Near Miss

Chapter 61

Stone and Carly were on the way to Clarke’s to meet Dino for dinner when Stone’s secure cell phone rang with a call from Holly Barker.

“I had been thinking about paying you a visit this week,” she said, “but the Secret Service tell me they’d rather I wasn’t around you right now.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it,” he said.

“Well, what they said was closer to ‘you cannot go anywhere near Stone Barrington until further notice.’ I take it you are under threat of death again.”

“Unfortunately.”

“Who is it this time? Wait. Don’t tell me. If I really want to know, I’ll ask Lance. Can I at least assume it’s not a jealous husband?”

“You can.”

“That’s good to hear, but I’m disappointed you are unavailable to me, and for an indeterminant time. You are a wonderful stress reliever.”

“I hope I’m good for more than that.”

From the seat beside him, Carly gave him a curious look.

“You are, have no doubt about that. It’s just a woman in my position has few chances to get comfortably naked with someone who knows how to please them.”

“You could always try someone who doesn’t know how to please you, and consider it a chance to train them.”

“Who has the time for that? Anyway, I just wanted to tell you to try to stay alive. The mood of your president depends on it.”

“I’ll do what I can, Madam President.”

He hung up.

“Did you just get a booty call from the president of the United States?”

“I plead the Fifth.”

Carly slid her arm through his. “You should call her back and tell her you are currently occupied.”

“No need. She’s not coming. The Secret Service aren’t keen about the Russian mob’s current interest in me.”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“It’s just... Is it wrong that I’m suddenly grateful someone wants you dead?”

“Carly, that mind of yours is a dangerous place.”

“You are not the first person to say that, but I can never tell if it’s a compliment or not.”

“Pretend it is, and we’ll all be happy.”

Dino was at the bar when they arrived.

“I thought you were traveling with an entourage,” Dino said.

“We are,” Stone said. “There are at least six of Mike Freeman’s people scattered throughout the restaurant, and four more at the front door, who arrived with the two cars that escorted us.”

“Mike is not messing around.”

“He never does.”

They had one drink and then were shown to their table. During appetizers, Stone’s secure phone rang again.

“I never knew the president was so persistent,” Carly said.

Stone looked at the screen. “She can be, but this isn’t her.” From the lack of an identifying number, he knew it was Lance Cabot. Given that Stone had threatened his job during their last conversation, he wasn’t sure what to expect. He accepted the call. “Good evening, Lance.”

“I heard about the corpse in your office,” Lance said. “Is business that bad?”

“For Peter Greco, it is.”

“Indeed.” Apparently, Lance was taking the pretend-it-didn’t-happen route. “Speaking of Greco, your Russian friends have selected a new leader to replace him. A man named Dmitri Asimov.”

“I don’t think Dino even knows that yet.”

“Of course, he doesn’t. Is he aware the Russians are working with an assassin known as the Sarge?”

“That he does know. We’re assuming he’s responsible for Greco’s demise.”

“You would not be wrong.”

“If you have proof of that, I’m sure Dino would appreciate it if you shared.”

“Enjoy your dinner, and tell Carly I send my greetings.” Lance hung up.

Stone told Dino and Carly what Lance had said, less the greeting for Carly.

“So, the family went with the hothead,” Dino said. “That was my least favorite option.”

“Perhaps if they had consulted with you first, they would have gone in a different direction,” Stone said.

“I’ll give them a call next time.”

Stone woke the next morning feeling more tired than he had when he’d gone to sleep. In response to Holly Barker’s call the previous evening, Carly had seemed determined to prove that there were more reasons for the president to stay away than just the Russians.

She had made her point, multiple times, much to Stone’s pleasure at the time and chagrin now. Thankfully, he was alone in the bed, so there seemed no immediate threat of another demonstration.

He showered, dressed, and headed down for breakfast, expecting to find Carly there, but the dining room was empty.

He found Helene in the kitchen. “Have you seen Carly?”

“She wanted me to tell you she had a meeting at the office and would be back at lunchtime.”

“She didn’t leave alone, did she?”

“Fred took her. And before you ask, she also said to tell you she was carrying.”

That was a relief.

“Would you like your breakfast now?”

“Yes, please.”

Stone ate and then made his way to his office. He had it in his mind to call Ed Rawls and tell him he’d reconsidered, and would appreciate it if he came back to the States to watch Stone’s back. He had just sat down when Joan walked in, carrying a box covered in gold-and-black wrapping paper and matching ribbon.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“A present for you,” she said.

