by Stuart Woods
“Yes, my dear?”
“I have just had a phone conversation with Dr. Don Beverly Calhoun.”
“And how did that go?”
Stone related the substance of the conversation. “Could you speak to the Home Secretary again?”
“Give me more ammo.”
“Calhoun’s people followed me in Connecticut and New York and were arrested for carrying illegal firearms. As we speak, one of his trademark SUVs is parked near my front gate, and I have alerted the local authorities. I think that indicates a disregard for the law in three places, not to mention the fact that the man is a suspect in the murder of a journalist in California who had the temerity to tell the truth about him.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“You are a sweetheart.”
“Of course I am.” She hung up.
Stone rejoined the others.
“Has your blood pressure returned to normal yet?” Peter asked.
“Almost.”
“Another Knob Creek?”
“What a good idea.”
“What did Felicity say?”
“Was I shouting again?”
“No, but in the circumstances, she seemed the next logical call.”
“You are such a smart young man—it must be an inherited trait.”
“Yes, Mom was very smart.”
30
Stone, Dino, and Marcel took a morning ride around the Curtis estate the following morning.
“I am very impressed with the beauty of the place,” Marcel said. “That should be a great added attraction for guests.”
“There’s also the river,” Stone pointed out. “The staff could conduct wildlife tours by boat, and sailing on the Solent could be offered.”
“What about that?” Dino asked, pointing. “Is that an added attraction?” He was pointing at the black Mercedes SUV that had been parked on the main road. It was now moving slowly around the property, not bothering to stick to the drive.
“No,” Stone said, “that is trespassing.” He got out his phone, called Deputy Chief Inspector Holmes, and reported the intrusion, then hung up. “He’s sending a car,” Stone said. “In the meantime, ignore them.” They rode on at a walk, and the car continued its tour. After about ten minutes, a police car showed up, its blue light flashing. They stopped the SUV, and the two officers got out and had a look inside. Four men got out of the vehicle and were searched, and each was relieved of a black pistol, all four of which were put into the police car by one of the officers, while the other used a radio.
“This is wonderful news,” Stone said. “The stupid bastards were armed.”
Shortly a police van arrived and transported the arrestees off the property, followed by the police car and the SUV, now driven by an officer. Stone and his party watched all this from a distance of about a hundred yards, then continued their ride.
—
Back at the house for lunch, Stone called Felicity Devonshire. “I have more ammo,” he said.
“Oh, tell me, please, I’m seeing the Home Secretary this afternoon.”
“Four of Dr. Don’s people were arrested this morning, after they drove their SUV onto the Curtis estate. They were all armed with handguns, and the police took them away.”
“Can you connect them to Dr. Don?”
“You’ll have to ask Deputy Chief Inspector Holmes about that, but in my experience, Dr. Don’s people carry business cards.”
“I will look into that immediately. Thank you, my dear.” She hung up.
—
Stone had just finished lunch when Felicity called back. “Good news,” she said, “the four trespassers were, indeed, carrying business cards, connecting them to Dr. Don. They are being transported to New Scotland Yard as we speak and will have a hearing tomorrow morning, at which my service and the Home Secretary will be in attendance.”
“What is the likely outcome of the hearing?”
“They might be offered the opportunity to accept immediate expulsion from Britain, or they could be bound over for trial. There will probably be some negotiation with their solicitors over this.”
“Will they go after Dr. Don, as well?”
“He would deny having ordered them to be armed, so it’s unlikely a judge would expel him. This incident will, however, weigh with the Home Secretary in his deliberations. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know how it comes out.”
“Do you think I could attend the hearing?”
“It’s open to the public.” She gave him the address.
“Wonderful.” They hung up, and Stone went to find Dino and tell him what was happening.
“I’ll go with you, if that’s okay,” Dino said.
Stone then got a call from the public prosecutor who was acting for the government at the hearing, and he asked Stone many questions about Dr. Don and the Chosen Few.
“My name is Derek Aslett,” he said. “Felicity Devonshire tells me you are attending the hearing tomorrow morning.”
“That’s correct.”
“Would you be good enough to testify to the facts you have just told me and to your experience with the Chosen Few?”
“I would be very happy to testify.”
“Please be at the court at a quarter to ten tomorrow morning, then. Do you have the address?”
“I do. May I have your phone and fax numbers?”
Aslett gave them to him. “I will find you in the public gallery.” They said goodbye and hung up.
“I’m going to get a shot at Dr. Don at the hearing,” Stone said to Dino.
“I’m going to enjoy watching that,” Dino replied.
“Would you call the director of the FBI and get his permission to show Dr. Don’s file to the prosecutor? I can fax it to him.”
“Sure.”
“We’ll have to leave here about seven o’clock in the morning,” Stone said, “because of the rush-hour traffic.”
