“Will you excuse us for a few minutes?” Sir Edward asked.

“Of course.” Stone got up and went into his study. He could hear murmurs and occasionally the raised voice of Sir Edward. Finally, Carpenter came into the study. “All right, come in. And Stone, he will not go one inch further than what you’re about to hear.”

“Let’s hear it,” Stone said, getting up and walking back to the dining room.

Sir Edward sat, his jaw clenched, and stared at Stone.

“This is what we have,” Carpenter said, reading from a handwritten document. “ ‘To whom it may concern: Some time ago, agents of British Military Intelligence conducted an operation in the Middle East, during which two Swiss citizens, René and Fatima du Bois, were inadvertently killed. This organization regrets its actions and extends its apologies and sympathy to their daughter, Marie-Thérèse du Bois.’ That’s it. There will be no mention of reparations in the letter. It will be typed on the letterhead of the Ministry of Defence.”

“And I won’t change a fucking word of it,” Sir Edward said.

“All right,” Stone replied, “you may present the letter and your offer to Marie-Thérèse at your meeting.”

“Which will be when?” Carpenter asked.

“I’ll let you know when I’ve spoken to my client.”

Everyone stood up, and Stone showed them out.

Carpenter hung back for a moment. “Stone, believe me when I tell you, this is an extraordinary concession for Sir Edward. Please tell your client that he will offer nothing further.”

“I’ll pass that on,” Stone said.

“Call me when you have a time for the meeting.” The two walked away from the house.

Stone went back inside, called Marie-Thérèse and asked her to call back from a pay phone. When she did, he read her the text of the letter and told her about the money.

“The letter and the sum are both inadequate,” she replied.

“Listen to me, Marie-Thérèse. This is the offer, and it won’t change. It’s more than you ever expected to get, and I advise you in the strongest terms to accept it.”

She was quiet for a moment. “All right, but Sir Edward will have to apologize to me in person when we meet.”

“We can make that demand at the meeting, but don’t expect it to happen.”

“All right. Now, how are we going to prevent these people from trying to kill me at the meeting?”

“I have some ideas about that,” Stone said, and he explained.

“I like it,” she said. “Tell Sir Edward to be at the Rockefeller Center skating rink tomorrow at three p.m.”

“All right,” Stone said, and hung up. Then he called Dino.

43

Stone was halfway through his first bourbon when Dino arrived at Elaine’s.

Dino gave Elaine a kiss and settled into a chair opposite Stone. “A Laphroaig on the rocks,” he said to a waiter.