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“If you say so.”
“Except what motive would an intelligence service have for wanting you and, possibly, Dino dead?”
“And what crime boss would try it at P. J. Clarke’s, at dinnertime?”
“I’m going to have to take a deeper interest in this,” Lance said.
“Welcome aboard,” Stone replied. “We’re certainly not getting anywhere.”
“Now the attempted murder of Jack Collins looks more like something planned by an intelligence service, too. I mean, all three of the potential victims are associated with us.”
“Any suggestions?”
“Yes, I’d like for you and Dino, if you can persuade him, to move into rooms at our New York station, where we can seal you off from anything that might be out there.”
“No, thanks. I’m not moving into some federal motel for the duration. You can seal me off at home—if you think you can do it.”
“Have you talked to Mike Freeman at Strategic Services yet?”
“Only in passing.”
“I’ll call him and work out a plan. In the meantime, don’t answer your door for anybody, male or female. And tell Joan to tell anybody who calls that you’ve gone up to Maine for a few days.”
“All right.”
“Talk to you later.”
Stone hung up and buzzed Joan to come into his office. “We’re under siege here, sort of,” he told her. “Nobody gets into the house until after the Strategic Services people get here to screen them. And all callers are to be told that I’ve gone to the Maine house for a week or so.”
“Right, boss,” Joan said.
“And I don’t want you leaving the two houses at all for a while. Fred can deal with groceries.”
“Oh, good, I can sleep all the time, or watch old movies on TV.”
“Nope. You still have to work. You just have to do it indoors and on the phone.”
“Oh, all right. Have you told Lance about this?”
“Yes, and he’s the reason I’m taking all this so seriously.”
“Then I guess I’d better, too.” She went back to her office.
43
The Strategic Services team,led by their boss, Mike Freeman, arrived and went carefully through the house, checking the electrical, phone, and security systems for anomalies or intrusions. Then they assigned people to posts around the house. When they were done, Stone and Dino sat down in front of the fire in the study and had a drink.
“You want to get out of town?” Stone asked.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well, in this country we have Los Angeles and Key West available. I think we’ve blown England for a while, and Lancesays there are too many Russians in Paris for us to feel safe there.”
“Can we wait until Viv gets back tonight and check with her? She should be at home and in bed by around ten this evening.”
“Sure. Tell her she gets to choose.”
Stone called Vanessa.
