by Stuart Woods
“The defense requests leave to file an appeal,” the attorney said.
“File away,” the judge said, banging her gavel. “This case is adjourned for the duration.”
A court officer handcuffed Owaki and led him away. The prosecutor came over to Stone, shook his hand, and thanked him.
“How do you rate the chances of his appeal?” Stone asked.
“Not very good,” the man replied.
“Let’s get out of here,” Dino said.
57
Stone and Dino walked out of the courthouse and down the long front steps. Stone’s Bentley was idling at the curb, and Dino’s official SUV pulled up behind it as they approached.
“I don’t guess you need a lift,” Dino said.
“No, Fred and Meg are waiting for me,” Stone replied, then he stopped and looked at his car. Fred was slumped over the steering wheel, and the rear seat was empty. The driver’s window was down; Fred liked his fresh air. “Hang on,” Stone said. He opened the driver’s door, and Fred fell into his arms.
“Do we need an ambulance?” Dino asked.
Stone examined Fred’s head but found no wounds; then he saw a drop of blood trickle down his neck. “We’re going to need an ambulance and a lot more,” Stone said. “Meg has been taken.”
Dino ran to his car and gave the driver a request for an ambulance, a description of Meg, and orders for an APB, then he returned to Stone. “An APB is out, and an ambulance is on its way.”
Stone felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, and he looked at the phone. The caller was Fred Flicker. “We’ve got contact,” Stone said, then answered the call. “Yes?”
“Do I have to tell you what we want?” a voice said.
“Yes, you do,” Stone replied. He wanted to hear more of the voice.
“We want the thumb drive. As soon as we’ve verified the authenticity—and the efficacy—of the software we will return the lady unharmed. The time is now noon. We will expect a call from you by two PM stating that you are ready to turn over the drive. If it is not in our hands by two-thirty PM, you may locate pieces of the lady’s body in the East River. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Stone said, and the man hung up.
“It was Stanislav Beria,” Stone said. “You can add him to your APB—six-one, a hundred and seventy, dark hair.”
“Are you sure?”
“I thought I recognized his voice, and as he continued talking, I was sure of it.”
“What does he want?”
“A thumb drive containing the software of the designs and specifications of Meg’s self-driving car.”
“Where is it?”
“On a thumb drive in my office safe.”
“How much time do we have?”
“He wants me to call him on Fred’s phone by two PM. He says she’ll be dead by two-thirty if we haven’t handed over the thumb drive by then.”
By the time the ambulance arrived, Fred was awake and standing up, though he appeared a bit woozy. He waved off medical attention. “I’ll be all right in a few minutes,” he said, “nothing wrong with me that fresh air won’t fix.”
“Come with me,” Dino said. Dino ordered the detective in the front passenger seat of his car to drive Stone’s car, which was still running, put Fred in the passenger seat, then he gave the detective Stone’s address.
The car moved out, and Dino made a call, reinforcing the APB and adding Stanislav Beria to it. “Also, post a car and two men outside the Russian UN mission, in case Beria returns there.”
Stone tugged at his sleeve.
“What?”
“Add the gorilla Ivanov to the APB—six-three or -four, two-fifty, black hair, deep five o’clock shadow.”
Dino did so, then hung up. “Didn’t we arrest that guy?”
“Yes, but he got released, and you couldn’t hold Beria because he holds a diplomatic passport.”
“What phone number did they give you?”
“They took Fred’s phone.”
“What’s his number?”
Stone gave it to him.
Dino made another call and said to whoever answered, “This is Bacchetti I need a location on a cell phone number.” He gave them the number. “How long? All right, I’ll call it then.” He hung up. “They need ten minutes to get set up, and I have to keep them on the line for two minutes.”
They continued on toward Stone’s house, occasionally using the siren to get through the traffic.
“Dino . . .” Stone said.
“Shut up, I’m thinking.”
Stone shut up.
“Okay,” Dino said finally. “Whaddaya want?”
Stone thought about it. “I forget.”
“I’ve got a plan,” Dino said, then told him what it was.
“That sounds great, Dino, but what if it doesn’t work?”
“Then Meg is dead,” Dino replied.
“I’m not willing to risk that.”
“Where was the thumb drive before it got into your pocket?”
“In the library safe at my house in England.”
“And you said, when you were testifying, that Owaki had been thrown out of the country?”
“Yes.”
“What about Beria and Ivanov?”
“I don’t know whether they were in England. I saw only Owaki, at my house and when his luggage was being loaded into his car.”
“I don’t understand,” Dino said. “Luggage?”
“Owaki was staying at the Arrington hotel next door to my house, and I called the manager and had him thrown out. Meg and I were riding by on horseback, and I saw a couple of men loading bags into Owaki’s car.”
“Was either of them Beria or Ivanov?”
“I don’t think so, I got only a glimpse of them.”
“I wish you were more observant,” Dino said with disgust.
“Gee, I’m sorry, I didn’t know this was going to come up. What is it you want in England?”
“Somebody who can go to your house, open the safe, and get the thumb drive.”
