Stone Barrington 06-11

Thad.”
    “And why are all the doors on the yacht open?”
    “I thought it would be good to air out the cabins; keeps the mildew down.”
    “You gave us a scare,” Stone said.
    Callie reached into a pocket of her robe and produced the 9mm automatic. “We’re perfectly all right,” she said, handing the weapon to Stone. “Come on, let’s go back to the yacht.”
    The group returned to Toscana , and Callie got drinks for everybody, except Liz, who excused herself to change. Callie followed her.
    “Oh, Callie?” Thad called after her.
    She turned. “Yes, Thad?”
    “Book us a table someplace gaudy tonight. We’ll celebrate my return.”
    Callie nodded and went toward her cabin.
    “Where have you come from?” Stone asked.
    “California. I’ve been sort of barnstorming LA and San Francisco and Silicon Valley, talking up the new company.”
    “I hope it went well.”
    “It did. How are things going here?”
    “It’s gotten complicated,” Stone said. “Let me bring you up to date.”
    “I’d appreciate that.”
    Stone told him, in detail, everything that had happened in his absence. When he was through, he stopped talking and waited.
    “And you still don’t know if this guy is really Manning?”
    “No,” Stone said. “Not even Liz can be sure.”
    “I find that hard to believe,” Shames said.
    “So do I, but that’s the way it is. She saw him only briefly in Easthampton, and something about the way he moved made her think the man she saw was Paul Manning. But she can’t be sure that Paul Bartlett is Manning.”
    “And this guy Bartlett is a friend of Frank and Margaret?”
    “Yes, from Minneapolis.”
    “And you think he killed his wife for her money?”
    “It seems a strong possibility.”
    Shames grinned. “Well, this has certainly turned out to be interesting, hasn’t it?”
    “That’s one way to look at it,” Stone said. “I’m sorry I don’t have any definite answers for you.”
    “I’m sure you’ll come up with them,” Shames said. “Well, Dino, welcome to Palm Beach. Callie told me you were coming, and I’m glad you could join us. Have you been made comfortable?”
    “Yes, thanks,” Dino said. “She’s a beautiful yacht.”
    “Thank you, I think so.” Thad stood up. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go to my room in the main house and have a nap. I’ve been traveling for days, and I’m a little tired. I’ll bounce back for dinner, though.” He gave a little wave and left the yacht.
    “He’s a pretty easygoing guy, isn’t he?” Dino said.
    “He certainly is.”
    “I mean, if I’d come aboard my yacht and found a stranger with a gun, I’d have freaked out, but he didn’t.”
    “I thought he behaved very well, in the circumstances,” Stone said. “Looks like our goat-and-lion plan didn’t work. If anything, we’re worse off than we were this morning.”
    “Well, there’s still dinner,” Dino said. “If we’re going someplace gaudy, anybody could be there, right?”
    “In Palm Beach, you’re right.”

33
    C ALLIE’S CHOICE OF A GAUDY RESTAURANT TURNED out to be the high-ceilinged, chandeliered, tapes-tried, velvet-seated La Reserve. Thad seemed particularly pleased with the choice, and he swept the group to a round table at the center of the single large room, slipping the maître d’ a bill on the way, then ordering a Krug champagne for everybody.
    “You have beluga, of course,” Thad said to the captain.
    “Of course, Mr. Shames,” the man replied. “Fifty grams each?”
    “Let’s start with half a kilo for the table,” Shames said. Glasses were filled, and Thad raised his. “To this group,” he said. “I’m happy to be back with you all.” He turned to Liz at his side. “Particularly you.”
    Everyone drank. A moment later, a crystal bowl of caviar arrived, and the waiter went around the table spooning large amounts onto each plate.
    Dino tried his.
    “Well?” Thad asked.
    “Well, wonderful,” Dino replied. “We don’t see a lot of beluga at the precinct.”
    “I remember once when we did,” Stone said. “Somebody on the squad busted up a smuggling outfit, and, among other things, there was a lot of caviar. Most of it disappeared immediately, but I remember a few small tins found their way to your desk and mine.”
    “You’re right, Stone,” Dino said. “Funny, I remember busts involving drugs and money, but you remember caviar.”
    Menus appeared and everyone pored over them. Eventually,