Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 14

Irene and Teddy.”
    â€œTo tell the truth,” Stone said, “I’m not sure there’s all that much to learn about Irene. If there were, Lance would already have told us about it. There’s just the Teddy connection, if it exists.”
    â€œWell, we learned how she’s able to afford that house,” Holly said. “I mean, buying it on the cheap before property values went up. She sets a very nice table, too, and that was an expensive wine.”
    â€œMy guess is, Harry would have supplied the wine; probably the groceries, too.”
    â€œIs Harry rich?”
    â€œHe said he had a large home remodeling business, and that he sold it. He seems to have enough money to retire comfortably and buy a very nice yacht.”
    â€œHow much would the boat cost?” Holly asked.
    â€œI don’t know, anywhere from two hundred thousand to half a million, depending on how old it is and how well equipped. Certainly, it’s extremely well equipped now, but my guess is that Harry added most of the equipment. He has the kind of stuff that you would more likely find on a yacht costing twice as much—electric winches, big GPS plotter, watermaker, central heating—everything you could cram into a boat of that size. I think she’s an inch or two down on her marks from the extra weight.”
    â€œSo he’s a tech junkie,” Dino said. “Nothing wrong with that, if he can afford it.”
    â€œTeddy’s a tech junkie, too,” Holly pointed out. “They have that in common.”
    â€œWhy don’t you ask Lance to check out Harry’s net worth?” Stone said. “It would be interesting to know where the money is coming from.”
    â€œI’ll ask him tomorrow,” Holly said.

    T hey arrived back at the cottage, let themselves in, and switched on the lights.
    â€œNobody move,” Holly said.
    Everybody stood still.
    â€œWhat?” Stone asked.
    â€œSomething’s different; things have been moved. That little sculpture was on the other end of the coffee table; the TV was a little more to the left.”
    â€œWe do have a staff, Holly,” Genevieve pointed out. “Maybe they’ve been cleaning.”
    â€œI gave them the rest of the day off late this afternoon,” Holly said. “They wouldn’t be spending their evening cleaning the house; anyway, it was already clean. Check the bedrooms.”
    Dino and Genevieve went into their bedroom, while Holly and Stone went into theirs. She began opening drawers, and so did Stone.
    â€œYou’re right, Holly,” he said. “The place has been turned over.”
    â€œBut not by an expert,” she replied. “I mean, it’s neat, but it’s not the way it was. What could they be looking for?”
    â€œI’ll check the safe.” Stone went into his dressing room, opened the little safe with his credit card and looked inside. “My cash is still here, and my spare watch,” he called, “but my clothes are pushed over on the rack.” He went back into the bedroom.
    Holly came out of her dressing room. “Same with my stuff; nothing missing.”
    â€œA burglar would have taken the TV and stereo and the booze,” Stone said.
    â€œWhere’s your passport?” Holly asked.
    â€œIn my jacket pocket,” Stone said, feeling for it. “I always carry it when I’m in a foreign place. Yours?”
    â€œIn my handbag.”
    â€œWas there anything here…” He stopped himself, walked over to Holly and whispered in her ear. “Let’s check for bugs.”
    She nodded, and they both went to work. Dino knocked and came into the room. “We’re not missing anything,” he said, “but you’re right; somebody’s been through the place.” He got no response, but Stone tapped his ear. “Oh,” he said, and went back to his own room.
    Holly unscrewed the mouthpiece on the phone, then waved to get Stone’s attention. He walked over, looked at the small device inside and nodded. Holly left it there and screwed the thing back together. They went into the living room and found the same device on the phone there; there was one in Dino’s room, too.
    â€œWhy don’t we have a nightcap on the terrace?” Stone said. He grabbed a bottle of premade gimlets and some glasses and led them outside. The wind was up a little, and the waves on the shore were making more