Dino came walking up the driveway, followed by another man. He introduced Sergeant Rivera to Stone, and Stone introduced them to the lead detective.
“We’ve got a man down in the central hall of the house,” he said to the detective. “One gunshot wound to the back, exiting the chest, DOA. We have security people here to prevent such a thing, but we found where he came over the rear fence, leaving this.” He handed the scrap of blue cloth to the detective. “You’ll see where it came from his shirt. We kicked his gun to one side when we turned him over to see how badly he was hurt, but nobody has touched it since.”
“Motive?” the detective asked.
“Uncertain,” Stone said. “Maybe robbery, maybe something to do with a business deal. This is the home of the late Vance Calder; his widow is in the house, but she saw nothing.”
The detective nodded. “I’ll need to talk to her.”
Stone went and brought Arrington out and introduced them. Then he sat and listened as she was interviewed. When they were done, he took her to her room. “You get some sleep,” he said, kissing her.
Somebody from the medical examiner’s office showed up, followed by two EMTs in an ambulance. They began to do their work.
Eventually, the ME joined Stone and the detective. “Deceased, probably instantly; gunshot wound, through- and-through, fresh corpse, been dead less than an hour.”
“I’ll need the gun that fired the shot,” the detective said, and Mike’s security man handed it over, along with his gun permit and a business card. The detective made some notes, then returned the permit to him. “Remain available,” the detective said, and the man nodded.
Mike Freeman turned up shortly. “I’m sorry I was so long; I was having dinner in Malibu,” he said.
Stone silently wondered where in Malibu.
“With Charlene,” Mike said.
Stone nodded and brought him up to date. “Your people did well,” he said, “but I didn’t. I took Arrington to dinner, and a car followed us, but I thought it was your people. Turned out, I was wrong.”
Photographs of the corpse and the scene were taken. Then the police cleared the scene and took down the yellow tape. Manolo turned up with a mop and a pail and cleaned up the blood, as if he did the same every night.
“It’s time everybody went to bed,” Stone said, shooing everybody out of the house but the security people and Dino. Then he went to Arrington’s room and knocked softly on the door.
“Come in,” she said, and when he had stepped inside, “close the door and come to bed; I don’t want to sleep alone.”
Stone undressed and climbed in next to her. “I told Manolo breakfast at seven; Mike’s people will deliver you to Burbank airport whenever you want to leave.”
She snuggled close to him. “That’s the nice thing about a private jet,” she said. “Departure time is whenever you feel like it.”
She reached down and fondled him, and they had an active halfhour before falling asleep.
She woke Stone at six-thirty, already half-dressed. “I’ll finish packing and join you for breakfast,” she said.
Stone went back to the guesthouse, showered, and changed, then joined Dino at the poolside table.
“You two sleep okay?” Dino asked.
“Yes, considering.”
“Are you still rattled? You were last night.”
“I’m still angry,” Stone said.
“It was Prince, you think? He wants Arrington dead?”
“No, he wants me dead,” Stone replied. “I’ve purposely made myself the main impediment to his deal, so he wants me out of the way. Me dead wouldn’t cause much of a fuss; Arrington dead would make world-wide headlines.”
“I buy that,” Dino said. “Still, it seems reckless.”
“I think he’s beyond caring about that, just obsessed with the deal. What’s the news from your pal Rivera?”
“He pulled in this guy Carter, at Parker Center, and scared the shit out of him. No arrest, but the department fired him.”
“I’m sure that Prince will see that he receives a nice pension contribution,” Stone said.
“Or just kill him, like Alexei,” Dino pointed out.
Arrington joined them, looking fresh and rested, and Manolo served them breakfast.
“Didn’t take you long to pack,” Stone said.
“There isn’t much to pack when you’re traveling from your house to your house,” she said.
“True.”
“How long will it take me to get to Virginia?” she asked. Stone thought about it. “Not more than four hours,” he said. “Something you should think about when you get home is buying a hangar.”
“Good idea,” she said. “Why rent?”
“I’ll research it for you, if you like, see what the market is like, what’s available.”
“Thank you, I’d like that.”
They finished breakfast, and Stone walked her to the Bentley. Manolo would drive her, accompanied by two unmarked security cars. “Have a good flight,” he said.
“I’m sure I will,” she replied. “I’m looking forward to it.” She kissed him, got into the Bentley, and was driven away.
Stone was back at the table when Mike Freeman called.
“Hello?”
“Hi, did she get away?”
“She just left.”
“I’m on my way to Burbank; I’ll fly to Virginia with Arrington, and have our CJ4 meet me there and take me to New York. I had my aviation department check out the hangar situation at Charlottesville,” he said.
“I was going to do that myself,” Stone replied.
“There’s a nice corporate hangar available-office, crew quarters, etc. They want half a million.”
“I’ll recommend it to her,” Stone said.
“I’ll call the crew and tell them to take the airplane there when they land. I’ll do the deal, if you like, subject to Arrington’s approval, and your people can send the check.”
“Go ahead.” Stone hung up, and Mike called back in ten minutes.
“I got it for four-fifty,” he said. “I told them to send the paperwork to Bill Eggers. I’ll show it to her when we land and get her approval.”
“You make life so easy, Mike.”
“It’s what I do. Talk to you later.” He hung up.
Stone called Arrington in the car and explained the deal to her.
“I approve,” she said.
“Just what I always like to hear a client say. Call me when you’ve actually seen it. Mike’s going to fly to Virginia with you and show you the hangar when you land. Let me know what you think.”
“Will do.”
Stone went back to the remains of his breakfast.
“So,” Dino said, “what’s next?”
“I think it’s time to take the game to Prince,” Stone said. “I’m tired of playing catch-up.”
32
Stone called Carolyn Blaine. “Are you available for lunch?”
“I don’t think we should be seen in public,” she said.
