“Always thinking of yourself,” Stone said.
“And my widow. Potentially.”
“She’ll be a rich and beautiful widow, and she’ll draw men like flies.”
“I know. Thanks for reminding me.”
“Somebody’s got to keep your head on straight.”
“I’d just like to keep it attached,” Dino said.
“I prefer it that way, too,” Stone replied.
Dino was quiet for a moment. “Maybe the mayor will give me some unpaid leave — a month, say.”
“I’ll pay your salary.”
“Will you stop reminding me that you’re richer than I am?”
“Why? It’s such fun.”
“I’m rich enough to buy anything I want, if I’m careful about what I want.”
“You’re so wise, Dino. You should have been an owl.”
“Maybe I can get Viv to volunteer,” Dino said. “She’s fond of you.”
“I think she likes me better than you,” Stone said.
“Yeah? If that’s true, you’ve got more than the twins to worry about.”
“With the two of you on the job, I’d have no worries. I could even take naps.”
11
Stone had just finished with a client the following morning, when Joan buzzed. “Billy Hotchkiss on one for you.”
Stone picked up the phone. “Hey, Billy.”
“Hey, Stone. I got a call this morning you ought to know about.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Eben Stone was on the line. He says he and his brother are coming up here today to house hunt.”
“‘House hunt’?”
“You sound surprised.”
“I thought they just wanted their old family place back.”
“Apparently they’ve decided they want something bigger.”
“Do you have anything like that on the books?”
“We’ve always got two or three white elephants — you know, lots of rooms, but no insulation, leaky roofs, faulty appliances.”
“Is that what they specified?”
“Not exactly, but it’s all I’ve got this time of year. Season starts this weekend, so everything worth having sold in the spring.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to show ’em houses, pal. It’s what I do.”
“Do you think you can horrify them out of wanting a summer there?”
“I’m going to give it my best shot. I’d sure like it if you were up here to watch my back.”
“Billy, I’ve already sent people up there to do just that. Have you noticed a couple of folks moseying around your shop, not buying anything?”
“Now that you mention it. I’ve got one sitting on the porch, reading the Boston Globe. And another is looking at comic books and drinking our free water.”
“That sounds like them. They’ll be wearing loose-fitting garments to hide their weapons.”
“I hope somebody’s watching Tracey. She’s down at the Stone place with half a dozen people, doing stuff. Hey, there went a truckload of granite paving stones just now.”
“She’s covered. Does the place have a security system?”
“Ah, no.”
“I’ll see to that. Get back to me if there’s trouble, and I want a report on the twins.”
“Okay.”
Stone hung up, called Mike Freeman and asked him to get a security system into the house, pronto.
“The gear is already on a truck, due late this afternoon,” Mike replied.
“You just keep staying ahead of me, Mike. I like that.”
“I figured you’d want the deluxe package — cameras you can check on your iPhone, like that.”
“Sounds good.”
“In fact, if somebody rings the doorbell or comes to the gate, your phone will ring, and you can see who it is and tell ’em to go to hell.”
“There’s another piece of gear I need, Mike — two pieces, in fact.”
“What’s that?”
“I want a couple in late middle age, rich, retired-looking. They will be living there for a while, pretending to be the new owners.”
“What are they retired from?”
“I don’t care. They can make it up as they go along.”
“Let me do some checking. I’m sure I can find a couple who’d enjoy a free summer in Maine. I’ll call you back.” Mike hung up.
Stone called Billy.
“Yeah, Stone?”
“I’m digging up a couple to pretend to be the new owners of the house,” he said.
“That’s good news. Do they exist?”
“They will, soon. They’re going to be spending the summer in their new home. You’d better let Tracey know her clients will be there pretty soon.”
“How soon?”
“I’ll have to let you know.”
“She’s got a truckload of stuff arriving from New York the day after tomorrow,” Billy said. “And they’re working like beavers on the landscaping.”
“Don’t let the Stone boys see the place. It’s not visible from the road, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to keep them away from it.”
“I’ll put a sign out front.”
“Saying what?”
“New owners arriving soon, but not yet.”
“That ought to help.”
“You tell them they won’t need to bring a goddamned thing, except their clothes and toothbrushes. Tracey’ll have it crammed full of everything else.”
“I’ll pass it on.” Stone hung up.
Late in the afternoon, Stone’s secure cell phone rang.
“Yes, Lance?”
“Good afternoon, Stone. I had a call earlier today from your friend Mike Freeman with a personnel problem — or perhaps, better, a casting problem.”
“Yes.”
“Right. I have a very fine married couple, who would look good in those roles, and they’re retiring from our shop next month.”
“I need them tomorrow.”
“Well, then we’ll give them a little terminal leave.”
“Tell me about them.”
“This is what the twins will learn if they’re good with computers: Henry Lee and Grace Fowler Jackson. He is sixty-five, born in Thomasville, Georgia; she is sixty-one, born in Valdosta. Henry Lee, as he likes to be called, inherited a family machine-making business in Savannah a few years ago and he sold it three months ago. As a result, he has a net worth in the hundred-million-dollar bracket. They are fit, charming, friendly, and crack shots. The yacht and golf clubs will love them. They have a Dun & Bradstreet history, a sterling credit record, and a swollen stock portfolio. And they are graduates, three years apart, of the University of Georgia, in Athens, where they met. He also has an MBA from Georgia Tech where we recruited them right after Henry Lee’s graduation. They’ve served in Britain, France, Germany and survived Lebanon. Sound interesting?”
“They sound perfect. How did you come up with all that so fast?”
“It helped a lot that they are real people, and what I read you is their real background.”
“How much to rent them?”
“They don’t rent out. I think they’ll be happy with a free, comfortably furnished house.”
“Do they know what they might be up against?”
“They’re being briefed as we speak and reading up on the twins. When they’re done, I’ll put the offer to them. Will they have any special duties?”
“Just to live normal lives and not get killed.”
“I’ll get back to you, probably tomorrow.” Lance hung up.
Stone began to feel better about the summer ahead.
12
Stone called Dino.
“Bacchetti.”
“It’s Stone. How soon can you start your extended leave?”
“What time is it now?”
“Ten-fifty-one.”
“Give me until five o’clock to get my desk cleared and distribute some work I should be doing myself.”