Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 12

Stone had one, but he returned it to me.”
    â€œAnd he couldn’t have had it duplicated,” Holly said, “since only the manufacturer has the special key blanks required.”
    â€œRight,” Stone said.

35
    S TONE WOKE SLOWLY the following morning.
    Holly was lying naked next to him on her belly, and his hand rested on her ass. He found it companionable to wake up with her next to him, warm and bare.
    He ran a finger up her ass, between the cheeks.
    â€œHmmmmm,” she muttered. “More.”
    â€œMore what?”
    â€œJust more.”
    He rolled over and lay on top of her.
    â€œYou’re nicely heavy,” she said.
    He was growing in size, and in response she opened her legs wider. “More,” she said.
    â€œWhere?”
    â€œAnywhere you like.”
    She was wet, and he slipped inside her.
    â€œGood choice,” she said.
    Stone moved slowly in and out.
    â€œThat’s so good,” she breathed, pushing back against his belly.
    â€œIt’s better than that,” Stone said, close to her ear. “You’re in wonderful shape.”
    Holly continued pushing rhythmically against him. “They toned us up at the Farm.”
    â€œThank you, Farm.”
    Holly rolled over. “I want to be able to get my hands on you,” she said, taking him in her hand and reinserting him. She pulled her knees up and rested her ankles on his shoulders. “There,” she said. “Now.”
    Within a minute they had come noisily and lay sweating and panting in each other’s arms.
    â€œWhat a wonderful way to start the day,” Holly said.
    â€œIt makes me want to go right back to sleep,” Stone said.
    â€œSex renders men unconscious,” she laughed. “I’m quoting you.”
    Â 
    THEY WERE AT BREAKFAST, eating without much conversation. Holly spoke up. “I want to meet this burglar of yours,” she said.
    â€œWhat, you want a date?”
    â€œThanks, but I’m all booked up,” she said, kicking him under the table. “No, I’m just surprised you aren’t paying more attention to him.”
    â€œDino and I eliminated him as a suspect.”
    â€œOn what grounds?”
    â€œSince his father’s death and his own release from prison, he’s become a valued member of the community; he’s married with a child; he earns a very good living making very expensive cabinets; and he’s too smart to foul his own nest, especially such a small nest. He also has nothing in his record to indicate that he’s interested in committing crimes of a sexual nature, raping and murdering teenaged girls.”
    â€œStill, he has a lot of skills that make him a suspect.”
    â€œI actually had him go over this house and give me his opinion on the security features. He was impressed.”
    â€œLet me get this straight,” Holly said. “You gave a high-class burglar a tour of your home, pointing out all the security features?”
    â€œYes, and actually he pointed them out to me, not the other way around.”
    â€œGod, you’re naive, Stone.”
    â€œI am not.”
    â€œDon’t you know anything about burglars?”
    â€œOf course I do; I worked burglary for a year on the NYPD.”
    â€œHow many did you catch?”
    Stone hesitated. “Not as many as I would have liked.”
    â€œThere you go,” Holly said. “A smart burglar is notoriously hard to nail. If he doesn’t get caught or seen on the property or leave fingerprints or DNA, and if he has a fence unknown to the police, he’s damn near bulletproof. These guys know this. Even the ones who get caught learn from their mistakes and go right back to work as soon as they’re out of the joint. Very high recidivism rate among burglars. There’s also a significant sexual component to these crimes; burglars are often rapists. They get caught for that rather than for the burglaries.”
    â€œAll right,” Stone said. “I’ll introduce you to the guy.”
    Mabel Hotchkiss bustled into the kitchen. “Oh, you’re already eating,” she said. “I wanted to make breakfast for you.”
    â€œWe fixed our own,” Stone said. “How was your evening on the mainland?”
    â€œWe enjoyed it very much,” Mabel said, starting to clean up the pots and pans they’d used.
    â€œYou should have stayed longer.”
    â€œNo, one night there is