by Stuart Woods
Tell me.
Today, Dino and I have had visits from two FBI agents and a detective from the Houston, Texas, police department.
About Liz?
No, about Paul Manning.
What about Manning?
One of the problems with finding Manning was that, for a long time, he had never been fingerprinted. Lots of people haven't. If you have never been arrested, applied for a security clearance or served in the armed forces, then you've probably not been fingerprinted. The Bureau maintains a huge database of everyone who has ever been fingerprinted, and it can be accessed by authorized law enforcement agencies.
I understand. And Manning has never been fingerprinted?
He has, once. After the business on St. Marks, Manning paid me a visit in New York. He wanted money. Fortunately, I had been expecting him, and Dino showed up shortly after his arrival and arrested him on charges of insurance fraud. Since he was wanted in St. Marks on three murder charges, and since the insurance company had no hope of retrieving any funds from him, they waived their claim on Manning and allowed him to be extradited to St. Marks. But first, he was taken to Dino's precinct, the Nineteenth, in Manhattan, and routinely fingerprinted.
And then his prints went into the FBI computer?
No. Whoever handled the fingerprinting at the Nineteenth considered Manning's arrest as a foreign matter and didn't forward his prints to the FBI. But they remained on file at the precinct, and earlier this week, I remembered that Manning had been printed.
The FBI also maintains a database of fingerprints that are associated with unsolved crimes. If a perpetrator leaves a print at a crime scene, it's run against all known prints, and if there's no match, it goes into the unsolved crimes database under a file number that relates to the case. I asked Dino to run a match of Manning's prints against that database, and it turned up a match with a bank robbery in Arlington, Virginia, four years ago. That crime was also matched by modus operandi and description of the perpetrator to three other bank robberies in Maryland. All the robberies took place near Washington, D. C., where Manning kept an apartment under the name of William Charles Danforth.
So Manning is a bank robber, as well as a murderer?
Yes. It appears that he had been supporting himself in that manner while he was writing a novel, which has now been published and has become a best-seller.
Busy guy.
Yes, he has been. Which brings us to today's visit from the FBI and the Houston detective. The FBI told us they were interested in the Virginia bank robbery, which was patently nonsense because the Bureau would never spend its resources on such a small crime, especially when they know the banks won't even prosecute small robberies unless violence was employed.
So what were they really interested in?
The Houston PD, in investigating a suspected homicide, also came up with a fingerprint, which they ran against the FBI's databases. They turned up the Virginia bank robbery, too, and then, when Dino's precinct turned up the same thing, it alerted both the FBI and the Houston department that somebody else had a match. What's more, Dino could attach an identity to the prints, as well, and that's why we had these visits today.
Did you or Dino tell them who the prints belonged to?
Yes, we did.
So they're looking for Manning, now?
Yes. And we think he may be in Palm Beach.
Well, this is very good news, Stone.
It is. I hope they'll have him in custody soon, which would prevent Manning's trying to disrupt the wedding.
Why do you think he would try to do that?
Last night, while the yacht's crew was off duty, and Dino and I were asleep on the yacht, somebody let go all her mooring lines and removed the gangplank. If Dino hadn't woken up, the yacht would almost certainly have collided with a bridge south of here and done great damage; maybe even have sunk the yacht.
Jesus. And you think it was Manning?
Stone avoided mention of Dolce. He seems the likely candidate. It was hardly the prank of a roving band of juvenile delinquents.
And you think he might try to disrupt the wedding?
Yes. We've taken security precautions against that possibility.
So everything that can be done has been done?
Yes.
Thad stood up. Then I'm going to put it out of my mind.
Please sit down, Thad. I'm not finished.
Thad sat down.
The Houston PD is interested in Manning because one of his fingerprints was found on a bedside glass of a man they believe may have been poisoned.
So he killed somebody in Houston, too? Good God, the man's a maniac.
That certainly appears to be so. But what's important to us here, today, is that the man the police think may have been poisoned was Winston Harding, Liz's late husband.
Thad seemed to freeze in place. Oh, my God, he said, finally.
Stone felt he had finally made his point.
The poor girl. This man has made her life hell, and now we learn he murdered her husband, too?
Maybe he hadn't made his point, after all, Stone thought. He was going to have to spell it out. That is a very distinct possibility, Stone said. And it has implications for you.
You mean, you think Manning may try to kill me?
Stone nodded. It's a possibility we can't ignore.
But you've already taken security precautions.
Yes, but how long are you willing to live under those circumstances?
I see, Thad said. You mean that he might try to kill me at some time in the future?
Yes. Stone was having trouble getting the rest of it out. Thad, I think that, under the circumstances, you should postpone the wedding.
Thad looked alarmed. For how long?
Until Manning is caught and interrogated.
