“No, Judge,” the woman said, baffled.
He handed her a copy of the decree. “Just give these people copies of this and file it, and forget you ever saw it. I intend to.” He turned to the group. “Fred, you can use my chambers to sign these papers, then get these people out of here. I don’t ever want to hear a word about this again. Is that clear?”
“Perfectly clear, Judge,” Williamson said.
The judge walked out of his chambers, slamming the door behind him.
Williamson whipped out a pen, and everybody started signing. Five minutes later, the group broke up.
As they were leaving, Paul Manning approached his ex-wife. “Well, nice knowing you, Allison.”
“There was nothing nice about it,” Allison said, and stalked away.
“Wait for me in the car,” Stone called out. He shook Fred Williamson’s hand. “Thanks, Fred, for all your help.”
“Can you tell me what the hell that was all about?” Williamson asked softly.
“Just forget it and send us your bill,” Stone said. “Ed, Paul, a moment, please?”
The two men stopped. Stone waited until Williamson had left the room. “I’ve got something to say to you, Paul, and I want to say it to you in front of your attorney.”
“Do I have to listen to this, Ed?” Manning asked.
“Give Stone a minute, Paul.”
“First of all, the two million dollars will be wired into your account immediately, Ed.”
“Thank you, Stone.”
Stone removed a sheet of paper from his pocket. “And this is a release from the insurance company.”
Ginsky looked at it. “Why, this is dated…”
“Yes, it is,” Stone said.
Manning snatched the paper and read it. “You mean, I was already…”
“Yes, you were, Paul, but you’re not out of the woods yet.”
“What do you mean?” Ginsky asked.
“Ed, your client participated in four transactions in Virginia and Maryland a while back that you don’t know about and don’t want to know about. But I know about them, Paul, and I’m happy to tell you that you left a fingerprint on a note you handed somebody. I’ve never expected you to adhere voluntarily to the terms of the agreement you signed, so let’s just call this insurance.”
“It sounds a lot more like blackmail,” Ginsky said.
“That’s exactly what it is, Ed. Paul, if you ever so much as speak to Allison again,” Stone said, ignoring the attorney and speaking directly to his client, “one phone call will make you a fugitive again. On the other hand, if you keep your word, you’re in no jeopardy.”
“I don’t know what he’s talking about, Ed,” Manning said.
“Sure you do, Paul, and Ed shouldn’t know. But I know, and don’t you ever forget it. Ed, thanks for handling this so well. Paul, you can go fuck yourself.”
Stone turned and walked away.
52
Stone drove Liz back to the yacht, feeling relieved and relaxed for the first time since he had arrived in Palm Beach. His relief lasted only until he walked up the gangplank.
A short, stocky man with iron-gray hair, wearing slacks and some kind of Cuban or Filipino shirt, stood up from a chair, where he had been sitting next to Dino. “Are you Stone Barrington?” he asked.
“That’s right,” Stone replied.
The man didn’t offer his hand. “My name is Guido. A friend of yours sent me.” As he spoke, a puff breeze blew the loose shirt against his body, revealing the outline of a pistol at his waist.
It took Stone a second to register what the man had said and to interpret it. He looked at Dino questioningly.
“Yeah, that friend,” Dino said.
“Oh, sorry. What can I do for you, Guido?”
Guido looked around at the other people. “Can we talk?”
“Let’s go into the garden,” Stone said, leading the way off the yacht and to a bench among some flowers. “Okay,” he said, “tell me.”
“I’m here to bring the lady in question home.”
“All right,” Stone said.
“Where is she?”
“Did you talk to Dino about this?”
“He didn’t seem too interested in talking to me.”
“She’s moving from hotel to hotel, every day,” Stone said. “We know she’s already been to the Breakers and the Brazilian Court.”
“How many hotels in this burg?” Guido asked.
“Lots.”
“Anything else you can tell me?”
“She may be driving a silver Volvo sedan, but I can’t swear to that.”
“That ain’t much,” Guido said.
“I know, but it’s all I’ve got. Do you have any help?”
“I got a couple guys and a Lear waiting at the airport with a doctor and a nurse.”
“Good. Want some advice?”
“Why not?”
“She seems to have been following me. I suggest you follow me, too, but from a distance.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
“Do you know her?”
“Since she was in diapers; I used to change them.”
“She knows you, then?”
“Oh, yeah; since she’s old enough to talk she’s called me Uncle Guido.”
“Well, Guido, if she’s that fond of you, she might not be so inclined to take a shot at you.”
Guido nodded solemnly. “And she’s a hell of a shot,” he said. “I know. I taught her in her papa’s basement, when she was fourteen.”
“I noticed you’re carrying,” Stone said.
Guido threw up his hands. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to off her. Those are not my instructions.”
Stone didn’t doubt that if those were his instructions, Guido would carry them out with alacrity. “I’m glad to hear it,” he said. “Suppose you see her? How are you going to handle this?”
“Decisively,” Guido said. “I’m not here to fuck around.”
“Are the people with you good?”
“The best. They’d do anything for the old man.”
“I suggest you lose the hardware. If I can spot it, anybody can spot it, and the local cops aren’t going to take kindly to out-of-towners packing iron on their streets.”
“What are the local cops like?” Guido asked.
“Professional. They’ve got a smart chief, and you don’t want to mess with him or any of his men.”
“We’ll play it cool, then,” Guido said.
“Guido, please don’t take this the wrong way, but on the streets of Palm Beach, you’re going to stand out.”
“Don’t worry, I tan fast.”
Stone sighed. “I’m not talking about your lack of a tan. People around here can spot an outsider in a split second, and any cop in town would make you as a foreigner from a block away.”
“I ain’t a foreigner,” Guido said hotly. “I was born in Brooklyn.”