“From whom?”

“Unknown. There was no card, and the man who delivered it didn’t know, either. Would you like me to open it?”

“Please.”

She set it down, untied the ribbon, and peeled back the wrapping. She used a pair of scissors to open the box underneath.

“Oh,” she said, peering inside.

“Oh good, or oh bad?”

Joan reached into the box and pulled out a desk clock, housed in mahogany. “This is beautiful,” she said. “I think it’s handmade.”

She set it on the desk and Stone looked it over. It was exquisite. The kind of clock that would cost several thousand dollars. While clients often sent him tokens of gratitude, few were of this caliber, and he could think of no current client who had reason to gift him in this way.

Joan looked back into the box and pulled out an envelope. “Ah, I guess there is a card.”

She handed it to Stone. He opened it and pulled out a brochure for a mortuary. On the front was taped a note that read: Best to get your affairs in order sooner than later. There was no signature.

“That doesn’t look like a card,” Joan said.

“Because it’s not.” He turned it so she could see.

“I wasn’t aware we had a mortuary as a client.”

“As far as I know, we don’t.”

“Then why would they send you this?”

“I doubt they had anything to do with it,” Stone said. “This is from someone trying to send me a message.”

“What message?”

“Something about time, and how little of it I have left.”

“That’s presumptuous.”

“Get Dino on the line.”

She started to leave.

“Joan?” he called before she reached the door.

When she looked back, he pointed at the clock and the box, then motioned for her to take them out and put them somewhere far from either of their offices. It was possible the clock was just a clock and the box just a box, but he would feel better after Mike Freeman’s people checked them both for hidden devices.

Joan put the clock back in the box and carried it out.

A couple minutes later, she stuck her head into the office. “Dino on one.”

“And the box?”

“In the garden shed.”

Stone picked up the phone. “I just received an interesting package.”

“Another stiff, like yesterday?”

“No stiff. Just an expensive clock and a brochure for the Dalby Family Mortuary.”

“I hear they do good work.”

“That makes me feel so much better,” Stone said. “There was a note with the brochure.” He read it to Dino.

“Sounds like someone thinks you won’t be breathing for much longer.”

“One guess who that would be.”

“The Russians,” Dino said, “by way of the Sarge, most likely. Am I close?”

“You got it in one.”

“What I don’t get is if they’re planning to kill you, why send you messages like Greco’s corpse and this fancy clock, instead of just doing it?”

“Aside from the fact that I’m glad they are taking their time, I think they were at first trying to scare me. Now, they may be attempting to get me to do something.”

“Other than to avail yourself of the Dalby Family’s services?”

“Other than that.”

“Like what?”

“Ask for Ed Rawls’s help.”

“That makes sense. Easier to kill you if you’re together.”

Stone had been close to doing just that.

“Maybe I should issue an APB for the Sarge,” Dino said, “as a person of interest in Peter Greco’s murder.”

“He’d never let himself get caught.”

“No, but he’d have to be more cautious. No more freely moving around.”

That was true. “Good idea.”

“I have them on occasion.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Joan peeked her head into the room. “Ed Rawls on two.”

“I’ll let you two bond over your shared destiny,” Dino said, and hung up.

Stone switched to the other line. “Hello, Ed. Everything all right?”

“So far so quiet today,” Ed said. “The Metropolitan Police have the area around Sarah’s house locked down. I have to say, though, I’m not used to being under police protection. It’s a little like being back in prison, just with a nicer cell.”

“And cellmate,” Stone said.

“That also is a plus. But I am starting to wonder if you might need me back there.”

“I’d advise against it.”

“Has the threat level to you gone down?”

“Quite the opposite.” Stone told him about the package, and his and Dino’s theory about the Sarge baiting Ed to return.

“As much as I hate to say this, you’re probably right. The only way they can get to me here is by shooting an anti-tank missile at the house, from several blocks away.”

“Do you think that’s a possibility?”

Ed said nothing for a moment. “A possibility? Yes, but not a large one. Obtaining and moving a missile around the U.K. would be more difficult than back home.”

“You sound as if you feel safe there,” Stone said. “I recommend you stay.”

“The Sarge isn’t going to wait long for me to come back before he decides to make a move on you anyway. What are you going to do?”

“I’m working on that,” Stone said.

“My suggestion,” Ed said, “work faster.”