Dino looked at Stone sharply. “What was that stuff said about his wife not being dead?”

“I think Manning is still in denial.”

“Is she dead?”

Stone was still trying to figure out how to answer Dino’s question when Elaine came over to the table.

“Phone call for you, Stone,” she said, pointing at one of the two pay phones on the wall nearby.

“Excuse me, Dino,” Stone said. He got up and went to the phone. “Hello?” he said, sticking a finger in the other ear to blot out some of the noise.

“Stone?”

“Yeah? Who’s this?”

“Stone, this is Vance Calder.”

That stopped Stone in his tracks for a minute. “Hello, Vance,” he was finally able to say. “How’d you find me here?”

“There was no answer at your house, and I remembered that Arrington said you were at Elaine’s a lot. I took a chance.”

“How is Arrington, Vance?”

“That’s what I’m calling about, Stone. Arrington has disappeared.”

“What do you mean, disappeared?”

“Just that; she’s vanished.”

“When?”

“The day before yesterday.”

“Have you been to the police?”

“I can’t do that; the tabloids would be all over me. I need your help, Stone.”

“Vance, you’d really be a lot better off going to the police; there’s nothing I can do about this.”

“You can find, her, Stone; if anybody can, you can. I want you to come out here.”

“Vance, really…”

“The Centurion Studios jet is at Atlantic Aviation at Teterboro Airport right now, waiting for you. You can be here by morning.”

“Vance, I appreciate your confidence in me, but…”

“Stone, Arrington is pregnant.”

Stone felt as if he’d been struck hard in the chest. He could count.

“Stone? Are you still there?”

“I’ll be at Teterboro in an hour, Vance.”

“You’ll be met at the Santa Monica airport.”

“Write down everything you can think of, Vance; we’ll have a lot to talk about.”

“I will. And thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Stone said, then hung up. He returned to the table. “You’re buying dinner, Dino,” he said. “I’m off to La-La Land.”

“About what?” Dino asked.

“I’ll call you,” Stone said.

“You didn’t answer my question about Allison Manning.”

“That will have to wait, I’m afraid.” He kissed Elaine on the cheek, then walked out of the restaurant and started looking for a cab.

Key West

February 10, 1997

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to my editor, HarperCollins vice president and associate publisher Gladys Justin Carr, and her associate editor, Elissa Altman, for their hard work, and to my literary agent, Morton Janklow, his principal associate, Anne Sibbald, and all the people at Janklow & Nesbit for their careful attention to my career over the years. I must also thank my wife, Chris, who is always the first to read a manuscript, for her keen eye and sharp tongue, which help keep my characters in line.