Chapters (66)
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- Acknowledgements
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
“Tell him I want two dozen,” Lance said, then walked out the dining room door.
“Have a nice flight home!” Stone called after him.
FORTY-FIVE
FORTY-FIVE
Stone went downstairs to his office and flopped onto the sofa, drained. He was grateful that the marathon questioning of Pablo was over, and he doubted if he would hear from the man again. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
There was a rap on the door, followed by a familiar voice.
“Hey, Stone.”
Stone didn’t open his eyes. “Not now, Herbie, please.”
“I think you’re going to want to know this, Stone.”
“All right,” Stone said with a whimper, “tell me.”
“The DA is investigating me.”
Stone opened his eyes. “What?”
“No kidding. An investigator with the DA’s office has been questioning my doorman about my comings and goings.”
“Do you have any idea why they’re interested in your comings and goings, Herbie?”
“No, and I don’t understand it.”
“Herbie, without giving me any details, have you been involved in anything that might even remotely resemble an illegal activity?”
“No, Stone,” Herbie replied, sounding wounded. “I’m just living my life, that’s all.”
“Herbie, I’m going to tell you a secret that will transform your life, if you will only believe it.”
“What’s that, Stone?”
“If you’re an honest man, you don’t have to worry about being investigated. The DA can’t find anything incriminating about you if you haven’t done anything incriminating. Does that make any kind of sense to you?”
“Well, yeah, I guess.”
“Do you believe what I just said?”
“Well, it’s logical.”
“No, Herbie, you have to believe in your heart that you are innocent, and then you will feel better. Work on that.”
“Okay,” Herbie said. “See you later.”
“Please, God, no,” Stone whispered to himself, closing his eyes again.
There was another rap on his office door. “Stone?”
“What is it, Joan?”
“One of those technicians from upstairs wants to do something to our telephones.”
Stone thought about that for a moment. “Send him in, please.” He tucked a pillow under his head and waited.
A man wearing a tool belt came in. “Mr. Barrington, I need to take a look at your office phones.”
“Are you going to remove the bugs?”
“Well, sir, without acknowledging that there are any bugs on your phones, I would like to take a look at them. Only take a minute.”
“All right, go ahead,” Stone said.
The man went to Stone’s desk and used a screwdriver to take the plastic top off the phone. There was a snipping sound, then he put the phone back together and repeated the process with the phone on the coffee table.
“Don’t forget the secretary’s phone,” Stone said.
“Yes, sir.”
“Did you do all the ones upstairs?”
“Yes, sir, all the way to the top of the house. The kitchen, too.”
“Thank you.”