“But the thumb drive isn’t there—it’s in my safe.”
“Not that thumb drive, dummy!”
“I don’t get it.”
Dino’s phone rang. “Bacchetti. Okay, I’m calling the number in thirty seconds. He hung up, glanced at his watch, and tapped in Fred’s number. At thirty seconds, he pressed the call button. “Here we go,” he said. “It’s ringing.”
58
Stone watched Dino’s face as the phone rang. It betrayed no emotion.
“Hello,” Dino said. “I’m calling on behalf of Stone Barrington. What is it you want?” He listened carefully, nodding. “Is that all?” He listened again. “I’m afraid there’ll be a delay. That item is not in this country.” He listened. “The item is in a safe in the library of Mr. Barrington’s house in England.”
Stone could hear an angry voice replying.
Dino continued to listen. “Hold on, I’ll find out how it can be opened.” He left the phone near his lips as he talked to Stone. “Who knows how to get into that safe?”
“I do,” Stone replied.
“No, I mean somebody else who can get into it—somebody in England.”
“The manager of the estate, Major Bugg, has the combination. I will instruct him to open it on presentation of a password.”
“And what is the password?”
“Let me think . . .”
“Not too long,” Dino whispered, his hand over the phone.
“The password is Arrington.”
“Did you get that?” Dino asked. He spelled the name carefully. “Now, when will you release Ms. Harmon?” He listened. “Surely Mr. Owaki has someone in England who can pop over to the house and see Major Bugg. Well, how long then? I would like to point
out that Mr. Barrington has followed your instructions explicitly. You have no further reason to hold Ms. Harmon.” He listened. “By the way, what is your name?”
Stone heard the click when they hung up.
“Well,” Dino said, “that should be long enough for my people to get a location. By the way, Stone, you’d better call Major Bugg and ask him to put a thumb drive in your safe, and to open it for whoever gives him the password.” Dino dialed a number on his own cell phone.
Stone called Major Bugg, who was probably having his tea interrupted, and told him what must be done.
“What is a thumb drive?” Bugg asked.
“It’s a small computer device about the size of a thumb, hence the name.”
“I don’t have one. Where would I get it?”
“At a computer shop. Is there one in the village?”
“Yes, a small one.”
“It’s a small device. Could you send someone there immediately and buy one of the largest capacity available?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I’ll call you in a few minutes, and we’ll do a data transfer from my computer to the thumb drive.”
“Yes, my assistant knows how to do that, I believe.”
“Thank you, Major Bugg.”
Dino was still on the phone. “Keep that connection alive,” he said to his officer. “Don’t let it get away from you.” He hung up.
“Did they get a location for Fred’s cell phone?”
“Yes. It’s a few feet from your house.”
“What?”
“Apparently in a car, parked in front of your house. They’ll track it, if it moves.” He spoke to his driver. “You can keep the siren on, now. How long?”
“Ten minutes, if the traffic isn’t too bad.”
“Okay.” Dino called his office and ordered a car situated at each end of Stone’s block, then he sat back in his seat and appeared to relax.
“Why are you so relaxed?” Stone asked.
“I’m always relaxed when I’ve done all I can do. Can you think of anything else I should do, right this minute?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Then I’m going to relax. I might even take a nap.” He put his head against the back of the seat and closed his eyes.
“I wish I could relax like that,” Stone said.
“It takes practice.”
Dino’s cell phone rang, and he answered it. “Bacchetti.” He listened for a moment. “Well, shit,” he said. “Call me back when you’ve reestablished— What? Okay.” He hung up. “They lost the signal when the guy hung up. I’ll call it again.” He pressed the button and gazed out the window. “Hello? This is the same person who phoned a moment ago. Do you remember me? Yes, that’s the one. Listen, Major Bugg has left his office for the day, and someone has been sent to his home to get him to return to the house. It’s going to take about an hour, since he lives half an hour away from the house. Have you got that? Okay, then let’s talk again in an hour, unless you’d just like to chat for a while—I’ve got plenty of time.” Dino put down the phone. “Goodbye, Mr. Beria.” He hung up.
“I’m not surprised they lost the connection,” Stone said. “Were they able to get a fix again? Are they still sitting in front of my house?”
Dino’s phone rang. “Bacchetti. Which way? Are you on it? Thanks.” Dino sat back and relaxed again. “The car left your house and turned downtown on Second Avenue. We are in pursuit.”
“But you’ve lost the connection again?”
“Yeah, but he said to call back in a couple of minutes so they can get a new location.” Dino put his head back onto the headrest and appeared to doze.
Stone waited impatiently, then jabbed Dino with an elbow.
Dino didn’t open his eyes. “Yeah?”
“It’s been a couple of minutes—make the call.”
“It hasn’t been more than half a minute,” Dino said.
“I timed it with my watch,” Stone lied.
