Before Stone could get into the water, Gala arrived in a robe. “Who was that woman I saw you with?” she asked, shedding the robe.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he said.

“Was that really she?”

“It was. Seems somebody was using her pool.”

“I’ll add her name to the list of people I’ve almost met.”

“We’ll arrange a proper introduction on some other occasion.”

She dove into the pool, and Stone followed her, keeping pace with her laps. Soon they tired and got out.

“I’d like some lunch,” Gala said. “Join me?”

“Dino and I lunched at the Bel-Air.” He picked up a phone and handed it to her, and she ordered a club sandwich.

“By the way, I ran into the chairman of the membership committee while we were waiting to tee off and learned that Peter, Ben, and I have been elected to membership there.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you. We also learned that the committee had rejected Boris.”

“Oh, God, another blow to his ego. Can we all survive it?”

“We had a visit, in the middle of our round, from two Russian gentlemen bearing greetings from him.”

“Did anybody get hurt?”

“I threatened them with a sand wedge, and they went away.”

“Good.”

“And the membership chairman had a personal visit from Boris, which resulted in his being thrown out of the place.”

“Boris isn’t having a very good week, is he?”

“No, he’s not, and it’s going to get worse, unless he learns to contain himself.”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” she said. “Maybe today would be a good time to go back to Santa Fe.”

“Are you serious?”

“I am. Distance has always been the best tool when dealing with Boris.”

“I’m unaccustomed to running from my enemies.”

“You can put that on me. I can fly commercial, if you’re not ready to leave.”

“If you’ll go and pack now, we can be there for cocktails.”

She held his head in her hands and kissed him. “Thank you, my dear. I will feel ever so much better with every mile I can put between Boris and me.”

Stone dispatched her to get ready, then he called the airport and ordered fuel, got a weather briefing, and filed a flight plan.

Dino came out of the house. “I hear you’re flying back to Santa Fe.”

“We are. Gala would like some distance between her and her ex.”

“Good idea.”

“Why don’t you come with us? Spend a couple of days?”

“I think we will. When are we leaving?”

“In an hour?”

“Good.”

9

The four of them, plus Bob, arrived in Santa Fe and piled into Gala’s Range Rover, which her housekeeper had left for her, driving away the Aston Martin.

They arrived at Gala’s house, and she installed the Bacchettis in the guesthouse, then headed toward the kitchen.