“Well, shit,” Larry said. “You’re not lying, Mr. Barrington.”
“No,” Stone said, “I’m not.”
“I mean, you got no idea what some folks will tell you in circumstances like this, you know?”
“I’m sure. But the fact remains, Larry, that you’re not going to get paid for this one, so why do it? You’ve already got the twenty-five thousand, so you haven’t wasted your time, but Bartlett isn’t going to pay off, now.” Stone did not like standing in this swamp, with things slithering around in it.
“He’s got a point, Larry,” Ernest said.
“Maybe,” Larry said, thoughtfully.
Ernest looked at his watch. “And we haven’t got all that much time before our plane.”
Larry looked at Stone. “I don’t guess you’d really pay me the fifty grand, would you?”
“Give me your address, and I’ll send you a check,” Stone replied.
Larry burst out laughing. “Come on, Ernest, let’s get outta here!” He got into the car, and Ernest drove off, spinning the wheels and throwing mud everywhere.
Stone stood in the swamp for a minute, trying to get his heart rate down, then the snake appeared again, and he started struggling for the shore.
Once on dry land, he lay down and, with the greatest possible effort, got his handcuffed hands under his ass and finally over his feet. Now, with his hands in front of him, he was able to get to the cell phone under his sweater on his belt. He punched in the number.
“The Shames yacht,” Dino said.
“Dino,” Stone said, “I need you to come and get me, and bring your handcuffs key.”
39
Dino found the whole story hilarious. “I don’t believe it,” he cackled. “Bartlett bites you on the ass from the grave! I wish I had been there!”
“Dino, it wasn’t funny, even if you were there.”
“And you thought it was Manning who bought the hit!” He cackled again.
“And it still isn’t funny.”
Stone went to his cabin, showered and changed, retrieved his laptop computer and brought it into the saloon.
“What are you doing with that?” Dino asked.
“The only address we have for Frederick James is an e-mail address, so I’m going to e-mail him.”
“Will he be able to tell you’re in Palm Beach?”
“No. The return address will be the same as if I’d sent it from New York.”
“Okay, why not?”
Stone made some adjustments in his telephone dialing program, logged on to his Internet provider and went to e-mail.
TO: FREDERICK JAMES FROM: STONE BARRINGTON
DEAR MR. JAMES:
I UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME. IF SO, YOU MAY REACH ME AT THE ABOVE E-MAIL ADDRESS, OR TELEPHONE ME AT (917) 555-1455.I THINK YOU AND I MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DISCUSS THAT WOULD REACT TO YOUR BENEFIT.
Stone sent the e-mail. “Let’s see if that raises him.”
“And what if it does?”
“All I want to do is buy the guy off. Maybe he’ll listen to reason."
“You think he’s interested in money?”
“I don’t think he’s interested in anything else. He’s doing this because he’s pissed off at his wife for taking all his money. I’m going to propose that she give some of it back.”
“I think the guy’s a fruitcake, Stone, and…”
A chime from Stone’s computer interrupted him. “You have mail,” a notice on the screen said.
“That was quick. The guy must have been working on his computer.” Stone opened the e-mail.
TO: STONE BARRINGTON
FROM: FREDERICK JAMES
DEAR MR. BARRINGTON:
WHY DO YOU THINK I AM TRYING TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU? I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
Stone was annoyed. He immediately wrote back.
TO: PAUL MANNING
FROM: STONE BARRINGTON
PAUL:
ALLISON HAS ASKED ME TO REPRESENT HER IN COMING TO TERMS WITH YOU. SHE IS WILLING TO PART WITH A SUBSTANTIAL SUM OF MONEY IN ORDER TO AMICABLY END ALL TIES WITH YOU. LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.
“Let’s see if that has any effect,” Stone said.
Considerable time passed while they waited. Stone and Dino chatted about nothing in particular for a while, then the computer chimed again, and Stone opened the mail.
TO: STONE BARRINGTON
FROM: FREDERICK JAMES
SIR:
YOU SEEM TO BE SUFFERING UNDER THE DELUSION THAT I AM SOMEONE ELSE. HOW DID YOU GET THIS E-MAIL ADDRESS?
