Stone laughed aloud. “I took the boat as payment of my fee; it was all legal and aboveboard. Why should I give it to you?”

“Because I’ll kill you if you don’t,” Manning said calmly.

“You’re not going to kill anybody, Manning.” Stone stood up, drew back his hand, and brought the back of it across Manning’s face, spilling him out of the lawn chair. “That’s for Allison, you miserable son of a bitch. You cooked up the scam, and she went all the way with you, then you let her hang.” Stone looked up and saw a car stop in his driveway. Dino Bacchetti got out. “Hi, Dino,” he said.

“Stone, how you doing?”

“Just great. I want you to meet the late Paul Manning.”

“How you doing, Paul?” Dino said, grinning broadly.

“Just great,” Manning said, wiping away some blood from the side of his mouth.

“Dino and I used to be partners,” Stone said. “He’s still a cop; he runs the detective squad at the Nineteenth Precinct.”

“What is this?” Manning said, alarmed.

“Dino’s going to put you in jail,” Stone said.

“I haven’t committed any crime in the United States,” Manning said.

“It’s like this, Paul,” Dino said. “I’m arresting you for the homicide of your wife, your ex-wife, the pilot, and the other passenger on that airplane you sabotaged.”

“I didn’t murder my wife or anybody else,” Manning said, “and nobody can prove that I did. Anyway, I don’t believe she’s dead.”

“Well, there are a lot of fine legal points in this case,” Dino said. “I mean, in addition to the four homicides, there’s the insurance fraud. It all gets very complicated, doesn’t it?”

Manning smiled, showing blood on his teeth. “Yes, it does. In fact, I expect to be a free man again before the day is over. I’ve already retained a lawyer, and you’ll never be able to hold me.”

“I know this is going to come as a big disappointment, Paul,” Dino said, “especially since you worked so hard to figure it all out, but I’ve got some really bad news for you.”

“What do you mean?” Manning asked.

Dino pulled a document from his pocket. “This is for you,” he said. “Consider yourself served.”

“What is it?”

“It’s an extradition warrant. You’re going back to St. Marks for trial.”

“You can’t do that!” Manning said, trying to read the warrant.

“Sure I can. Of course, you’ll fight extradition, but eventually you’ll go back. And then you can prove to them that your wife is still alive.”

Manning’s jaw dropped. “How can I prove she’s still alive?”

“I doubt if you can,” Stone said, “but there’s more bad news.”

“What?”