Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 14

don’t have a choice. Sutherland has shut down all transportation from the island; nobody can leave until he says so. If we tried to bring some sort of pressure to allow Holly and her group to leave, it might bring suspicion to bear on her.”
    â€œDo we have any idea what identity Teddy is using?”
    â€œThere are the three men I told you about. Bill Pepper was caught trying to get photos of them from government computers, so we could circulate them here to see if any of Teddy’s former coworkers could make him. If somebody can, then we’ve got a chance of…detaining him. Holly is trying now to learn if Pepper downloaded the photos before he was arrested.”
    â€œFrom what you’ve told me, there’s no way to connect any of these men to Holly.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œUnless she has contact with them and one of them is arrested.”
    â€œWell, yes.”
    â€œOrder her to have no contact with them, to ask no questions of anyone about them.”
    â€œCertainly.”
    â€œThere’s another problem,” Kate said.
    â€œYes?”
    â€œWhat happens if one of these men is Teddy and Teddy is the shooter and they catch him? I’m sure that Colonel Croft was not the only man in St. Marks who knows how to extract a confession from a suspect.”
    â€œDirector, do you have any reason to believe that you and I are being recorded at this moment?”
    â€œI have every reason to believe that we are not,” she replied.
    â€œIf Teddy is arrested by the St. Marks police, then we have to kill him before they can question him.”
    â€œThat’s pretty brazen of you, Lance.”
    â€œThink about it: if Teddy is, ah, persuaded to reveal his true identity, and if Sir Winston Sutherland chose to make an issue of a former Agency operative as murderer, then we have a flap of major proportions on our hands. If the American press got hold of that, I think it’s safe to say that the outcome of the next election might be in doubt.”
    Kate Lee turned and gazed out the window at the Virginia landscape.
    Lance waited for her to speak; he had said all he intended to.
    â€œLance,” she said finally, “you are authorized to use whatever means you feel are necessary to prevent Teddy Fay from falling into the hands of Sir Winston Sutherland’s police.”
    â€œMay I have that in writing, Director?”
    She turned and looked at him. “Certainly not,” she said.
    â€œI may not be able to handle this without the cooperation of Hugh English,” Lance said. “May I confide in him?”
    â€œCertainly not,” she replied. “But you may use whatever resources we have on the island without Hugh’s knowledge.”
    â€œI’m afraid that would not be possible; we’ve seen that already. Hugh would have to be…out of the picture. Unless he is, I would not have the freedom to operate.”
    Kate’s face was expressionless. “You’re right,” she said finally. She pressed a button on her phone.
    â€œYes, Director?”
    â€œPlease ask Hugh English to join me in my dining room for lunch at noon,” she said. “Don’t take no for an answer.” She disconnected and turned to Lance. “You’re invited, too.”

37
    H olly drove quickly out of the inn’s grounds and toward the Peppers’ house.
    â€œSlow down,” Stone said. “We don’t want to attract the attention of the police.”
    Holly made a determined effort to drive more slowly.
    â€œThat’s better; we’re just a couple of tourists out for a drive.”
    Ten minutes later Holly turned into the Peppers’ driveway. The small car was parked where it had been before, but this time the front door was ajar.
    Holly and Stone got out of the car and approached the front door.
    â€œI don’t know if we can eat this,” a woman’s voice said from inside.
    â€œJust heat it up, it’ll be fine,” a male voice answered.
    Holly rapped on the door. “Hello?”
    Bill Pepper came into the living room with some sort of electronic device in his hand. When he saw Holly, he tapped an ear.
    â€œHi, Bill,” Holly said, “I’m Ginny Heller, a friend of your sister’s in Miami. She asked me to drop in on you and see how you were doing.”
    â€œHi, Ginny,” Pepper said, but his attention was on the device in his hand. He walked toward the