Stone Cold

CHAPTER 96

SIX MONTHS PASSED and no one had heard a word from Oliver Stone. Caleb returned to work at the library, but the old books that had given him so much pleasure now seemed just like, well, old books. Reuben went back to work at the loading dock and then came home and sat on his couch, beer in hand, and yet he never drank any of it. He would pour it down the sink and go to bed.

With one member dead and its leader having disappeared, the Camel Club seemed officially disbanded.

Harry Finn rejoined his red cell team and started doing work for Homeland Security again. Because of Lesya’s demand and the evidence she held, it was certain that Carter Gray would make no move against him or his family ever again. And it was also certain that Finn would never stand trial for killing three men and attempting to kill Carter Gray.

Yet Finn did not have the soul of a killer, and what he had done haunted him. He finally took a six-month leave of absence. He spent all his time with his family, shuttling his kids to school and sports, and holding his wife as she slept. He kept in contact with his mother, but she refused his pleas for her to come and live with them. He wanted to come to know her in a way that didn’t involve secrets and plotting violent deaths, but his mother apparently didn’t want this. If this wounded Finn, he did not show it.

Annabelle could have left D.C. and spent the rest of her life living on the millions she’d conned from Bagger, but she didn’t. After she and Alex finished explaining things to the FBI about Bagger and Paddy Conroy, an explanation that left out any details of Annabelle’s multimillion-dollar rip-off of Bagger, the lady worked another con. The target this time was the church that owned Stone’s cottage. She convinced them that she was Stone’s daughter and she volunteered to move in and keep the cemetery in decent shape until her father returned from what she described as a much-needed vacation.

She had the place fixed up, brought new furniture in, all while carefully preserving Stone’s things. Then she started taking care of the grounds. Alex came by to help her often. They would sit on the porch in the evening.

“Amazing stuff you’ve done to this place,” Alex said.

“It had good bones to start with,” Annabelle said.

“Most cemeteries do.” Alex gave her a sideways grin. “So you think you might hang around here for a while?”

“I’ve never really been able to call a place home before. I used to kid Oliver about living in a cemetery but I sort of like it here.”

“I can show you around town. If you want.”

“Save me, now date me? You’re quite the full-service cop.”

“All in the line of duty.”

“Right. I’m the con, remember? That’s my line.”

“Let’s make that ‘retired’ con, okay?”

“Absolutely.” For once she didn’t sound that convincing.

They sat back in their chairs and looked out over the tombstones. “Do you think he’s still alive?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I hope so, but I just don’t know.”

“Will he come back, Alex?”

He said nothing, because only Oliver Stone could make that decision. He had to want to come back. And with each passing day Alex was growing more certain that he would never see his old friend again.