“Did you have any problems in Los Angeles?” Stone asked.

“We were spotted getting out of an Arrington Bentley at Spago, but we escaped out the back way after lunch. Our driver and the hotel staff seemed to handle it all very well, and we didn’t have any problems on departure. Mind you, we left the hotel before dawn and took off very early. And we didn’t have any problems in Napa.”

“Perhaps they haven’t figured out yet that you have an airplane, so they didn’t cover Santa Monica or Burbank.”

“I hope they never figure it out,” Laurence said.

24

A COUPLE OF DAYS LATER Laurence got a call. “Hello?”

“Mr. Hayward, this is Chris, from Strategic Services.”

“Good morning, Chris.”

“I wanted you to know that we’ve completed your installation, and when you return, I’d be happy to come back and take you through it.”

“That may be a while.”

“In that case, let me e-mail you a short video that you can watch on your cell phone, then I’ll call you back and walk you through installing the app to operate it.”

“All right.”

“Just hang up, and when you get it, tap on the arrow.”

Laurence did so, and a moment later he was watching a tour of his apartment, featuring close-ups of nearly invisible cameras and a voiceover by Chris, showing how to operate the system. He hung up and waited, and Chris called back.

“I hope that gave you an idea of the system’s capabilities.”

“It certainly did.”

“If you’ll give me a four-digit code, I’ll program the system to allow you to operate it.”

Laurence gave him a code.

“Now let me walk you through downloading the app to your iPhone.”

Five minutes later, Laurence was in full control of the system. He switched from one room to another, zoomed in and out, and watched Marge at her desk. Theresa looked over his shoulder.

“That’s amazing,” she said.

He called Chris back. “It worked beautifully,” he said. “Now, I have two other houses, one in Palm Beach and one in Santa Fe. Can you install the same system in both?”

“We certainly can,” Chris replied. He wrote down the addresses.

“We’re in Santa Fe now, so you might do that one first.”

“We’ll be there the day after tomorrow,” Chris said.

Laurence hung up. “There, I feel better now.”

—

EXCEPT HE DIDN’T feel all that much better. That afternoon, he drove into Santa Fe to a gun shop he had passed before. After a few minutes of looking, he chose a small 9mm pistol and filled out the form for a background check. While he waited for a response, the salesman took him to the shop’s indoor firing range and taught him the basics of using the weapon.

“Any other advice?” Laurence asked.