Shakeup

47

Stone opened his eyes and put a hand to the back of his neck. It was wet, and there was a towel there. He looked at Felicity’s side of the bed and found it empty.

She swept into the room from her bath, naked, and opened the curtains, filling the room with sunlight. “How are you feeling?” she asked, sitting down beside him and taking the towel from him.

“My neck hurts,” he said, sitting up and turning his head back and forth slowly.

“You were coshed,” she said.

“What?”

“Struck with a club or a blackjack. Apparently you heard something in the night, got a gun, and went downstairs. You probably disturbed one or more burglars at work and got coshed by one of them. I couldn’t find another mark on your body. Dino and I got you to bed, and I put an ice pack behind your neck.”

“Ah,” Stone said, as if he understood, but he didn’t. “The last thing I remember is you on top of me.”

“What a sweet thought,” she said, smoothing his hair.

“I can’t remember anything else.”

“It will come back to you in pieces,” she said. “That’s the way of these things.”

There was a knock at the door; Felicity got into her dressing gown and pulled the covers over Stone. “Coming!” She allowed the breakfast cart to be pushed into the room, then dismissed the butler, and she and Stone had breakfast.

“I want to see what’s missing from downstairs,” Stone said, when they were done.

Felicity got him a dressing gown and went downstairs with him.

He looked around the room.

“Anything missing or awry?” she asked.

“Not that I can see.” He sank into a chair.

“Are you feeling all right?” she asked.

“I think so,” he said, rubbing his neck again.

“Let me know if you feel nauseated,” she said. “That often happens after a blow to the head.”

Stone got up and walked over to where his mother’s paintings were hung and inspected them closely. “I think they’re in the wrong order,” he said, “but I’m still a little groggy.”

Felicity looked at the pictures. “They look the same to me,” she said. “Are you sure?”

“No,” Stone replied.

“I think you could do with a bit more bed rest,” she said, and led him back upstairs and tucked him in. “There,” she said, kissing him on the forehead. “Sleep. I’ll wake you for lunch.”

Alfie came downstairs and joined Eddie for lunch. The ladies were shopping.

“How are you feeling?” Eddie asked.

“Much better,” Alfie said. He leaned close to Eddie. “You could have killed him, you know. When you kick a man who’s unconscious in the head, he has no defenses, can’t see it coming. He can’t even tense up to take the blow. You could have very easily broken his neck.”

“I’m sorry,” Eddie said

“You also made me shoot myself in the leg.”

Eddie shrugged. “All my fault.”

“What did you do after I passed out?”

“I put the fakes in the frames and reattached them, then I tidied up, hoisted you on my shoulder, took the bag and tools, and got out of there.”

“Was the naked man still out?”

“Completely. I didn’t mess with him. I got you back to the car and drove us home.”

“In that case, we’re lucky to be alive.”

“Don’t worry, I was careful to stay on the wrong side of the road.”

“You mean, the left side of the road.”

“Oh, yeah. What do we do now?”

“We get paid, and you go back to the States.”

“I may still be hot there.”

“You said they didn’t even have a charge against you.”

Eddie told him the story of his court appearance.

“They won’t bother with you again,” Alfie said, confidently. “As you say, they don’t have a charge, except the one you’ve already pled to, and the judge has suspended your sentence. The courts are too busy to mess with those things. You’re a free man.”

“How do we get paid?” Eddie asked.

“I’ve phoned my man. His bloke will arrive here at two o’clock, and we’ll be paid.”

“In cash?”

“That’s how it’s done, my son, unless you’d rather have a check.”

“I mean, I brought a couple of hundred grand with me and declared it to customs. I didn’t know how long I’d be here. I can’t haul all that cash into the States.”

“Do you have a bank account on this side of the pond?” Alfie asked.

“No.”

“I’d suggest Switzerland.”

“I thought that was all over. No secret accounts anymore.”

“I know a small private bank. It won’t be a secret account, but nobody’s going to ask them, are they? You can take a train to Zurich.”

“I thought I might buy a car and drive around the continent for a few days.”

“Good idea; I know a fellow who can get you what you want, and for export, all the right paperwork. You just have to pay the shipping, then the customs duty at the other end, when it arrives in the USA.”

“Sounds good.”

“What car do you want?”

“I was thinking a Mercedes, the big one.”

“The S550?”

“Right.”

“You want to pick it up in London or Zurich?”

“London.”

They finished their lunch, and Alfie made a call, then handed Eddie the phone. “This is my mate Tom. Tell him exactly what you want,” he said.

Eddie took the phone and had a discussion about color and options, then hung up. “He’ll call me back.”

Alfie looked at his watch. “My man’s man should be here shortly. It would be better if you took a stroll around the square.”

“Right,” Eddie said. “If Tom calls back, give him my cell number.”

“As you wish.” Alfie settled into his chair.

Eddie went downstairs and took a stroll around Belgrave Square, then he stopped at a pub and had a pint of bitters.

Alfie took the paintings out of the carryall and looked them over. “Smashing,” he said aloud to himself.