Stone removed the check from the envelope, read it, and gulped. “Six hundred and twelve million dollars?”

“You missed a few zeros the first time,” Laurence said.

“And this is a third of the prize?”

“It was the biggest Powerball ever.”

2

STONE TOOK ANOTHER deep breath.

“The limo driver from Teterboro this morning recognized me,” Laurence said. “I can’t go anywhere. It’s crazy.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“Since this morning—that’s when I went to the lottery office.”

“I heard it mentioned on TV, but I didn’t get the details.”

“It seems that a lot of other people did.”

“All right,” Stone said, “we’ve covered the clothes, the car, and the apartment. What else do you have in mind?”

“Art and American antique furniture,” Laurence replied. “Dicky and Vanessa turned me on to that—their house is full of it. There’s a big show on at the Park Avenue Armory.”

“Is that it?”

“For the moment. Oh, and I’d like to write a nice check to Habitat for Humanity. I volunteered to help build half a dozen of their houses during my summers in Palm Beach.”

“Good. Here are the things I think you should do, starting tomorrow morning. First, we need to get that check into a bank, because every day you wait will cost you considerable income in interest. Then we need to get you introduced to some investment advisors. I want to introduce you to a young partner at my law firm, Woodman & Weld. His name is Herb Fisher, and he will handle all the details of your plans. You will also need an accountant.”

“What bank do you recommend?”

“M&T Bank, which has a branch in my firm’s building, and which owns an investment company called Wilmington Trust. They were, originally, the DuPont family bank, and they handle the investments of high-end clients. You certainly qualify as that. Also, they have a branch in North Palm Beach, and your accounts should be based there, in order to protect you from being taxed as a resident of New York State. It helps that you were born in Florida. Did your father own a home there?”

“Yes, on Australian Avenue. It was his only home, and he had put it into a trust for me.”

“Good. Another thing is, to protect your anonymity, we should set up a Florida corporation in which you can hold large assets, like your apartment. Think of a name for it.”

Laurence thought about it. “The LBH Corporation—my initials?”

“Fine.” Stone looked at his watch. “We need to get you a disguise, in the form of some barbering, I think.”

“Okay.”

He buzzed his secretary. “Joan, see if José at Nico’s can take a new customer immediately—haircut, shave, mani-pedi, facial. Book him in as Mr. Jones.”

“Okay.”

“I need all of that?” Laurence asked.