“You sound as though you’re reconsidering,” Stone said hopefully.

“On the contrary, I can’t wait to get started,” she said.

Stone laughed. “Kate is lucky to have you.” The phone rang, and he picked it up. “Yes?”

“It’s Billy.”

“Hi there. Feeling better?”

“As good as new,” Billy said, “but shortly, Ed Eagle is going to be feeling a lot worse.”

“Oh, God,” Stone said, “is there another attempt coming?”

“Not on his life—on his reputation.”

“What do you mean?”

“Barbara is hiring a press agent in San Francisco named Hugh Gordon. I checked him out. He’s among the two or three best publicists in the country, and he’s arranging a series of interviews in which Barbara will insist that Eagle is trying to kill her. She’s going to blindside him, and he’ll never be able to catch up.”

“Oh, shit! What should I tell him to do?”

“This is outside my area of expertise, but I should think the only thing he can do is beat her to the punch.”

“Thanks, Billy. How did you find out about this?”

“Don’t ask, and don’t tell Eagle this came from me.”

“All right.” Stone thanked him again, hung up, and called Ed Eagle.

“Good morning, Mr. Barrington. I’m afraid Ed is in court this morning, but he should be breaking for lunch soon, and he’ll call in for messages.”

“Please ask Ed to call me first,” Stone said. “It’s extremely urgent that I talk to him at the earliest possible moment.”

“I’ll certainly do that, Mr. Barrington.”

Stone hung up. “Who do you know in the New York press?” he asked Ann.

“Are you kidding? Everybody.”

Stone explained the call he’d just had. “Who are the top people he should talk to?”

“In New York?”

“National.”

“Well, the plum pick is 60 Minutes, but even if they want the story, it might take some time, at the very least, to get it on the air. I know the executive producer, and he owes me a favor. After that, the morning shows—Today, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, CNN, and Morning Joe.”

The phone rang. “Stone Barrington.”

“Stone, it’s Ed. Are you in some sort of trouble?”

“No, Ed, you are.”

“Gee, I hadn’t noticed.”

“I’ve just received some information that you have to act on at once.”

“What kind of information?”

“Barbara has decided, in lieu of killing you, to wage war on you through the media. She’s hired a top publicist, and he’s arranging press and TV interviews for her now. She’s going to say that you’ve been trying to kill her and then blaming it on her.”

“How the hell did you hear about this?”

“I can’t reveal my source, but I can tell you that this is real, and you have to attack first.”

“How’m I supposed to do that?”