“What woman?”
“There was no woman, Dino. Beria asked if I lived upstairs, and I said no, I was visiting a woman whose husband was out of town.”
“Was this something derived from your own experience, Stone? Visiting a woman whose husband is out of town?”
“No, Dino, I made it up so Beria wouldn’t shoot me.”
“So where are the dead bodies?”
“Where they fell, in the study, I imagine. I suggest you get a team over there right now, then arrest Beria.”
“Beria is a Russian diplomat, and as such, he carries a diplomatic passport and is immune from arrest, even for a double murder.”
“Then arrest the gorilla.”
“You want my people to appear at the Russian mission and ask for a gorilla?”
“I suggest you put a couple of men outside the mission. Since he and Beria appeared to be joined at the hip, when Beria leaves, arrest the gorilla.”
“I’m going to have a hard time getting an arrest warrant for a gorilla,” Dino said. “I don’t think I’d even like to mention a gorilla to a grand jury, under oath.”
“I have done my duty as a citizen,” Stone said. “You want dinner tonight? P. J. Clarke’s at seven?”
“Is Meg still there?”
“Yes.”
“I’d love to have dinner with Meg. See you then.” Dino hung up, and so did Stone.
34
Stone sent Fred over to Arthur Steele’s office with the checks Arthur had signed. As Fred left for Steele’s office, Joan buzzed Stone. “Arthur Steele on one.”
Stone pressed the button. “Hello, Arthur, your checks are on their way back to you by hand.”
“Which checks?”
“The ones you signed and gave to me.”
“Which one did you give Bellini?”
“The one for ten million, but he gave it back, sort of.”
“You’re sending me all four checks, then?”
“That is correct.”
“Did you get the computer files you wanted?”
“Yes.”
“Without paying for them?”
“Yes.”
“Stone, forgive my asking, but how did you do that?”
“It’s complicated, Arthur. I’ll explain when I see you again.”
“Stone, did you do something to Bellini? I don’t want to be a party to anything like that.”
“No, Arthur, and Bellini is dead, so I couldn’t do anything to him.”
“Did you kill him?”
“Of course not—someone else did.”
“I’m confused.”
“I told you it was complicated, Arthur. All you need to know for now is that your checks are being hand-delivered to you now, and I got back the computer files, so there won’t be an insurance claim.”
“This sounds too easy, Stone. What are you keeping from me?”
“Arthur, please do this—pretend that we didn’t have lunch today and that you didn’t give me any checks. You’ll feel better.”
“But what about Bellini? Am I going to be questioned by the police?”
“No, Arthur, you are not, trust me. Have a drink and relax. Goodbye.” Stone hung up.
* * *
—
STONE AND MEG had a drink in his study before leaving to meet Dino. “I have good news for you,” Stone said, digging in his pocket and coming up with the thumb drive.
“What is that?” Meg asked.
“It contains the designs and specifications that Dino Bellini stole from you.”
She went to the computer on his desk, plugged in the thumb drive, and examined some of the files. “How did you get them?” she asked, returning to her chair.
“Bellini gave me the drive.”
“Why?”
“Because I gave him a check for ten million dollars.”
“Your own ten million dollars?”
“No, it was from Arthur Steele, but I’ve since returned the check to him.”
“Gino gave you back the check?”
“I persuaded him to.”
“How did you do that?”
“I told him that Dirty Joe had confessed to two Maine State Police officers and an EMT that he had been hired by Bellini to kill you, and that the two Maine cops were downstairs in his building waiting to arrest him.”
“But that wasn’t true. Was it?”
“No, I lied.”
“And that worked?”
“Yes.”
“So what happens now? Is Gino still coming after me?”
“No, Gino is dead. Veronica, too.”
“Good God, Stone! Did you kill them?”
“No, I did not kill them. You are the third person to whom I’ve had to deny that, and I’m getting tired of it.”
“Stone, if you had killed Gino and Veronica, would you deny it to me?”
“No. Yes. I mean, I didn’t kill them, so there’s no need to deny it.”
“But you just did.”
“Because I didn’t.”
“Are you telling me the truth?”
“Yes, and that’s the last question I’m going to answer on the subject.”
“If you didn’t kill them, who did?”
“I just said I wouldn’t answer any more questions about it.”
“Stone . . .”
“Listen very carefully. Gino and Veronica were killed by someone he had sold the stolen designs to—a man named Beria, who works for an arms dealer.”
“None of those names mean anything to me.”
“It’s not important that they do.”
“Wait a minute, you said that Gino sold this man the designs?”
“Yes, but he got them back.”
“How? Why are you keeping this from me?”
“Tell you what—tomorrow morning, when I’m sober and less tired, I will explain everything to you in detail. In the meantime, all you need to know is that you have your designs back, Arthur has his check back, Gino and Veronica are dead, and I didn’t kill them. May we leave it that way until tomorrow morning?”
“I guess so.”
“Thank you very much.” Stone looked at his watch: “It’s time we left for dinner.”
“With Dino and Viv?”
“Yes. Or at least, with Dino. Viv travels a lot on business, and she could be out of town. I didn’t ask.”
“Do I have to keep this business about the designs from Dino?”
“No, I’ve already explained it to him.”
“Why Dino? Why not me, first? I mean, they’re my designs.”
“I had to report the murders to the police, so I called Dino as soon as possible.”
“Gino and Veronica were murdered?”
“Yes, I told you that.”
“You said they were dead.”
“Well, they didn’t simultaneously drop dead of heart attacks.”
“But you didn’t kill them?”
“If you ask me that again, I’ll have to kill myself,” Stone replied.
“You’re going to have to explain all this to me later, Stone.”
“I have already promised to do so. Shall we go?”
“Oh, all right.”
35
They found Dino at the bar at P. J. Clarke’s, half a drink ahead of them.
“Where’s Viv?” Meg asked.
“Somewhere in darkest California, on business. Happens all the time. Our table is ready. You want to order your drinks in the dining room?”
“Sure,” Stone said, and steered Meg that way.
When they were seated and the drinks had been served, including another for Dino, he said, “I assume Meg knows about this?”
“About what?” Meg asked.
“Yes, she knows.” He turned to Meg. “About what I told you a few minutes ago.”
“Oh, that.”
“My people are taking Bellini’s apartment apart as we speak,” Dino said. “They were both in the study, as you said. One each in the head.”
“Oh, God,” Meg said. “I’m going to be sick.”
“Why?” Dino asked. “You didn’t get shot.”
“No more details, please.”
“I forgot to tell you,” Stone said, “I took Bellini’s gun from the apartment. I’ll send it to you tomorrow.”
“Why did you do that?”
“It was lying on the coffee table when the doorman rang to say Beria was on his way up, and Bellini was already in the study, so I stuck it in my belt. A little later, when I had to sneak out of there, with my shoes in my hand, I thought I might need it for self-defense if Beria saw me. Then, in the elevator, I was glad I had it.”
“Give it to my homicide detectives,” Dino said.
“Which detectives?”
“The ones who will be calling on you first thing in the morning to question you about the murders.”
“I had hoped to avoid that by going straight to the top,” Stone said.
“You hoped in vain. We have procedures, remember?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Stone,” Meg said, “if you didn’t kill them, why are the police questioning you?”