway, and Stone held up a hand to stop her. “What happened?”

“I was kidnapped,” Carly said. “They hit me with some sort of spray and put me out. I woke up in an alley near Bloomingdale’s.”

“I want some of that spray for my handbag,” Joan said.

“Any idea who they were?” Stone asked.

“I heard a voice over a radio speaking in Russian, right before I was knocked out.”

“Anyway, she’s safe,” Stone said. “Carly, do you feel like going to work at Woodman & Weld or would you like to rest?”

“Work sounds good right now.”

“Joan, call Herb Fisher and tell him Carly is on the way in, and not to give her a hard time about being late.”

“Right.” Joan disappeared.

“All right, listen carefully, Carly. You are not to leave this house or Woodman & Weld, except in my company or that of Fred in the Bentley. Got that?”

“Got it.”

Joan came into the office, waving an envelope. “Carly’s carry license came, delivered by a uniform.” She handed it to Carly.

“Good timing. Find her a .380, a couple of spare magazines, and a box of cartridges.” Joan nodded.

Carly opened the envelope and stared at the license.

“That is a license to carry, not a license to kill,” Stone said. “If you kill somebody who is not shooting at you or strangling you at the time, your life will change forever, and for the worse.”

“I understand all that,” she said. “You’ve told me before. Could I have shot those two guys who took me last night?”

“Only while they were engaged in the taking of you.”

“Okay, point taken.”

“That being said, carry it everywhere. Joan, find her that catalog of holsters, and let her pick out something. Some ladies prefer the Thunderwear.”

“The what?”

“Joan will explain that to you. Joan, call Fred, brief him, and ask him to take Carly to work, but not until her weapon is loaded and available.”

Joan beckoned Carly to follow her, and they left.

The phone rang, and Stone grabbed it. “Yes?”

“It’s Herb. What the fuck is going on?”

“Carly will be on the way soon, and she’ll explain it to you. She’s going to be traveling armed now, so watch yourself.”

“Is she going to shoot me?”

“Not if you’re careful of her.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere near her.”

“That’s a good policy.” Stone’s cell phone rang. “Gotta go.” He picked up the other call. “Yes?”

“Stone, it’s Peter Greco.”

“Peter, Thomas Kinder has been looking everywhere for you. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, and I just talked to Kinder. I saw a face I recognized near the Waldorf and thought it best if my family and I found alternative lodging right away.”

“Smart move. Where are you now?”

“Long Island, at the home of someone I trust. But I’d rather not stay here long. The family has business interests in the area. You helped us once before, and I was hoping you could do the same again.”

“Would you consider a return to Islesboro? Or do you think Gromyko would suspect that?”

“I think that would be perfect. I doubt the Greek will look there.”

“Let me make a few calls and get back to you.”

They got off the phone, and Stone contacted Jimmy Hotchkiss, who knew everything about property on Islesboro. Jimmy promised to forward information to Stone by the morning.

Stone’s phone rang again.

“It’s Dino. I hear there’s a happy ending.”

“No, a happy ending would be if Gromyko were dead.”

“You think he was behind the disappearances?”

“Carly was kidnapped last evening. She said they were Russians, and he’s the number one Russian around here. Thanks for your help with her carry license. She’s carrying now.”

“Glad to hear it. Any word on Greco?”

“He’s safe and sound, so you can call off the dogs.”

“Did he say where?”

“Only in vague terms, which is probably for the best.”

“Agreed.”

“He is also out of your jurisdiction.”

“The news keeps getting better and better. Then, if everything’s settled, I should probably do some work.”

“The taxpayers would appreciate it.”

“See ya.” Dino hung up.

Joan came back in with Carly. “Okay, she’s ready to go. The Thunderwear is being overnighted.”

“Don’t either of you shoot the FedEx guy,” Stone said. “Fred awaits. Carly, remember: no leaving the house or the office without him, me, or both of us.”

She tapped her head. “And you remember, I never forget anything.”

“I’ll take her to the garage,” Joan said.

After they left, Stone sat down and took some deep breaths.