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Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. FRESH DISASTERS
  3. BOOKS BY STUART WOODS
  4. FRESH DISASTERS
  5. Copyright
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  64. AUTHOR’S NOTE

“Well, there’s my mom’s sister, Gladys. She lives out on the Island. Her husband’s a plumber out there, does really well.”

“Is she speaking to you?”

“Are you kidding? I’m her favorite!”

“When did you last see her?”

“I don’t know, maybe a year ago.”

“If you turned up on her doorstep, would she take you in?”

“Sure, I guess so.”

“Then why aren’t you out there? You’ve been on the run for a while now.”

“She’s in East Hampton, and that’s too far out. I don’t like being away from the action, and that’s in Manhattan.”

“Herbie, has it occurred to you yet that just being in Manhattan could get you killed?”

“Well, I guess that after all that’s happened…”

“Exactly.” Joan came into his office and handed him the envelope. Stone handed it to Herbie. “There’s a thousand dollars in this envelope,” he said. “Here’s what I want you to do: go to Third Avenue and take a left; there’s a cell phone store there, almost on the corner. Buy a throwaway, untraceable cell phone with a couple of hundred minutes on it and be sure to ask the clerk if it has a GPS chip in it; don’t buy it if it does. Call Joan and give her the number, then get a cab to Penn Station and take the next train to East Hampton. Throw yourself on your aunt’s mercy, and don’t do anything to make her or her husband mad at you. Call Joan every morning at ten and let her know you’re okay.”

“Gee, East Hampton…I don’t know, Stone.”

“Herbie, the Hamptons are full of beautiful girls, very rich beautiful girls. Be nice to them, and they’ll be nice to you.”

Herbie brightened. “Good point, Stone. I’ll need some clothes.”

“Then sneak into your place and pack a bag, and get out of town. The D.A. is going to want you to testify to back up what’s on the tape.”

“In court?”

“That’s where testifying gets done, Herbie. You’ve been to court; you know about that. And you’re a lawyer, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“The courtroom experience will be good for you.”

“What’s this going to do to our civil suit, Stone?”

“If Dattila is convicted it will improve our chances of getting a judgment against him a lot.”

Herbie managed a smile.

“But I’ve got to be able to get in touch with you on a moment’s notice, so you keep that phone on you at all times, and don’t use up all the minutes.”

“Okay, Stone.”

“Well, get going!”

Herbie shook hands and left the office.

Stone asked Joan to come in. When she had taken a chair he said, “I want you to take a vacation, sort of.”

“What’s a vacation sort of?” she asked.