Unintended Consequences

out.
    “What makes you think there weren’t other cars following us?”
    “What makes you think there were?”
    “Majorov didn’t go into that gallery for no reason. He could have collected associates there.”
    “You have a suspicious nature,” Stone said.
    “It comes with the territory. You might profit from being suspicious. Suspicion might keep you alive longer.”
    “Nobody’s taken a shot at me,” Stone said.
    “The first one could be the last,” Rick said, then left.
    Stone stretched out on the bed for a ten-minute nap.

26
    S tone was jarred out of a deep sleep by his cell phone making noises. He looked at his watch: half past five. Some nap! He got out of bed and found the phone. “Hello?”
    “It’s Holly.”
    “Hi, there.”
    “I hear you have one of our phones now, so we can talk.”
    “Is Lance director yet?”
    “He is. Kate is hanging around for a few days more to help with the transition. They’ve held lots of joint meetings with key personnel to pass the baton.”
    “How’s everybody taking it?”
    “Lance’s rivals are sulking, everybody else seems cheerful enough. Of course, the people at Langley have a lot of affection for Kate, and they hate to see her go. She’s trying to rub some of her mojo off onto Lance, but it may not take. You making any progress with your memory?”
    “None at all. Lance sent a satphone to Eggers up in the North Woods, and Bill called and filled in a lot of the blanks. I thought that might jar something loose, but it hasn’t. What are you up to?”
    “I’m back in New York and working my ass off. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
    “Okay, go.”
    “First of all, I lied to you. Nobody pressed me to move out of your house, it was my decision. I’m sorry, I should have been straight with you.”
    “Go on.”
    “I’ve just had the promotion of a lifetime. I’m hanging on by my fingernails, and it’s not going to get any better in the foreseeable future. As a result of the change in our charter, we’re expanding the New York station, and it will be a model for other stations around the country. I can’t take the time to think about anything else but that. If I can bring this off, I might be in line for Lance’s old job next time it opens up, and that’s a dream for me. The guy who Lance appointed is a couple of years from retirement, and everybody knows he’s just keeping the chair warm. Lance has told me he would like for me to have it someday, but not now. I’m going to need more weight in my résumé before that might be possible.”
    “So, no time for me, then?”
    “No time for anybody,” Holly said with finality. “I love ya, Stone, but I love my work more, and I can’t keep you both happy.”
    Stone sighed. “I can’t say that I like it, but I understand it, so all I can do is wish you well and stay out of the way.”
    “Thanks for that, baby.”
    He sensed that their conversation was over. “Take care of yourself, and good luck in the job, for all our sakes.”
    “Thanks. Bye-bye.” She hung up.
    Stone lay back on the bed and realized that there was now a big hole in his life where there hadn’t been one before. He closed his eyes and tried to let go.
    •   •   •
    D inner was back in Montmartre, at an outdoor table next to the park. It was simple: roast chicken, potatoes, and haricots verts, with a bottle of Beaujolais.
    “Feeling better?” Helga asked when he was done.
    “Much,” he said. “One more three-star dinner and I would have exploded.”
    “You seem a little preoccupied this evening. Anything wrong?”
    “I said goodbye to a friend this afternoon,” he said.
    “How good a friend?”
    “A very good one.”
    “So you were dumped?”
    Stone laughed. “I was dumped. The competition was too tough.”
    “I can’t imagine you losing that kind of competition,” she said.
    “I wasn’t competing with another man, just with her job, which is overwhelming her at the moment and probably will for a long time to come.”
    “Good,” Helga said. “More time for me.”
    “All you want,” he replied. “Let’s take a walk.”
    They walked to the top of the hill, then down the side street where Stone and Rick had followed Majorov that afternoon.
    “Are we going anyplace special?” Helga asked.
    “How about to a gallery opening?”
    “That sounds like fun.”
    He found the Ulyanov Gallery. It was brightly lit, and there was a crowd inside, some of them spilling out onto the