“Tomorrow I’ll have your breakfast ready. Seven o’clock?”

“That’s fine,” Stone said, and she went on her way.

“I wonder what other services we have here,” Stone said.

A little after eleven a large green van pulled into Stone’s drive and two men knocked on the door.

Stone opened it. “Strategic Services?”

“Mr. Barrington?”

“Come right in.”

“Mr. Freeman said you need a survey.”

“There it is,” Stone said, waving an arm. “Check it out.”

An hour later, the men came into the study, where Stone was working on the Times crossword. “What did you find?”

“You’ve got a pretty good system here,” the man said. “I can recommend some additions, though.”

“Shoot.”

“I think you need some cameras around the place, about a dozen.”

“Good idea. Go ahead.”

“Also, your door locks are already wired, but I can put an app on your iPhone that will let you lock them all at once.”

“Another good idea. Can you do the same with the lights?”

“May I see your iPhone?”

Stone handed it to him. He switched it on and began tapping things into it. “You’ve got a Lutron system installed here. I can download the app, and you can turn all the lights on and off at once. You also have a built-in Sonos sound system. I can set that up for you, too. Give me a password.”

Stone gave it to him and went back to his crossword.

Late that afternoon the men found him again. He showed Stone two apps on his iPhone. “One is for the Sonos system and the other for the outside cameras.” He sat down and gave Stone a tutorial on both systems. Holly came into the room in time to hear it all.

“You also have an intercom to the gate and to the front door, and a camera at both.” He showed them how to answer both and how to operate the gate from the phone. He held up a plastic bag of keys. “I’ve rekeyed all your locks and made you some spares, too.”

“Wonderful, we had only one key.”

“Then throw that one away. There, I think you’re all fixed,” he said. “Anything else I can do?”

“Not a thing,” Stone said.

“Oh, I put an alarm on your safe. If anybody messes with it, it will tell you on your phone. And all this stuff will work anywhere in the world where there’s Internet access.”

Stone thanked him, gave him money for drinks, and the men left.

“You feel safe and secure now?” Holly asked.

“What with all this gear and you here to protect me, I feel just fine,” he said. “Here’s a key to everything for you.”

Holly pocketed the key. “Dinner in an hour.” She kissed him and went back to the kitchen.

Stone got out his iPhone, turned on the sound system, found some jazz, and went back to his crossword.

9