Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 14

he took me out to dinner in New York. I thought he was working for the State Department. Then, all of a sudden, he sent me a retainer and his will and appointed me his executor. A few days later, he was dead, murdered.”
    â€œAnd you never talked in all those years apart?”
    â€œJust that one dinner.”
    â€œWhat does your girlfriend do?”
    â€œGinny? She has a little flying school in Florida. We met when I bought an airplane in Vero Beach from Piper some years ago, and we’ve seen each other once in a while since then.”
    â€œAnd Dino?”
    â€œDino’s a cop, a detective; we used to be partners when I was on the force. His girl, Genevieve, is an emergency room nurse at a hospital in New York.”
    â€œYou’re a mixed group.”
    â€œI guess we are at that. Tell me, how is it you have enough power for those electric winches?”
    â€œI put in larger batteries and a second alternator; I never did like grinding winches.”
    â€œI’m with you there. Did you enjoy your solo time on the way down here?”
    â€œI did, though I have to admit, I got a little horny.” He grinned. “I was glad to see Irene when I got here.”
    â€œSo you were close back in Virginia?”
    â€œI wouldn’t say close; she seemed to work constantly and didn’t have a lot of free time, but we got together now and then.”
    â€œDid she talk about her work in those days?”
    â€œNot a peep. I didn’t even know what she did, until one of my other customers, her neighbor, told me.”
    â€œHow’d she end up here?”
    â€œWell, when she retired she went to St. Barts, but she didn’t like it much. She likes it better here; less highfalutin and they speak English. Real estate prices are lower, too.”
    â€œDid you do any of the renovation on her place?”
    â€œNo, I just got here a couple of days ago; she hired a local firm, and they did a pretty good job. I’m cleaning up their work here and there and doing a couple of little things for her.”
    â€œI’m sure she’s glad to have you here. How long are you staying?”
    â€œOh, a few weeks, I guess; until the wanderlust bites again, or until Irene and I can’t stand each other anymore.”
    â€œWere you ever married, Harry?”
    â€œNope; lifelong bachelor.”
    â€œMe, too,” Stone said. “Not a bad life.”
    â€œNot bad at all.”
    They seemed to have run out of things to talk about. Stone glanced at his watch. “Well, I’d better get back to the cottage; the others are napping, but there was talk of an afternoon swim.”
    â€œI hear that’s a nudie beach down there.”
    â€œI can confirm that.”
    â€œI’ve gotta have a look at that; Irene would probably like it, too. By the way, she’s looking forward to having you all for dinner; she’s cooking up a storm. I don’t think she knows all that many locals, so she’s glad of the company.”
    â€œWe’re looking forward, too,” Stone said. They shook hands, and Stone walked back to the cottage.
    Holly came out of the bedroom, yawning. “Hey, where you been?”
    â€œI took a walk down to the marina; saw Harry’s boat, and we had a nice chat. He pumped me a little, but not enough to be unseemly.”
    â€œDid you pump him, too?”
    â€œNot much; didn’t want to seem too curious.”
    â€œJust as well.”
    â€œSomething interesting, though; Harry turns out to be a neat-freak. I’ve never seen a boat that well put together: a place for everything, and everything in its place.”
    â€œYou know, when Teddy got away from New York, we found the place he had used as a workshop. It was cleaned out, but I remember one thing: there was a lot of pegboard on the walls, where tools had been hanging, and he had painted the outline of every tool, so he’d know where to replace it after he’d used it. That’s being pretty neat.”
    â€œI think that’s pretty obsessive. I didn’t see anything like that aboard his boat, but I guess he has neatness in common with Teddy.”
    â€œHe’s not Teddy; he’s an entirely different physical type. And then there’s the hair, of course. I don’t think Teddy could have learned how to grow hair since he left New York.”
    â€œI have to agree,” Stone said.
    â€œFeel like a swim?” she asked,