Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 14

but she didn’t say so. “What are your long-term plans, Irene? Are you going to make this your permanent home?”
    â€œI guess it already is,” she replied, sipping her drink. “I’ve settled in very well, which wasn’t the case in St. Barts. I’m too old to start learning a language, and everybody here speaks English, and the government is stable—no bands of rebels in the hills. I think St. Marks may be heaven for me.”
    â€œDoes Harry feel the same way?”
    â€œWell, he hasn’t been here long enough for that to happen, but he likes it, and he’s comfortable here. He may also get on his boat and sail away; we’ll see how it goes.”
    â€œThat’s a good attitude when dealing with men,” Genevieve said. “Just see how it goes.” She gave Dino a sidelong glance.
    â€œOn the other hand,” Dino said, “that attitude doesn’t work so well with women.”
    â€œWhy not?” Holly asked.
    â€œWell, you go along for a while, seeing how it goes, and you think you’ve got it all figured out, then they change everything.”
    Stone spoke up. “Well, if we’re going to listen to Dino’s theories about women, this is going to be a very long and boring evening.”
    â€œOh, here’s Harry,” Irene said, waving him over.
    Harry bustled in, greeted everybody, took a seat and poured himself a glass of rum punch. A waiter appeared with a fresh pitcher and took the nearly empty one away. “Man, that’s good!” he enthused, taking a long draft of his drink.
    â€œDid you get your work done at the marina?” Irene asked.
    â€œYep, the boat is in the best shape of its life.”
    â€œYou sticking around for a while?” Stone asked.
    â€œMaybe. I’ve done Virginia, and Ft. Lauderdale seemed too crowded for me, though if I stay longer that would be the best place to sell the boat.” He smiled at Irene. “And nobody in either place cooks like Irene.” He slapped his belly. “I’ve been putting on weight.”
    â€œI’m going to put you on a diet,” Irene said.

    S tone felt his cell phone vibrate and stood up. “Excuse me; phone call.” He walked toward the bar. “Hello?”
    â€œIt’s Lance.”
    â€œHi, what’s up?”
    â€œI tried to call Ginny, but she didn’t answer on either the satphone or her cell phone; is she all right?”
    â€œYes, of course; we’re at dinner at the inn with Irene Foster and her friend Harry. Why wouldn’t she be okay?”
    â€œI’ve been unable to locate Bill Pepper or his wife, and I’m worried. I just wanted to be sure Ginny was all right.”
    â€œHas this ever happened before?”
    â€œStandard operating procedure is for Pepper to always be reachable within an hour of the initial contact.”
    â€œI see.”
    â€œI’d like you and Holly to go to his house, get inside and call me back.”
    â€œI don’t think we can do that for a couple of hours without causing suspicion. Remember, we’re vacationers here; we can’t just make an excuse and walk away from a dinner party.”
    â€œAll right, when you’re rid of Irene and her friend, go there. Got a pencil?”
    Stone took out a jotting pad and his pen. “Shoot.” He wrote down the address and the burglar alarm code. “Got it.”
    â€œThere’s a note in Pepper’s file: a key is taped to the underside of the mailbox. When you leave, reset the alarm with the same code and replace the key, then have Holly call me at home on the satphone.” He gave Stone the number.
    â€œAll right, we’ll be in touch.”
    â€œDon’t take Dino and Genevieve with you; tell them that if you’re not back at the inn in two hours, to call me.”
    â€œThanks, Lance, Ginny will call you later.” Stone closed his phone and went back to the table. “Sorry about that; my secretary is working late and needed some client information for billing. She can’t always read my handwriting.”

    H olly wasn’t buying that, but Stone wasn’t sending any signals, either. She tried to relax and get back to pumping Irene. “What’s new on Black Mountain?” she asked.
    â€œNot much.”
    â€œDo you ever see your neighbors up there?”
    â€œNot often. The Pembertons and the Weatherbys still haven’t turned up,