Stone Barrington 06-11

how did this guy get access to your office and bedroom?”
    “He was a house guest for a few days. He had all the time in the world.”
    “You better get pickier about who you invite to stay.”
    “No kidding. Thanks for the advice.”
    “Anything else I can do for you?”
    “I don’t believe so. Thank you very much for your help.”
    “Glad to do it.” Sandy turned to go.
    “Hang on a minute,” Stone said.
    Sandy stopped. “Yeah?”
    “You any good with computers?”
    “They are my métier. ”
    Stone turned the laptop around so he could see the screen. “This video has been placed on the Justice Department’s Web site. Can you do anything about getting it off?”
    Sandy peered at the screen. “Wow,” he said. “Who is that ?”
    “I have no idea; can you get it off?”
    Sandy watched the screen, a little smile on his face.
    “Stop watching it!” Stone said. “Can you get it off their Web site?”
    Sandy pointed at the screen. “Looks like that’s being taken care of.”

    Stone turned the computer around again. A message had appeared on the screen, replacing Tiff’s image: “This Web site is temporarily down for repairs. Please try again later.”
    “Thanks again for your help,” Stone said. “Goodbye.”
    Sandy turned and left.
    The phone rang, and Stone picked it up. “Hello?”
    Dino’s voice. “Man, have you seen the Justice Department Web site this morning?”
    “Sure. I start my every day by checking out the Justice Department Web site.”
    “Well, if you haven’t, you should, because your current girlfriend, the gorgeous Tiffany, is all over it, and you’re underneath her.”
    “That is not Tiffany, and I am not underneath whoever that is.”
    “So you did check it out?”
    “No, and I have no intention of doing so.”
    “And you deny that that’s Tiffany and you?”
    “Most emphatically.”
    “Well, maybe you can tell me why your mother’s painting of Washington Square is on the wall, just over her shoulder.”
    “Nonsense.”
    “Not that anybody would ever notice it while Tiffany is on the screen.”
    “You are mistaken.”
    “Who would ever have thought that the fucking U.S. Attorney would…”
    “It is not she.”
    “Did you take the video and put it on that Web site?”
    “Certainly not.”
    “Then who did?”
    “If it didn’t happen, nobody did it.”
    “Do you think Tiff has had a boob job?”

    “I have no idea.”
    “Because, if those are original equipment, they are really something.”
    “Dino…”
    “This is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. The whole squad room is going nuts.”
    “Did you tell anybody about the picture on the wall?”
    “Let’s see, I’m not really sure.”
    “Because if you did, I’m going to come down there and kill you with my bare hands.”
    “Relax, nobody knows but me.”
    “And Tiffany will have you taken out and shot, right after she has me taken out and shot.”
    “So, I take it, your position is, you’re denying everything.”
    “I’m denying everything. We’re both denying everything. And I’d be grateful if you would plant the notion in the minds, if such exist, of the gentlemen in the squad room that the person appearing in the video is not, repeat, not who they think it is or who you thought it was.”
    There came a disappointed roar through the phone.
    “What was that?” Stone asked.
    “Hang on, I’ll check,” Dino said. A moment later, he came back. “Somebody at Justice caught on; they’ve shut down the Web site. My detectives are crushed.”
    “Excellent. Do not ever speak to me about this again. Goodbye.” Stone hung up and buried his face in his hands.
    After a moment, he went upstairs and moved his mother’s picture to another spot in his bedroom.

30
    STONE WENT DOWN to his office and sat at his desk, wondering if there were anything he could do to short-circuit the mess he was in. Joan buzzed him.
    “Yes?”
    “There’s somebody from Page Six at the New York Post on the phone for you. You want me to tell them to get lost?”
    Worst thing he could do. “No, I’ll take it.” He picked up the phone, pressed the line one button and tried to sound bored. “Stone Barrington.”
    “Mr. Barrington, this is Henry Stead, Page Six at the Post. ”
    “Good morning.”
    “Have you visited the Justice Department Web site this morning?”
    “Are you kidding? Who visits the Justice Department Web site?”
    “A number of our readers, as it happens. Our phone is ringing off