“I seem to have a distant memory of someone by that name,” he said. They had agreed that she would make the calls, since she was usually too busy at the White House to take them.

“I’ve got a free chopper ride to New York tomorrow. You got a free evening?”

“Better than that, I’ve got a great party to go to. Bring a killer dress, it’s black tie.”

“That sounds like my kind of party. I should be in around midday.”

“Come straight to the house, and make yourself at home.”

“Yes, sir, I’ll do that, sir.” She hung up. Holly never wasted a moment on the phone; she had been national security advisor to the President for nearly two years, and every moment counted.

Stone got dressed, then checked the guest bathroom and dressing room for signs of the previous woman. He found a lipstick and put it in his pocket.

Downstairs, Joan was occupied with her security lesson from Hev. He worked for a couple of hours, then Hev came into his office.

“I’m outta here,” she said, “and I won’t be back unless the equipment malfunctions, and I mean the security equipment, nothing personal.”

“You’re very kind,” Stone said, slipping the lipstick into her cleavage.

“Cleaning up after me, huh?”

“A friend called and is coming in from out of town.”

“Then you need a blank page to work on.” She kissed him lightly. “It’s been fun,” she said, “but we both know it’s over.”

“I’m sorry to hear it.”

“Law of the jungle—stay in your own tree. I learned that a long time ago.”

“That’s good advice, I guess.”

“Joan knows the equipment as well as I do,” she said.

“The security equipment, you mean.”

“That’s what I mean. Let me give you an overview—both your systems are now interconnected, and the cameras and the alarm share all the keypads. You can arm or disarm the system from any keypad. Arming it from upstairs in your bedroom turns on the whole house, but on the top floor not the motion detectors. Bob would have a field day with those, and you wouldn’t get any sleep. Everything is monitored by our East Side tech office, where the rent is cheaper than at headquarters. There’s always at least one guy sitting at a console, gazing at a bank of monitors, and if he gets an alarm, his system switches to the premises involved. He’ll call the house to see if it’s a false alarm. If he doesn’t get ahold of somebody with the cancellation code, he’ll call the cops. I suggest you change your security and cancellation codes. Your house number and your date of birth are too obvious. Joan knows how to do it.”

“I’ll see if I can think of another code I can remember.”

“What would you do without Joan?” she asked.

“Perish.”