“I’d rather not say,” Stone said.
“I don’t think you’ll have any more trouble from Paul. Where do you want to do the divorce?”
“Anywhere in Florida will do.”
“I know a judge here in Palm Beach, and I’m licensed to practice here.”
“Fine with me. I’m not licensed here, so I’ll get Bill Eggers to find somebody. He’ll be in touch.”
“I’ll look forward to receiving the signed documents tomorrow.” Ginsky held out his hand.
Stone shook it. “Thanks for getting him to see sweet reason, Ed.”
“See you around the courts in New York, I expect.”
“I expect so.”
The two lawyers walked out of the conference room and into the lobby. Paul Manning was nowhere in sight.
They walked out to the ramp together, shook hands again, and Ginsky got into a Hawker 125, parked near the door.
Stone assumed Manning was already on it. He walked a hundred yards to where his less imposing aircraft had been parked by the Lineman. He did an especially thorough preflight inspection before climbing into the airplane.
He remembered Manning’s remark about knowing how to fix airplanes, and he wanted to be sure the one he was flying would keep flying. He started the engine, and he listened to it carefully before starting to taxi.
All the way back to North County airport, he listened to the engine. It got him back safely.
47
When Stone arrived back aboard the yacht, Liz, Callie and Dino were all waiting for him.
“Did you see him?” Liz asked.
“Not exactly,” Stone said, “but we were in the same room.”
“Did he sign the papers?” she asked anxiously.
“Yes.”
“How much am I giving him?”
“Two million dollars.”
Liz collapsed in his arms, laughing. “Oh, Stone, you are a wonder. You saved me three million dollars!”
“Don’t ever tell Paul that,” he said.
“I hope I won’t ever have to talk to him.”
“I think we can avoid a court appearance for the divorce.”
“Where will we do the divorce?”
“Here in Palm Beach. I’ll find you a Florida lawyer for that, but since we have a signed settlement, there won’t be much work for him to do. Now you have to sign the documents, and we have to find a notary.”
“I’m a notary,” Callie said. “I have to witness stuff for Thad all the time.”
“Great. Go get your seal.”
Callie left them, then returned with her seal and stamp. Stone handed Liz a pen, she signed and Callie notarized.
“That’s it,” Stone said, handing the documents to Callie, along with Ed Ginsky’s card. “Will you FedEx these to him right away?”
“Sure. I’ll call for a pickup now.” She picked up a phone.
“I have to call Thad and tell him,” Liz said, running for the phone in the saloon.
Stone sat down beside Dino.
“Is this all over, Stone?”
“I hope so,” Stone replied.
“But you’re not sure?”
“It’s not going to be over until it’s over.” He thought about that for a moment. “And maybe not even then.”
“What’s the problem?”
“The problem is Manning. He’s still just as angry and, apparently, as nuts as he was the day you arrested him in New York. He’s got a good lawyer-Ed Ginsky-but I don’t know if Ed can control him.”
“I know who Ginsky is,” Dino said. “He’s had a lot of experience dealing with angry spouses.”
“I wonder how much experience he’s had in dealing with crazy ones?”
“Everybody who’s getting a divorce is crazy for a while,” Dino said.
Stone picked up the phone. “I’d better call Bill Eggers and find Liz a local lawyer.”
Liz came running back from the saloon. “Thad’s coming back tonight!” She ran toward her cabin.
Stone placed the call to Eggers and told him what he wanted.
“I don’t know the Florida law offhand,” Eggers said, “but it sounds pretty straightforward.”
“That’s what I think. You know somebody in Palm Beach?”
“No, but somebody here in the shop will. I’ll have somebody call you.”
“Okay.”
“How’s everything going?”
Stone gave him a recap of recent events.
“This is kind of messy, isn’t it?”
“As divorces go, yes; but we might conclude a nasty case as well.”
Thad Shames came aboard his yacht late in the afternoon in high spirits. He swept Liz into his arms, kissed her, then shook hands with Stone and Dino, then he turned back to Liz. “Right here, in front of these witnesses, I want to ask you: Will you marry me?”
“Oh, yes!” she cried, and they kissed again.
Dino glanced at Stone and rolled his eyes.
“Isn’t this romantic?” Callie asked Stone.
“Oh, yeah,” Stone replied.
“Let’s do it this weekend,” Thad said enthusiastically.
“I’d love that!” Liz said, tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks.
Stone and Dino exchanged glances. Stone was horrified, Dino amused.
Liz went to repair her makeup, and Stone made Thad sit down with him and Dino.
“Thad,” Stone said seriously, “don’t you think you ought to wait until Liz is divorced before you get married?”
“Oh, that’s just paperwork,” Thad said. “You’ve already got the signed property settlement and divorce papers, and anyway, legally, she’s a widow-twice, in fact. Both deaths are a matter of public record.”
“Thad, rushing into this could make your life a lot more complicated. Why do that? I haven’t looked into the Florida law, but with signed papers and a settlement, it shouldn’t take long to get a decree. Relax and enjoy being engaged for a while.”
“Listen, Stone,” Thad said. “I’ve waited a long time for this girl, and I’m not going to let her get away. I’m not going to relax until we’re married and on our honeymoon.”
Callie came with drinks for all of them.
“Callie, we’re having a Sunday afternoon wedding,” Thad said. “Invite everybody who was at the housewarming, plus the New York list. Call the caterers and find out how I get a marriage license and, if necessary, a blood test.”
Callie grabbed a pad and started taking notes.
“And, Stone, Dino, I want you both to stay for the wedding,” Thad said.
Stone looked at Dino, and they nodded.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Dino said.
“And, Thad,” Stone said, “we’re going to need some outside security for this occasion.”
“Callie, take care of it,” Thad said. He got up. “I’m going to get a shower and change for dinner. Please book us a table somewhere, Callie.” He departed for the house.
Callie sat down next to Stone. “How much security are you going to want?”
“Let’s see,” Stone said, looking toward the house. “We’ll want two men, dressed like the car parkers, out in front of the house. There should be two men in each public room in the house, dressed as guests, four in the garden and two on the yacht. How many is that?”
“Eighteen.”
“Ask for twenty-four, and I want them to have radios.”
“Do you want them armed?”
Stone thought about that.
Dino spoke up. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea, having that many armed men in a crowd. After all, we don’t know these guys, don’t know how good they are.”
“We’ll have one armed man in each room, in the garden and on the yacht,” Stone said. “Tell them we want only their best-trained and most experienced men carrying.”
“All right,” Callie said.
“And I want them here an hour before the party, so I can brief them.”
“Okay.” She made a note of that.
“Anything else you can think of?” Stone asked Dino.
“Well, let’s see,” Dino said, “we could have a couple of machine guns mounted on the roof, and maybe a bazooka or two.”