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Chapters (65)
  1. Cover
  2. BOOKS BY STUART WOODS
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. 57
  61. 58
  62. 59
  63. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  64. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  65. What’s next onyour reading list?

“Oh, good, I like them. Would you play something for me on the piano?”

“Of course. What would you like to hear?”

“Some Gershwin?”

“Coming right up.” He played Gershwin while she got dinner together, then they sat down together.

“I have an idea,” she said.

“Shoot.”

“Why don’t you record a whole lot of things on the piano, then we can listen together at dinner?”

“I like it. There must be a recording studio in town, I’ll see if I can find it.”

—

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Chris turned up with the newly arrived outside cameras with their flash warning. While his people were setting them up, he marked the plat of the property with their locations. “I’ve set this up in a way that you won’t blind passing motorists on the road, and, also, I’ve made sure they aren’t pointed at any of your neighbors’ houses. I’m sure you wouldn’t want complaints from them.”

“Good thinking,” Laurence said.

“By the way,” Chris said, “these things will detect coyotes, too. I understand you have them around here.”

“I haven’t seen any, but I’ve heard them at night.”

“You don’t have any pets, do you?”

“No—not yet, anyway.”

“If you get a dog or a cat, it would be a good idea to keep them indoors at night. Remember, coyotes are carnivores.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Chris finished up his work and added the outdoor cameras to the iPhone app. “That’s it,” he said.

Laurence handed him a key. “This is for the Palm Beach house. There’s no security system to get past.”

“I’ll call you from there if I have any questions,” Chris said, then departed.

“I wish I had done the Palm Beach house weeks ago,” Laurence said to Theresa. “Then the tabloids wouldn’t have found us so easily.”

26

CHIP ARNOLD PARKED his car a couple of hundred yards up the road from the house, then he slung his camera around his neck and started down the hill. The sun was already behind the mountains, leaving a red sky, slowly darkening, and as he left the road it seemed to get dark all at once. He used a penlight to find his way through the piñon trees; he wanted to be about a hundred feet from the house. The 300mm lens would do the rest.

He had no more than a few paces to go when everything turned white for a moment, followed quickly by black, stopping him in his tracks. He blinked rapidly, trying to regain his normal vision, but all he could see was a red dot. He sat down on the ground and waited for his sight to return.

—