“Oh, all right.” Dino called the number. “Hi, Mr. Beria, how’s everything going?” He held the phone away from his ear while the man on the other end shouted. “Why shouldn’t I call you Mr. Beria?” Dino said. “That’s your name, isn’t it?” Another torrent of shouting. “I mean, have you sent somebody to the Barrington house in England to get the thumb drive? Well, he should be back at the house inside an hour. How’s the weather where you are? Oh, good, I hear it’s raining like hell in England, but then, it usually is. Tell your guy to drive carefully; those country roads can get slippery when they’re wet.” Dino put down his phone. “They hung up again. Some people just can’t carry on a conversation, you know?”
“Yes, I know,” Stone said.
Dino’s phone rang. “Bacchetti. Did you get a new location? Why the hell would they do that? Okay, I’ll call them again in a couple of minutes.” He hung up.
“Now what?”
“Now they’re on First Avenue, headed uptown. Every time they hang up we lose the connection. I’ll call back in a couple of minutes, and this time I want to see you timing it.”
Stone pressed the start button on his Rolex Daytona. “Okay, I’m timing it.”
“Let me know when it’s two minutes,” he said.
“I’ll do that,” Stone said. “And we need to go to my house.”
“Why?”
“I want to send Bugg some data from the thumb drive so when they check it out, it will appear to work.”
59
Meg woke up slowly, realizing that she was in the luggage compartment of an SUV, with a pull-out cover closed over her head, cutting out much of the light. Her hands were secured behind her, her handbag chain around her neck, and her ankles were taped together. Her handbag lay about an inch from her nose. There were two things she immediately wanted from the handbag: a little sewing kit, and a small .380 pistol that Stone had given her from his safe when she had complained about feeling in danger. She would get some satisfaction from telling Stone that she had been right.
She heard a cell phone ring and one end of a conversation; she supposed Stone was on the other end. The talker hung up and said angrily, “He keeps calling me Mr. Beria.”
“Why not?” another male voice asked. “It’s your name.”
“Yes, but he’s not supposed to know it.” Then for reasons unknown to her, they switched to Russian.
Meg managed to get her small handbag between her teeth and drag it to a spot near her head, in the center of the compartment that contained her.
* * *
—
WHEN THEY REACHED the house, Stone told Fred to put the Bentley in the garage, just to give him something to do. Then he took Dino into his office.
“What’s going on?” Joan asked as they passed her desk.
“Beria has taken Meg,” he replied, and continued into his office. He sat at his desk and turned to his computer, then glanced at his watch. “Time’s up,” he said to Dino. “Call Fred’s number again.”
Dino pressed the button and waited for an answer, which came quickly. “All right, Mr. Beria, we’re making progress. Major Bugg has been summoned and is on the way to Mr. Barrington’s house. He should be there in about half an hour. It’s still raining hard over there, by the way, so let’s hope he doesn’t drive into a ditch. Okay, okay, I’ll call you in half an hour.” He hung up. “Beria doesn’t like chatting with me.”
“How do you know it’s raining in England?”
“It’s always raining in England,” Dino said. “Also, I needed something to talk about to keep him on the line long enough for my people to get another fix.”
Stone called Major Bugg’s cell phone. “Mr. Barrington? I have obtained a thumb drive from the computer shop in the village. What shall I do with it?”
“Please plug it into your computer’s USB receptacle,” S
tone said. “I want to send you some files.” He took the thumb drive from his office safe, plugged it into his computer, and established contact with Bugg’s machine. He chose the first file from each of four sections of the files on his computer and transmitted them to Bugg’s computer as different documents. “There,” he said, “all done. Now please take the thumb drive to the safe and lock it inside. Someone will come for it, then you can open the safe and hand it over.”
“Of course, sir,” Bugg said. “Will you be calling again?”
“When the transaction is complete and the person has left, follow him out and get a description of his car and the number plate before he drives away.”
“Yes, sir. Are you sure you don’t wish me to capture the man?”
“Not necessary, just call me back with the car’s description and the number plate.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
—
MEG MANAGED to maneuver into a sitting position, with her back against the rear of the SUV’s backseat, and her handbag near her hands. She managed to unzip it and find the sewing kit, then unzip that and find a small pair of scissors. Cutting the duct tape that held her hands was harder than she had expected, but she managed to free her hands, then her feet. She then opened the handbag, found the small pistol, pumped a round into the chamber, and set the safety. Now she examined the latch of the rear door of the vehicle and decided she could open it from the inside. She tried to relax while she waited for the car to stop for a traffic light.
* * *
—
“WHERE WAS the last fix on Fred’s cell phone?” Stone asked.
“While you were talking to Bugg they seemed to be heading for the FDR Drive,” Dino said. That highway ran along the East River, north and south.
“All right, time to call them again,” Stone said.
Dino made the call. “Hi, Mr. Beria,” he said. “It’s me again, remember? Well, sure I’m hard to forget. I just wanted you to know that Major Bugg has arrived at Mr. Barrington’s house and is waiting there for your man to come and get the thumb drive. No, no, he’s unarmed. He’s happy to give your man the drive. He won’t be a problem. How are you doing? Are you making progress toward where you’re going to let Ms. Harmon out of the car? Thanks, I appreciate that.” Dino hung up.