Stone Barrington 06-11

truly, and no one else. By the way, you are not going to know that, either. You will know only what I tell you, and if that’s not enough for you, then—”
    “Then you’ll have to disappoint your buyers, won’t you?” Stone asked coldly.
    That stopped Lance in his tracks. “I have another source for the funds, but it is a less attractive one, which will cost me too much in interest. If you don’t want into this, say so, and lunch is on me and we won’t meet again.”
    Stone stared at him for a long moment. “What is the device? What does it do?”
    “Please believe me, Stone, you do not want that information. In the unlikely event that this should go awry, you will be grateful for not knowing.”

    Stone thought he had shown a sufficient amount of reluctance to be convincing. “When does the transaction take place?”
    “Within the next forty-eight hours,” Lance replied, “after your funds are safely in a Swiss account.”
    “Whose account?”
    “Yours; I’ve brought the paperwork with me; you can instruct the bank not to proceed at any time you choose. But if you’re in, then the transfer has to be received in Zurich by the close of business tomorrow, which is noon in New York.”
    Stone looked at his watch. “I can transfer the funds today. But first, when do I get paid, and how much?”
    “We’re paying half a million dollars for the device, and I have negotiated a final sales price of two million, two. Your cut of that is one million dollars. I get more, because I set it up.”
    “How and when will I be paid?”
    “The device will be transported to a secure location, a bank in southern Europe, where the exchange will take place. The buyers’ funds will be transferred to your Zurich account and mine, in the appropriate amounts, before the device is handed over. It’s as foolproof as a transaction of this sort can be. I’ve done a number of them, I know. I much prefer doing business in the conference room of a bank, instead of in a back alley.”
    “What about the arrangement you mentioned that will keep this transaction away from prying eyes, such as the Internal Revenue Service?”
    “I also have the documentation for an account in the Cayman Islands. You sign both sets of documents—Swiss and Cayman—and I’ll fax them to the respective banks, along with a code word. You can then transfer from the Swiss Bank to the Cayman one with one phone call. Once it’s in the Cayman bank, you can draw on the account anywhere in the world—cash can be transferred to you, you can write checks, and you can have a credit card which is paid directly from the Cayman account. Thus, no transaction ever goes through an American bank, and you come to the attention of no one.”
    “I like it,” Stone said. “Give me the documents.”
    Lance produced a thick envelope from an inside pocket and showed Stone where to sign. “Write your code word—any combination of letters and numbers, up to twelve characters.”
    “I don’t like the idea of your having the account numbers and the password,” Stone said.
    “It’s the only way I can transfer your share of the funds to your account. Once I’ve done that, you can change the account number and the password.” Lance tore off a copy of each account application and handed them to Stone.
    Stone put the papers into his pocket. “Where do I transfer my funds?”
    “To your account in Zurich, which will be open in an hour; I’ll let you know where and when to send them from there.”
    Stone stuck out his hand. “I’ll speak with my broker as soon as I get back to my hotel; I’ll have to fax him, too. The funds will be in Zurich before the day is over.” He glanced at his watch; he had three hours to get it done.
    He and Lance parted at the restaurant door.
    “I’ll call you on your cellphone tomorrow morning, with further instructions,” Lance said. “Make sure it’s turned on; from here on in, everything has to be done in a precise manner.”
    “Good,” Stone said. Driving back to London, he wondered if he would have gone for this deal if he’d been on his own. Certainly not, he decided. Too risky.

49
    STONE DROVE BACK TO LONDON AND Chester Street; as soon as he was in the house, he called Mason’s cellphone. No answer; he left a message. As an afterthought, he called Carpenter’s number.
    “Yes?” She sounded harried.
    “It’s Stone Barrington. Did you get it?”
    “Hold on,” she said, and covered the phone, so that he could