“I take it you’ve figured out how to get the jet in and out of that tiny airport,” Dino said.
“All it took was good brakes landing, full power taking off, and great piloting skills.”
“Have you heard from Gino Parisi’s friends?”
“We had a quiet weekend without them.”
“It was a smart move, going up there where they couldn’t find you. I’ve since heard even more terrible things about Frank and his friend Charlie.”
“I’m happy to have missed them.”
“You need to go on doing that. You didn’t take a cab up here, did you?”
“No, Fred drove me.”
“Good. I don’t want you on the sidewalk waving your arms.”
“Thank you, I will follow that advice, until you tell me the coast is clear.”
“Is Perado still in town?”
“Yep. We close the sale on the Winkle business tomorrow morning. He’ll be going straight back to San Antonio from the closing.”
“Smart move. It shouldn’t take us much longer to get something on Parisi that we can convict him of, then he’ll be out of your hair — and Perado’s.”
“You mean I can’t leave the house until that happens?”
“I wouldn’t advise it. After all, you’ve got Helene to cook — you don’t really have to live on pizza and Chinese.”
“If I can’t go out, then maybe I should have a dinner party. I don’t do that often enough.”
“That’s right, you don’t. Who will you invite?”
“All the old familiar faces. Like you two.”
“We’ll look forward to it.”
“Tell me when you’re free — you’re a lot busier than I am.”
Dino checked his calendar on his iPhone. “Let’s see, how about the day after tomorrow?”
“Great. Drinks at seven, dinner at eight.”
“Done.”
Dino, who was seated facing the street, got up. “Excuse me for a minute.” He walked away from the table and out of the restaurant.
“What’s that about?” Stone asked Viv.
“Beats me.”
Dino returned. “Frank and Charlie have rejoined you.”
“Oh, shit.”
“They’re obviously watching your house. Don’t worry, I had them rousted. Two to one they’re carrying something illegal, so they’ll be out of your hair overnight, at least.”
“Thank you, Dino.”
“It’s all part of the service,” Dino replied.
18
Stone was at his desk the next morning, making a list of dinner invitees, when Joan buzzed him. “Holly Barker on one.”
Stone punched the button. “Holly? How are you?”
“As well as can be expected,” she said.
“You sound as if the White House is wearing you down.”
“At times. Being national security adviser is even harder than I thought it would be.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Stone, I want to ask a very great favor of you. Actually, the president and I.”
“How could I possibly refuse?”
“Do you remember Major Ian Rattle?”
“The name is familiar.”
“Felicity Devonshire’s dinner party in London.”
“Ah, the MI6 guy who was with your assistant, Millicent...”
“Millie Martindale.”
“Got him.”
“He’s arriving in D.C. this afternoon, surreptitiously, and we have to hide him for a week or two.”
“Hide him from whom or what?”
“I’ll explain that when I see you.”
“You’re seeing me?”
“I’ll be in New York tomorrow to give a lecture at the Foreign Policy Association.”
“Will you be here overnight?”
“Yep. You free?”
“No, but I’m having a dinner party, and you’re invited. Major Rattle, too.”
“We’d love to,” she said. “He’s traveling with me. Why don’t we come early and I’ll explain what’s going on?”
“Do you need a bed for the night?”
“I have an apartment there, remember? If I don’t stay there once in a while the doormen will forget who I am and deny me entry to the building.”
“Okay. You can be my date, and I’ll ask an odd woman for Rattle.”
“If anyone knows an odd woman, it’s you.”
“See you at six, then?”
“Right.” They hung up.
Stone wrote down Holly and Rattle, then Dino and Viv, Bill Eggers and his wife, Herbie Fisher and whoever his girl might be, and Mike Freeman and date. He added Caroline Woodhouse as the odd woman, then he gave the list to Joan and asked her to have invitations hand-delivered.
“The two goons are out there again,” Joan said, nodding toward the street.
“Which two goons?”
“That ex-cop and his shadow.”
“Ryan and Al Parisi?”
“That’s the ones.”
“I don’t think we can do anything about them.”
“What happened to the dangerous-looking ones?”
“Dino had them busted last night. I don’t know if he was able to hold them, or if they’ll be out soon.”
“Gee, I miss them,” she said.
“Let me know if they turn up.”
The phone rang, and Joan answered. She pressed the hold button and said, “Dino’s on the line,” before walking out the door.
Stone picked up. “Good morning.”
“You were kind of down last night. Feeling better?”
“I was just tired — a good night’s sleep did the trick.”
“First one for a while, huh?”
“Don’t start.”
“I thought you’d like to know about Frank and Charlie.”
“I certainly would.”
“They were both carrying, but they had permits. I’m going to see what I can do about getting those revoked.”
“Good idea.”
“When my guys searched the car they found what they called a kidnap kit: black hood, duct tape, plastic ties, et cetera.”
“Is that illegal?”
“I’m afraid not, but it says something about their intentions.”
“Can you hold them?”
“They lawyered up immediately. They’re already on the street.”
“Not my street — not yet, anyway. Parisi hasn’t forgotten about me, though. Ryan and Al Parisi are parked on my block again.”
“I’ll see what, if anything, I can do about that.”
“Thanks. We’re on for tomorrow night. Holly Barker is coming in from Washington, and she’s bringing a Brit from MI6 that I have to hide for a while.”
“Hide from what?”
“Evildoers of some sort, I guess. She promised to explain tomorrow.”
“Aren’t you attracting enough evildoers of your own, without some Brit drawing more?”
“Oh, what the hell, another chunk of bait in the house can’t hurt. Listen, I’ve got to go to Queens for Perado’s closing. See you tomorrow night.” They hung up.
He grabbed his briefcase and buzzed Joan. “I’m headed to Queens for my closing. Please buzz Fred and ask him to meet me in the garage.”
“Will do.”
Stone went to the garage and got into the Bentley. Fred got in and entered the address into the navigator, buzzed the door open, and backed into the street. The garage door closed behind them, and Stone got a glimpse of two uniforms, who were bent over the hood of a car, talking to Ryan and young Parisi. “I don’t think we’ll have a tail this morning,” Stone said.
“I hope I don’t fall asleep, sir,” Fred replied.
The closing was held in a conference room in Marty Winkle’s offices, and it went smoothly. Winkle and Pepe Perado signed a stack of documents, a cashier’s check with a lot of zeros changed hands, and the two men shook on it. Cerveza Perado was officially a New York presence.
Stone walked out of the building with Pepe. “Can I give you a ride to the airport?”