Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 14

“Who are all these people?” he asked Lance. “I don’t see any familiar faces.”
    Lance smiled. “In fact, this is probably the most anonymous group ever to dine at the White House. These are the approximately hundred and fifty highest-ranking people at the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and their spouses. This is the first time such an event has occurred, and it appears on the White House daily schedule as a personal dinner party given for friends of the president and first lady.”
    â€œWow,” Dino said. “If a bomb went off here…”
    â€œDon’t even think that,” Lance said.

4
    S tone woke slowly, momentarily disoriented by the strange surroundings. He lifted his head and saw a naked, red-haired woman coming out of the bathroom.
    â€œGood morning,” Holly said. “You’d better shower and shave; Lance and the others will be here in forty-five minutes. I’ve ordered breakfast.”
    Stone continued to watch her; he liked the changes. “Why red hair?” he asked.
    â€œYou’ll find out at the briefing; now get moving!” She goosed him in the ribs, then dodged his grasp and started dressing.
    Stone and Holly were just finishing their coffee when there was a knock on the door. Holly let them in: Lance, Dino and Genevieve James.
    Stone gave Genevieve a kiss. “You’re in on this, too?”
    â€œI would do anything for a vacation on a tropical island,” she said. “And don’t worry, I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”
    â€œGenevieve just came to say hello,” Lance said. “She’s going shopping now.”
    â€œI believe I’ve been dismissed,” she said, and with a little wave, left the suite.
    â€œAnybody want coffee?” Lance asked.
    Nobody spoke.
    â€œGood. Now, let’s get started; you have a plane to catch this afternoon.”
    Everybody took a seat.
    â€œStone, let’s begin with you: tell us—briefly, if you will, since there’ll be time to fill in details later—about your experience in St. Marks, and especially, about the people you know there.”
    Stone took a deep breath. “I was on vacation there several years ago, when a yacht entered English Harbour, sailed by a woman alone, causing something of a kerfuffle. The following day, she was charged with killing her husband at sea and shoving his body overboard. I somehow got involved and defended her at her trial. I lost, and she was hanged—or at least I thought she was. She turned up later, alive in Florida, but that’s a different story.”
    â€œTell us who you know on St. Marks,” Lance reminded him.
    â€œI spent most of my time at the English Harbour Inn, near the harbor, run by a retired NYPD cop named Thomas Hardy, who was born and raised on St. Marks.”
    Dino spoke up. “I met him a couple of times on the job, years ago.”
    â€œRight. He’s a good guy; I think we should stay there, if he has room.”
    â€œYou’ve already been booked into a cottage there,” Lance said. “The four of you. Who else did you know?”
    â€œAn elderly barrister named Leslie Hewitt was assigned to work with me on the trial; he may be dead by now.”
    â€œHe is not,” Lance said.
    â€œAnd there was Sir Winston Sutherland, the minister of justice on the island, who decided to prosecute the case himself.”
    â€œSutherland is now prime minister,” Lance said, “so you know people in high places.”
    â€œSir Winston would have a poor opinion of me,” Stone said, “since I made him look bad a number of times during the trial, and since I cast him as the villain in the considerable publicity we managed to generate, in an attempt to save my client’s neck.”
    â€œDuly noted,” Lance said. “You should make a point of not running afoul of the law in St. Marks, partly because of Stone’s unsatisfactory relationship with Sir Winston and partly because, as prime minister, he has run the island in a more authoritarian manner than the previous administration did. Questions?”
    â€œWhy does Holly have red hair?” Stone asked.
    Lance smiled. “I think I told you that Holly has seen Teddy Fay twice, although he was heavily disguised, but that means that he has also seen her twice, so I thought that a change of appearance was a