“That’s okay. I’m accustomed to earlier hours than you.”
Dino called the director and got permission to use the file, and Stone faxed it to Derek Aslett.
31
Stone and Dino arrived at the court at 9:30 and were allowed into the courtroom. It didn’t have the paneling and atmosphere of the Old Bailey; it was more modern and plainer. They took a seat, and chatted idly for a few minutes as a few people wandered in and sat down. The prosecutor turned up shortly and introduced himself. “Thank you for the FBI file,” he said to Stone. “That has already been very helpful, as I was able to get a search warrant for Calhoun’s rooms.”
“Great.”
“I will first establish the circumstances of the arrest of the four defendants, then I will call you to help establish the character of Calhoun and his organization. Felicity has been helpful in giving me some background on you. Commissioner Bacchetti, I’ve been told of your background, as well, and I would like, perhaps, to call you for testimony on the file, depending on how things go.”
“I’m happy to help if I can,” Dino said.
The defendants were brought up from below stairs and sat down in the dock. Stone realized he had seen two of them before, and he told the prosecutor. Then he saw Dr. Don Beverly Calhoun come into the courtroom with a woman and two other men.
Aslett began by calling the arresting officer and walking him through his actions.
“Did the defendants possess firearms?”
“Yes, each of them was armed with a loaded Glock semiautomatic pistol.”
“Did they carry identification documents?”
“Yes, each of them carried an American passport, a driver’s license, and a business card identifying him as a public relations officer for an organization called the Chosen Few.”
“Did you arrest them in the act of trespass on private property?”
> “I did.”
The man was excused, and Stone was called and sworn.
“Please state your name for the record,” Aslett said.
“Stone Barrington.”
“You are an American?”
“I am.”
“What is your profession?”
“I am an attorney-at-law licensed in the state of New York. I also serve on a number of corporate boards, and I am an investor in some of them.”
“Did you recently purchase a property in Hampshire?”
“I did.”
“What is its name?”
“Windward Hall.”
“Did you, this week, purchase a neighboring property?”
“I did. I have signed a contract to purchase, and the completion will take place soon.”
“Its name?
“Curtis House.”
“Are you the sole owner of these properties?”
“I am the sole owner of Windward Hall. I have two partners in Curtis House, an individual and a hotel corporation.”
“When you made the offer to purchase Curtis House, were you aware that there was another offer pending?”
“I was.”
“Were you aware of the identity of the other bidder?”
“I was. It was a man called Calhoun.”
“Is he present in the courtroom, and if so, will you point him out?”
“He is, seated at the rear of the courtroom.” Stone pointed to him and got a scowl in return.
“Had you had some previous experience with Dr. Calhoun or his associates?”
“Yes, I had driven from New York to a town in the neighboring state of Connecticut, and one of his associates followed me there. Calhoun wrongly believes that a film made by my son is intended as an unfavorable depiction of him. The person who followed me is one of the defendants, the one on the right.” He pointed. “He told the front desk at the inn where I was lunching that he wanted to see my son, who was not present in Connecticut. I confronted him, there was a scuffle, and I took a nine-millimeter Glock from him. Later, he continued to follow me, and I reported this to the Connecticut State Police, who disarmed him and arrested him for carrying a firearm without a license. He also had a loaded shotgun in his car.”
“Did you have any further contact with associates of Dr. Calhoun?”
“Yes. When I drove back to New York the following day I began being followed as I crossed the New York State line. I called the police, and they disarmed and arrested him. He is the defendant on the left, and he was also carrying a Glock and a shotgun in his car.”
“Did you have any further contact with associates of Dr. Calhoun?”
“Not in New York, not until I flew to England a few days later.”
Aslett picked up the FBI file. “Prior to your departure, did you come to learn more about Dr. Calhoun and his associates?”
“Yes.”
“I show you a file from the American Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is analogous to our MI5. Did you come to read this?”
“Yes.”
“And what did you learn of Dr. Calhoun and his organization, the Chosen Few?”
“I learned that it was a religious cult centered on Calhoun, and that his organization was a suspect in the murder of a journalist who had written an uncomplimentary article about them.”
Another lawyer in the room rose. “Objection to the characterization of the Chosen Few as a cult. It is a respected religious organization in the United States.”
“Respected by whom?” Stone asked.
“Mr. Barrington,” the judge said, “you will not question members of the court.”
“I apologize, Your Lordship.”
“When did you next encounter Dr. Calhoun or members of his cult?” Aslett asked.
“When I returned to England a neighbor told me that Calhoun had made an offer on the property next door, and that he had been looking for such a property for several weeks.”
“And subsequent to that you made an offer for the property that was accepted?”
“Yes.”
“Did you then begin to have contact with associates of Dr. Calhoun?”
