Lucid Intervals (2010) by Stuart - Stone Barrington 18 Woods

Author:Stuart - Stone Barrington 18 Woods [Woods, Stuart - Stone Barrington 18]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Penguin USA, Inc.
Published: 2011-01-13T22:00:00+00:00

When Stone awoke the following morning, Felicity’s side of the bed was empty. Before he could order breakfast, she returned.

“I’ve used your scanner,” she said. “The fingerprints are Whitestone’s.”

“You’ll have my bill before noon,” Stone said. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“Two fried eggs, wheat toast and blood sausage, please. And English breakfast tea.”

“I don’t believe we stock blood sausage,” Stone replied. “God, but that’s a disgustingly British thing to eat at breakfast.”

“All right, any sort of sausage.”

Stone got Helene on the intercom and ordered for both of them.

“I’ll expedite your check,” Felicity said, “but there’s one more thing I want you to do for me.”

“What’s that?”

“I want you to obtain James Hackett’s fingerprints.”

“He’s a naturalized citizen; they’ll be in the FBI database.”

“No. I want you to obtain them directly from the source.”

“Oh, I see. You want me to go over to his office, hold him down and print him?”

“I would be grateful if you could be more subtle than that.”

Stone thought about it. “All right, let’s invite him to dinner.”

“Here?”

“Why not? I have a dining room, a kitchen and a cook. At a restaurant I might have trouble confiscating his wineglass.”

“All right,” she said.

“And you must be here.”

“Why on earth should I be here?”

“Because it will guarantee his acceptance. If he’s Whitestone, it will be an opportunity to demonstrate his invulnerability to your identifying him.”

“Oh, all right. Who else will you ask?”

“I think Bill Eggers. It would be an opportunity for them to get to know each other better.”

“You need one more couple.”

“How about Dino?”

“Why Dino?”

“Why not? Hackett, being in the business he’s in, would love to get to know an NYPD lieutenant.”

“We need someone who’s not a drinking buddy of yours.”

“Do you have a request?”

“You know the former police commissioner, don’t you?”

“Yes, we have a cordial acquaintanceship. It might be a little uncomfortable, though.”

“Why?”

“He’s married to a woman I, ah, knew . . . rather well.”

“Ask him, and get over it.”

“I am over it.”

“Not if you’re uncomfortable inviting her to dinner with her husband.”

“Oh, all right. I’ll get Joan on it; we have to find an evening when everyone’s available.” He picked up the phone, buzzed Joan and asked her to arrange the dinner.

Their breakfast arrived on the dumbwaiter, and they sat up in bed with trays on their laps. Felicity stole his orange juice.

“You didn’t order orange juice,” Stone pointed out.

“I just did,” she said. “Oh, all right, we can share.”

Stone refilled the glass from the pitcher, and they shared.

“I was just thinking,” Felicity said, stabbing a sausage link and making it disappear.

“Uh, oh,” Stone said. “What now?”

“You said that Hackett had offered you employment.”

“On three occasions,” Stone said.

“Why don’t you accept?”

“Well, first of all, I’m very happy with my current employment status.”

“Take a leave of absence. Hackett would probably pay better, anyway.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Stone said. “The problem is, you want me to work for him so that I can prove he’s Whitestone and you can destroy him. That would leave me out of work, and I’d have to go crawling back to Bill Eggers, not to mention my own clients.

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