Dino ran to his car and gave the driver a request for an ambulance, a description of Meg, and orders for an APB, then he returned to Stone. “An APB is out, and an ambulance is on its way.”
Stone felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, and he looked at the phone. The caller was Fred Flicker. “We’ve got contact,” Stone said, then answered the call. “Yes?”
“Do I have to tell you what we want?” a voice said.
“Yes, you do,” Stone replied. He wanted to hear more of the voice.
“We want the thumb drive. As soon as we’ve verified the authenticity—and the efficacy—of the software we will return the lady unharmed. The time is now noon. We will expect a call from you by two PM stating that you are ready to turn over the drive. If it is not in our hands by two-thirty PM, you may locate pieces of the lady’s body in the East River. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Stone said, and the man hung up.
“It was Stanislav Beria,” Stone said. “You can add him to your APB—six-one, a hundred and seventy, dark hair.”
“Are you sure?”
“I thought I recognized his voice, and as he continued talking, I was sure of it.”
“What does he want?”
“A thumb drive containing the software of the designs and specifications of Meg’s self-driving car.”
“Where is it?”
“On a thumb drive in my office safe.”
“How much time do we have?”
“He wants me to call him on Fred’s phone by two PM. He says she’ll be dead by two-thirty if we haven’t handed over the thumb drive by then.”
By the time the ambulance arrived, Fred was awake and standing up, though he appeared a bit woozy. He waved off medical attention. “I’ll be all right in a few minutes,” he said, “nothing wrong with me that fresh air won’t fix.”
“Come with me,” Dino said. Dino ordered the detective in the front passenger seat of his car to drive Stone’s car, which was still running, put Fred in the passenger seat, then he gave the detective Stone’s address.
The car moved out, and Dino made a call, reinforcing the APB and adding Stanislav Beria to it. “Also, post a car and two men outside the Russian UN mission, in case Beria returns there.”
Stone tugged at his sleeve.
“What?”
“Add the gorilla Ivanov to the APB—six-three or -four, two-fifty, black hair, deep five o’clock shadow.”
Dino did so, then hung up. “Didn’t we arrest that guy?”
“Yes, but he got released, and you couldn’t hold Beria because he holds a diplomatic passport.”
“What phone number did they give you?”
“They took Fred’s phone.”
“What’s his number?”
Stone gave it to him.
Dino made another call and said to whoever answered, “This is Bacchetti I need a location on a cell phone number.” He gave them the number. “How long? All right, I’ll call it then.” He hung up. “They need ten minutes to get set up, and I have to keep them on the line for two minutes.”
They continued on toward Stone’s house, occasionally using the siren to get through the traffic.
“Dino . . .” Stone said.
“Shut up, I’m thinking.”
Stone shut up.
“Okay,” Dino said finally. “Whaddaya want?”
Stone thought about it. “I forget.”
“I’ve got a plan,” Dino said, then told him what it was.
“That sounds great, Dino, but what if it doesn’t work?”
“Then Meg is dead,” Dino replied.
“I’m not willing to risk that.”
“Where was the thumb drive before it got into your pocket?”
“In the library safe at my house in England.”
“And you said, when you were testifying, that Owaki had been thrown out of the country?”
“Yes.”
“What about Beria and Ivanov?”
“I don’t know whether they were in England. I saw only Owaki, at my house and when his luggage was being loaded into his car.”
“I don’t understand,” Dino said. “Luggage?”
“Owaki was staying at the Arrington hotel next door to my house, and I called the manager and had him thrown out. Meg and I were riding by on horseback, and I saw a couple of men loading bags into Owaki’s car.”
“Was either of them Beria or Ivanov?”
“I don’t think so, I got only a glimpse of them.”
“I wish you were more observant,” Dino said with disgust.
“Gee, I’m sorry, I didn’t know this was going to come up. What is it you want in England?”
“Somebody who can go to your house, open the safe, and get the thumb drive.”
“But the thumb drive isn’t there—it’s in my safe.”
“Not that thumb drive, dummy!”
“I don’t get it.”
Dino’s phone rang. “Bacchetti. Okay, I’m calling the number in thirty seconds. He hung up, glanced at his watch, and tapped in Fred’s number. At thirty seconds, he pressed the call button. “Here we go,” he said. “It’s ringing.”
58
Stone watched Dino’s face as the phone rang. It betrayed no emotion.
“Hello,” Dino said. “I’m calling on behalf of Stone Barrington. What is it you want?” He listened carefully, nodding. “Is that all?” He listened again. “I’m afraid there’ll be a delay. That item is not in this country.” He listened. “The item is in a safe in the library of Mr. Barrington’s house in England.”
Stone could hear an angry voice replying.
Dino continued to listen. “Hold on, I’ll find out how it can be opened.” He left the phone near his lips as he talked to Stone. “Who knows how to get into that safe?”
“I do,” Stone replied.
“No, I mean somebody else who can get into it—somebody in England.”
“The manager of the estate, Major Bugg, has the combination. I will instruct him to open it on presentation of a password.”
“And what is the password?”
“Let me think . . .”
“Not too long,” Dino whispered, his hand over the phone.
“The password is Arrington.”
“Did you get that?” Dino asked. He spelled the name carefully. “Now, when will you release Ms. Harmon?” He listened. “Surely Mr. Owaki has someone in England who can pop over to the house and see Major Bugg. Well, how long then? I would like to point out that Mr. Barrington has followed your instructions explicitly. You have no further reason to hold Ms. Harmon.” He listened. “By the way, what is your name?”
Stone heard the click when they hung up.
“Well,” Dino said, “that should be long enough for my people to get a location. By the way, Stone, you’d better call Major Bugg and ask him to put a thumb drive in your safe, and to open it for whoever gives him the password.” Dino dialed a number on his own cell phone.
Stone called Major Bugg, who was probably having his tea interrupted, and told him what must be done.
“What is a thumb drive?” Bugg asked.
“It’s a small computer device about the size of a thumb, hence the name.”
“I don’t have one. Where would I get it?”
“At a computer shop. Is there one in the village?”
“Yes, a small one.”
“It’s a small device. Could you send someone there immediately and buy one of the largest capacity available?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I’ll call you in a few minutes, and we’ll do a data transfer from my computer to the thumb drive.”
“Yes, my assistant knows how to do that, I believe.”
“Thank you, Major Bugg.”
Dino was still on the phone. “Keep that connection alive,” he said to his officer. “Don’t let it get away from you.” He hung up.
“Did they get a location for Fred’s cell phone?”
“Yes. It’s a few feet from your house.”
“What?”
“Apparently in a car, parked in front of your house. They’ll track it, if it moves.” He spoke to his driver. “You can keep the siren on, now. How long?”
“Ten minutes, if the traffic isn’t too bad.”
“Okay.” Dino called his office and ordered a car situated at each end of Stone’s block, then he sat back in his seat and appeared to relax.
“Why are you so relaxed?” Stone asked.
“I’m always relaxed when I’ve done all I can do. Can you think of anything else I should do, right this minute?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Then I’m going to relax. I might even take a nap.” He put his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes.
“I wish I could relax like that,” Stone said.