“Hello?”

“It’s Mike. I’ve made some calls in Rome, and I don’t like what I’m hearing. I want to get you out of your hotel and into an apartment. I’ve got someone making calls about that now.”

“Hang on, Mike.” He turned to Hedy. “My friend Mike Freeman, who’s handling our security, wants us out of the hotel.”

“How about my apartment?”

“Does anyone besides you and me know about it?”

“A couple of people in New York.” She gave him the address.

Stone went back to Mike. “I’ve got an apartment in the Via Stelletto, Pantheon district.”

“All right, get packed. I’ll have somebody there in half an hour to get you out. Don’t check out of the hotel—I’ll deal with that.”

“All right,” Stone said. He hung up. “Let’s get packed.”

—

Half an hour later there was a soft knock at the door.

“Who is it?” Stone asked.

“I’m from Mike Freeman.”

Stone opened the door to find a large man in a dark suit; he had a hotel trolley with him. They gave him their luggage and followed him to a service elevator, then out a service exit to a waiting van with a driver. Stone gave them the address.

“I know it,” the driver said. “It has a courtyard, which is good for us.”

“There were two men in a car out front at the hotel,” the big man said. “I think they were waiting for you. Don’t worry, we’ll lose them.”

They followed what seemed to Stone a torturous route. As they turned into the Via Stelletto, the big man got out of the van, while the driver continued into the street and turned into the courtyard. “He’s just making sure nobody’s on our tail,” the driver said. The big man rejoined them, and they got their luggage and the two of them into a tiny elevator, while the big man ran up the four flights of stairs.

He didn’t seem winded when they arrived. “Do you mind if I have a look around before you go in?” he asked.

“Help yourself,” Hedy said, unlocking the door.

He disappeared inside, then returned a couple of minutes later. “It’s good,” he said, and he took their bags inside. “Nobody can see into the place, and the terrace overlooks the courtyard, not the street. I couldn’t have picked a better place myself.”

Stone had a look around: there was a large kitchen, two bedrooms and baths, and a comfortable living room, plus a large terrace accessed through French doors. “Very nice,” he said.