“I see. And what damages are you seeking?”
“Five hundred million dollars—one hundred million for each family involved—and forty-five million dollars for the aircraft, a Gulfstream 450.”
“Now we come to the matter of witnesses: Did anyone see the freedom fighters shoot it down?”
“Many people saw the crash.”
“But did anyone witness these people firing the missiles?”
“Our government is tor— questioning potential witnesses as we speak.”
“I see. And was there a witness present when Major Rattle ordered the missile attack?”
“Again, we are questioning potential witnesses now.”
“Is there any scientific evidence of the crime—for instance, can you prove the missile was of British origin?”
“We have determined, from inspection of fragments, that the missile employed was of Russian origin.”
Stone made something of a display in capping his pen and returning the jotter to his pocket. “I’m afraid, Ambassador, that a lawsuit at this time is premature.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that, at this moment, you have no witnesses or other evidence to connect this Major Rattle to the crime, nor to identify the perpetrators. The only facts you can place in evidence are that the victims are dead, the aircraft destroyed, and that the missile used was of Russian origin, which contradicts your other allegations.”
“But we wish to file the lawsuit immediately, to bring this horrible crime to the attention of the world.”
“If you should do so, the suit would be dismissed out of hand by the judge at the first hearing, for lack of evidence. And I must tell you, Mr. Ambassador, that should this case go to trial, I would much rather represent the defendant than the claimant.”
The ambassador sat, blinking rapidly, apparently unable to speak. Finally, he found words. “Then I must apologize for wasting your time, Mr. Barrington. Good day.” He rose and left the room.
The butler approached. “This way out, please.”
Fred showed Felicity into the study and took her luggage up to the master suite, as instructed.
Stone embraced her. “You look very beautiful,” he said.
“A great weight has been lifted from me,” she said. “That sort of relief, rare as it is, tends to knock off about ten years.” She accepted a martini. “Cheers. How was your day?”
“Surreal,” Stone replied. “I received a phone call from the Dahai ambassador to the UN, a fellow named Abdul-Aziz, asking me to come see him.”
“I know of the man. He is a brother of the sultan of Dahai. Why on earth would he want to see you?”
“He wanted to retain me as his attorney to file a lawsuit in New York.”
“How would he even know of you?”
“That, like most of everything else he said, was shrouded in secrecy.”
“Whom did he wish to sue?”
“Ian Rattle.”
Her mouth fell open; she closed it. “Don’t make me pull this out of you, Stone.”
“He said that Ian was responsible for the deaths of the twins, who were the sultan’s sons; another man, who was his nephew; and two pilots of the Dahai air force. He wanted me to file a wrongful death suit, seeking five hundred and fifty million dollars for their families and the cost of the airplane.”
Felicity clasped her breast. “I am staggered. Did he actually know you know Ian?”
“I don’t believe so. In any case I feigned ignorance.”
“And how did you respond to his request?”
“I told him that he had no grounds for a suit and that, given his lack of evidence, I would rather represent the defendant than the complainant.”
Felicity burst out laughing. “And how did he respond to that?”
“He invited me to leave.”
“I expect so.”
“He attributed nearly all his answers to my questions to a confidential source.”
“Did he give any hint as to who that might be?”
“He did not. I’m sorry I didn’t do a better job of getting it out of him, but I was so flabbergasted that my mind wasn’t working properly.”
His cell phone rang, and he glanced at it. “Excuse me for a moment, it’s Dino. Hello?”
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“I thought you’d like to know that we rousted Gene Ryan a few minutes ago. We found him at home.”
“Did he have a motorcycle and a shoulder wound?”
“We didn’t have enough for a search warrant to look for the bike, and short of slapping him on the back, we couldn’t search him for a wound, either. He was sitting in his living room, having a beer and watching the news, like a normal person. He denied everything, of course.”
“What do you need for a search warrant?”
“Pretty much an eyewitness. That could be Fred, of course, but he didn’t see enough to be of much help. You want dinner tonight?”
“I’d love to, but I’m plying a dinner guest with liquor as we speak.” He smirked at Felicity.
“That would be Dame Felicity Devonshire of MI6, would it not?”
“I will neither confirm nor deny that.”
“You can hide nothing from me. See you later.” Dino hung up.
“And how is Dino?” Felicity asked.
“Just fine. He guessed you were here.”
“I guessed he would.”
“How is Ian coming along?”
“He was discharged early this afternoon and is resting in his new flat in the embassy residence.”
“A pity I couldn’t worm the name of your mole out of Abdul-Aziz, then he could go home.”
“I needed some new blood in New York, anyway.”
He cocked his head and looked at her. “You seem awfully relaxed about the mole.”
“Relax is all I can do, until we’ve worked through our investigation.”
“And how long is that going to take?”
“As long as it takes.”
“And Ian has to live with that for the duration?”
“He’ll be pretty much under wraps in New York. It’s not like he’s going to be making public appearances.”
Stone looked at his watch. “The Four Seasons?”
She smiled. “You know how I love that place.”
Stone was briefly awakened the following morning by Felicity getting out of bed, and he had a vague memory of hearing her in the shower, but when he finally was awakened by the buzzer from the dumbwaiter, announcing breakfast, she was gone, and there was a note on the bed.
Sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you, but I got a call and have a fire to put out. I’ll call you as soon as I can.
Stone ate his breakfast, read the Times, and got to his desk a bit later than usual. Felicity hadn’t called. His stomach announced the approach of noon, and he felt like getting out of the house. He took a cab to the Upper East Side, to a town house in the Sixties housing a club he had been elected to the year before. The place had no name; it was referred to by most of its members as “the place on the East Side,” and Stone had not used it much since he and Dino had been elected to membership, Dino first. The cab deposited him on the sidewalk a couple of doors down from the house, and he walked the last few steps to the front door.
He had put a hand out for the door handle when the door, anticipating him, silently opened and closed behind him. A man at a desk inside said, “Good day, Mr. Barrington,” indicating to Stone that something had recognized him as he entered, because he didn’t know the man at the desk.