Stone immediately wrote back:
PAUL, THERE IS NO POINT IN CONTINUING WITH THIS. IF YOU HAVE NO INTEREST IN A SUBSTANTIAL SETTLEMENT, THEN YOU AND ALLISON CAN GO YOUR SEPARATE WAYS, WITH YOU EMPTY-HANDED AND EXPOSED.
There was an immediate return message:
SIR:
JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU CAN EXPOSE ABOUT ME? YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO I AM.
Stone wrote back:
PAUL, OF COURSE I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. HOW ABOUT THIS: I CALL SOMEBODY I KNOW AT 60 MINUTES AND SUGGEST THEY DO A PIECE ON PAUL AND ALLISON MANNING, WHO EVERYBODY THINKS WERE HANGED IN ST. MARKS A WHILE BACK. THEY COULD INTERVIEW ALLISON, WHO COULD TELL THEM HOW SHE BRIBED GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS FOR HER OWN RELEASE AND YOURS. THEN SHE COULD TELL THEM HOW YOU ARE NOW CALLING YOURSELF FREDERICK JAMES, AND AS SOON AS THE SHOW IS OVER, EVERY JOURNALIST IN AMERICA WILL BE TRYING TO FIND YOU, WHICH SHOULD MAKE YOUR LIFE FUN. YOU SEEM TO HAVE MADE A NICE NEW LIFE FOR YOURSELF, WITH A BOOK ON THE TIMES LIST. WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE TO LIVE THAT LIFE, UNDISTURBED?
ALL WE ASK IS THAT YOU TAKE SOME MONEY AND LEAVE ALLISON UNDISTURBED. TALK TO ME.
James’s answer:
SIR: I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF MANIAC YOU ARE, BUT YOU ARE FLIRTING WITH THE BIGGEST LAWSUIT YOU EVER HEARD OF, PLUS MAYBE CRIMINAL CHARGES OF EXTORTION. THIS CORRESPONDENCE IS AT AN END, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN.
Dino, looking over Stone’s shoulder, read the e-mail. “Well, that was certainly indignant. You think he’s bluffing?”
“Yes,” Stone said. “What’s more, I think we may have smoked him out. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of Mr. James.”
40
Stone was reading the papers the following morning, when Thad appeared on deck, carrying two briefcases. He gave them to Juanito. “Put these in the car, will you, please?”
“You leaving?” Stone asked.
“Yes. I’ve got to go back to New York, then back to the Coast again.”
“Thad, it might be a good idea if you took Liz with you.”
“Why?”
“Well, I don’t know if or when Paul Manning is going to turn up, but if he does, it might be better if Liz weren’t here.”
“What am I going to do with her in New York, lock her in a hotel suite? I’m going to be very busy for the next week or so, and I’d have little time to spend with her. And from what she tells me, I think she’d be afraid to go out shopping or anywhere else on her own.”
“You have a point,” Stone said.
“I’d feel much better if she were here with you and Callie and Dino.”
“For how long?” Stone asked.
“For as long as you’ll stay, or until you reach some sort of accommodation with Manning.”
“Thad, I can’t stay forever, but I’ll give it another week or two. Maybe we’ll hear from this Frederick James again. If he really is Manning, I can’t think why he wouldn’t not want to talk to me. After all, he’s already called my office three or four times.”
“Does James know where you are?”
“No. At least, I don’t think so.”
“You want me to hire some private security to back you up?”
“No, not at the moment. If it gets bad we can always do that.”
“If you want help, just tell Callie. She’ll know who to call.”
“All right.”
The two men shook hands, and Thad left the yacht.
Dino, who had been having breakfast during this conversation, now spoke up. “Listen, Stone, I’m beginning to think you’re taking this too seriously. I mean, all that’s happened is the lady’s house has been messed up a little. That’s kid stuff; it’s hardly a threat on her life. And if James is really Manning, then he can’t be completely a fruitcake. He’s made a life for himself, he’s writing again, and if his book is on the best-seller list, he must be doing okay at it.”