Stone Barrington 06-11

summer; Dolce and I had dinner with them in Connecticut, at their place in Roxbury. It’s only a few miles from my new place in Washington.”
    “And how did that go?”
    “Not well. Dolce was very catty, obviously jealous. The next morning, Arrington showed up at my cottage and, well, sort of threw herself at me.”
    “And how did you handle that?” Dino asked.
    “I managed to keep her pretty much at arm’s length—though, God knows, that wasn’t what I wanted. I told her I wouldn’t do anything to harm her marriage, and that was pretty much that. A couple of minutes after she left, Vance showed up—I think he must have been following her. He asked if he had anything to worry about from me, and I told him he didn’t. He thanked me and left. That was the last time I saw either of them.”
    “Sounds as though you handled the situation about as well as it could be handled.”
    “God, I hope so; I hope none of this has anything to do with Arrington and me.”
    “I hope so, too,” Dino said, “but I’m not going to count on it.”
    “Come on, Dino, you don’t really think she …”
    “I don’t know what to think,” Dino said.
    Eduardo and the cardinal returned, and Dolce was with them, her face streaked with tears. She came and put her arms around Stone.
    Stone had never seen her cry, and it hurt him. “I’m sorry about all this, Dolce,” he said to her.
    “It’s not your fault,” she said. “You didn’t have any control over her.”
    “Now, let’s not jump to conclusions,” he said. “We don’t know what happened yet.”
    “All right, I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt.”
    “You’d better get ready to go, Stone,” Eduardo said.
    “Go?”
    “You’re going to Los Angeles, of course,” Eduardo said. “She asked for you, and she may not have anyone else.”
    “Her mother is on the way.”
    “Her mother can take care of the child, of course, but this is going to be a very difficult situation, given Vance’s fame and position in the film community.”
    “Go, Stone,” Dolce said. “We can’t have this hanging over us; go and do what you can, then come back to me.”
    “Come with me,” Stone said, wanting her protection from Arrington as much as her company.
    “No, that wouldn’t do. You’re going to have to deal with Arrington on your own.”
    “My friend’s jet is not available today,” Eduardo said, “but there’s a train at nine-thirty for Milano, and a one o’clock flight from there to Los Angeles. If you miss that, the trip will become much more complicated.”
    Stone held Dolce away from him and looked into her face. “You’re sure about this?”
    “I’m sure,” Dolce said. “I hate it, but it’s the only thing to be done; I know that.”
    He hugged her again, then left and went to his room, where he found that a servant had already packed most of his things. Half an hour later, he stood on the palazzo’s jetty with Dino, Eduardo, the cardinal, and Dolce. He shook hands with Eduardo and Bellini. The cardinal gave him a card. “If I can ever be of service to you, please call me. Of course, I’ll make myself available for a service when this situation has been sorted out.”
    “Thank you, Your Eminence,” Stone said. He turned to Dolce and kissed her silently, then motioned Dino into the launch. “Ride with me,” he said.
    “Have you heard any more from Rick?” Stone asked as the launch pulled away from the jetty.
    “No, but it’s the middle of the night in L.A. Where will you be staying?”
    “At the Bel-Air Hotel. Oh, will you call and book me a room?”
    “I’ll let Eduardo handle it; you’ll get a better room.”
    A few minutes later they docked at the steps to the Venice train station. Eduardo’s butler met them there with Stone’s train and airplane tickets and took his bags. Dino walked him to the train.
    “I wish you could come with me and help make some sense of this.”
    Dino shook his head. “I’m due back in the office first thing Wednesday. Call me when you’ve got your feet on the ground, and I’ll help, if I can.”
    The train was beginning to move, and Stone jumped on. He and Dino managed a handshake before the train pulled out of the station.
    Stone found his compartment and sat down. Stress often made him drowsy, and he dozed off almost immediately.

Six

    E VEN A FIRST-CLASS TRANSATLANTIC AIRLINE SEAT seemed oddly spartan after the pleasures of the Boeing Business Jet, but Stone managed to make himself