“A little late,” Stone replied.

“Obviously, Dick’s contact hadn’t heard about his death.”

“Is that it, trouble is coming?”

“Kirov is used as a specific warning, based on solid information. It was just too late.”

“What was the solid information?”

“The man who called was a paid source of Dick’s; you’d call him a snitch. He was at a card game last week in East Germany when he overheard two players, Russians, discussing a revenge hit on a highly placed American. The snitch is Hungarian, but he speaks Russian.”

“Then why the hell didn’t he call Dick last week, when it might have done some good?”

“He was in jail; got into an accident while driving home from the card game, drunk.”

“What was the revenge for?”

“Apparently the Agency was responsible for the breakup of a large drug ring in which the two Russians had a stake. The hit was meant to be a warning to the London station.”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Stone said. “They would send a hit man from Eastern Europe to a small island in Penobscot Bay just to send a message to London?”

“I know it’s a stretch, but crime is worldwide these days; the whole thing could have been arranged with a single phone call or e-mail. Anyway, we know the result.”

“I’m having lunch with Ed Rawls and some friends of his,” Stone said. “Is there any reason to think these same people would have an interest in Rawls?”

“None that I know of. You can tell him about this; it might set his mind at ease. By the way, are you armed?”

“No.”

“Does Dick have any guns in the house?”

“Well, he had the Keltec, but the state police have still got that. Why do I need to be armed?”

“I’m not certain that you do, but I have some concerns.”

“Please tell me about your concerns.”

“When the man called and you answered, he said, ‘Is this Stone?,’ and you replied, ‘Yes,’ because that’s your name, too. So he thought he was talking to Dick, right?”

“I suppose so.”

“This source is classed as unreliable, so he may be working both sides of the street. He may have called to make sure Dick was dead.”

“Come on, Lance. Whoever killed Dick knows that he’s dead.”

“Try and follow me: The shooter would have reported back to whoever sent him that Dick was dead, and it may very well be that the person who sent the shooter also killed him, for security reasons. The phone call could have simply been a check to see if the shooter was lying.”

“I suppose that makes a perverted kind of sense,” Stone said.