“Yes. I discovered that a strange vehicle was parked near my front gate, and I notified the police. Subsequent to that, I had a telephone call from Calhoun, offering to buy the Curtis property from me, which I refused. During this call Calhoun threatened to sue my son and his associates in the production of his film for libel. I declined his offer. It was later that day that I saw the Calhoun vehicle on the Curtis property and I called the police again.”
“And that brings us to the present moment,” Aslett said. “No further questions, Mr. Barrington. You are excused.”
Stone got down from the stand and took his seat.
A police officer came into the courtroom and whispered something to Aslett.
“Does the prosecution have any other witnesses?” the judge asked.
“One, Your Honor, a police officer.”
A uniformed officer was sworn in and identified himself as Inspector Marshall.
“Inspector Marshall, did you this morning obtain a warrant to search the hotel rooms occupied by Dr. Don Beverly Calhoun and his associates?”
“Yes, sir, I did.”
“And did you conduct the search?”
“I did, sir.”
“Did you find anything illegal in these rooms?”
“Yes, sir. We found three Glock handguns.”
The defense lawyer stood and looked at Calhoun, who nodded to him. “Your Lordship, we request a brief recess in these proceedings in order to confer with the prosecution.”
The judge looked up at the courtroom clock. “We will adjourn for lunch and return at one o’clock. The defendants will be returned to their cells, and Dr. Calhoun and his associates will not leave the courtroom, unless accompanied by a police officer.”
Stone and Dino adjourned to a nearby pub for lunch.
32
Stone and Dino were back in the courtroom shortly before one o’clock, and at the stroke of the hour Derek Aslett returned and sat down. The four defendants did not appear in the dock. Everyone rose as the judge entered and called the court to order.
“Mr. Aslett, how do you wish to proceed at this time?”
“Your Lordship, during the lunch hour I met with counsel for the defense, and we have agreed, with the approval of the court, on a plea of guilty to one charge each of criminal trespass and possession of an illegal firearm by the four defendants. Additionally, they will each pay a fine of one thousand pounds. Dr. Calhoun, his wife, and two companions will plead guilty to one count each of possession of an illegal firearm and a fine of one thousand pounds, on the condition that all of them be permitted to pack their bags and pay their hotel bills, then be escorted to Heathrow Airport, where they will leave the country on the first available flight to New York, and that they not return to the United Kingdom at any time in the future.”
“Does the defense agree to these pleas and these terms?” the judge asked.
The defense counsel rose. “Your Lordship, the defense concurs.”
“Very well, the police will transport the eight of them to their respective hotels, where they will pack their bags and pay their bills. The defendants will also pay their fines in pounds sterling or United States dollars, then be transported to Heathrow, where the police will see them aboard the first available flight to New York. They will be barred from returning to the United Kingdom, without the written permission of the Home Secretary.” He banged his gavel, everyone rose, and he left the courtroom.
Aslett walked over to where Stone and Dino stood. “I hope you find that a satisfactory outcome,” he said, beaming.
“I would have preferred seeing them sent to the Tower of London and beheaded,” Stone said
, “but short of that, I’ll settle for your deal.”
“Commissioner, I’m glad we did not have to call you.”
“So am I,” Dino replied.
“By the way, today’s flights are all full, so I’ve booked them in steerage on a British Airways flight out of Heathrow at ten AM tomorrow, and they’ll have the pleasure of spending a night in the departure area, without access to the first-class lounge or the Concorde Room.”
“Good move,” Stone said. They shook hands with him and left the courtroom.
Outside, they paused to watch, with satisfaction, as Calhoun and his cohorts were loaded into a Black Maria and driven away.
“And good riddance,” Stone said as the van departed.
“I had a thought,” Dino said.
“Tell me.”
“The judge ordered them to pay their fines in cash, so Aslett must have been told by their lawyer that they have it available.”
“That makes sense.”
“I’m acquainted with the head of customs at Kennedy. Why don’t I give him a call and suggest that Calhoun and his crowd be checked for excess cash when they land? They’re only allowed to carry five thousand dollars in or out of the country, unless they declare it to customs. If they don’t, they’re subject to federal prosecution.”
“Dino, I love the way your mind works,” Stone said.
They got back into Stone’s car and drove toward the motorway south, while Dino made the call on his cell phone.
Stone’s phone rang, and he used the hands-free feature of the car’s sound system to answer it. “Hello?”
“Stone, it’s Julian Whately. I met with Lady Curtis’s solicitor this morning and we worked through the closing documents and made any necessary changes. They’re ready for yours, M’sieur duBois’s, and Lady Curtis’s signatures. I’m told that she has already moved her things out of the house and is staying temporarily with Dame Felicity Devonshire. She has said she is available for completion at ten o’clock tomorrow morning.”