AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You wouldn’t. Lance would. And he has the wherewithal to find out for sure, so let him do the hard work.”
“I know now why I called you,” Stone said. “I’m not getting enough abuse.”
“I’m happy to oblige,” Ed said. “Anything else?”
“Let me know if you spot any Russians on the island.”
“Who, me? I’m not that smart.” Ed hung up, and Stone’s ears were burning.
18
Stone was wonderingwhat he was going to do for dinner, when he got a call explaining it to him.
“Hi, it’s Vanessa. Let’s have dinner.”
“What a good idea!”
“Let’s try the new restaurant at the Carlyle,” she suggested.
“You’re just full of good ideas.”
“I’ll book, and I’ll meet you there at seven.”
“Done.” He hung up, his spirits lightened.
—
The place hadbeen redone, and it was handsome—new décor and lots of flowers. They nestled into a corner table. Theirdrink order came, and they raised their glasses. “Do you want to hear the latest about John Collins?”
Before he could stop himself, he said, “Sure.”
“He’s not dead.”
Stone got his swallow down before he checked her face for signs that she was kidding. “No kidding?”
“No kidding. We talked on the phone for half an hour this afternoon. In fact, he suggested you and I have dinner together, and where.”
Stone surveyed the room.
“He’s not here,” she said. “I already checked.”
“So you’re not a widow anymore?”
“Nope.”
“I liked you as a widow.”
“Frankly, so did I, but I’m glad he’s all right. He’s recovering well from the gunshot wounds and the beating he took. He said they forced a bottle of vodka down his throat, but he threw up some of it.”
“Is there a punch line in here somewhere?” Stone asked.
“That’s what I was waiting for on the phone call, but it was full of little references that only he and I would have understood. It couldn’t have been faked.”
“How did he feel about being cremated and scattered at sea?”
“He thanked me for following his wishes.”
“Did he give you any sort of explanation or account of what happened?”