Gosh, I don't know if we could do that at this point without causing a major hullabaloo in town. We've already invited two hundred people from Palm Beach and all over the country. Some of them have already arrived.
Of course, Manning may be arrested today or tomorrow.
That would certainly solve the problem, wouldn't it?
Stone took a deep breath. Not necessarily.
Thad looked at him for a long moment. You mean Manning might have help? An accomplice?
It's a very real possibility. Thank God, Stone thought, he's got it at last.
Do you have any idea who it might be?
No, he hadn't gotten it. Thad, I want you to understand that what I'm about to say is conjecture, but it's a conjecture that has to be made.
So, make it.
There's only one person that we're aware of who knows both Manning and you.
Thad's brow wrinkled, then his face relaxed, and his mouth fell open. You can't mean
As I say, it's only conjecture at this point. We won't know more until Manning is arrested, and it's entirely possible that he won't say anything then.
But that's completely crazy, Thad said.
You may be right. But ask yourself this: Who profited from Winston Harding's death?
Well, Manning, I guess. In some way. Revenge against Liz, maybe.
That's a possibility. But there's only one person who actually profited from Harding's death.
Thad didn't seem to be able even to think it.
Stone finally said it aloud. That person is Liz.
No, no, no, no Thad's voice trailed off.
And if the two of you are married and anything should happen to you, she would profit a great deal more than she did from Winston Harding's death.
Thad's body sagged as if air had been let out of it. He seemed unable to speak.
So, I think you should postpone the wedding until all this has been resolved.
Thad seemed to collect himself. He sat up straight. No, he said. I love her, and she loves me. If I know nothing else, I know that. The wedding goes on as scheduled. Do what you can to protect us from Manning, but you are not to say a word about this to Liz
, is that understood?
Thad
Stone, you have to either do as I wish in this matter, or leave. There's no in between. What's it going to be? Are you with me?
Stone sighed. All right, he said.
Stone watched Callie leave the main house and, with a man in tow, come toward the yacht. She looked particularly beautiful today, he thought, and he had missed seeing her the past few days, when she had been so busy with the wedding.
She came up the gangplank. Stone, this is Jeff Collender of Right-guard Security Services. He'll be helping us with the wedding, and I thought you'd better brief him.
Yeah, I know, Collender said, shaking hands. The name sounds like a deodorant; it was my wife's idea.
Glad to meet you, Jeff. Have a seat.
I hear you're throwing quite a shindig, here, Collender said.
That describes it very well, Stone said.
So, what do we need, here? You want us to keep out the gate-crashers, and like that?
Jeff, we may have more of a problem than gate-crashers, Stone said.
Oh? You expecting a lot of big drinkers, then? We've had experience with that. We know how to quietly eject the drunks.
Let me explain as fully as I can, Stone said. We have to be ready to handle an armed intruder.
Collender blinked. Armed? You mean with a gun?
Well, yes. You do have the capability of supplying armed security people, don't you?
Sure we do, but we've never had to actually shoot anybody.
And I hope you won't on this occasion, but we have to be prepared for anything.
Okay, we'll be prepared.
Earlier, I had estimated that we'd need only a few armed men, but now I think they'll all have to be armed. I assume your men have had some standard training?
Well, most of them are ex-law enforcement, so they've been trained by whatever department they worked for.
Are there any that haven't had training?
Maybe one or two.
Let's drop them. We need men who know how to handle weapons in a crowd.
Mr. Barrington, why don't you tell me exactly who you're expecting?
His name is Paul Manning. He's tall and slender six-three or -four, two hundred pounds, dark hair going gray.
Would you recognize him on sight?
Only by his size and shape. I haven't seen his current face.
His current face?
We believe he's had some cosmetic surgery.
So you don't have a photograph?
No.
Ooookay, no photograph.
There aren't too many people that tall. He should stand out in a crowd.
How big a crowd are we expecting?
About two hundred, Callie said.
There'll be a tight guest list?
Pretty tight. If a guest wants to bring someone along, we're not going to make a big thing of it.
And how many of these guests are likely to be armed?
Just the one, Stone said dryly.
Dino came out of his cabin, and Stone introduced him to Collender.
Nice to meet a fellow officer, Collender said. I used to be the sheriff of Palm Beach County.
Mmmm, Dino said. Don't let me interrupt, just keep going.
So, Collender said, how many people do you want here?
Twenty-four ought to do it, Stone said.
All armed?
Yes. Can you manage that?
Yeah, I can manage it. How do you want me to manage this Manning character, if we spot him?
Isolate him as quickly as possible, pat him down, check whatever name he gives you against the guest list and do it all very, very politely and apologetically. There are going to be some important people here, and we don't want to annoy them any more than absolutely necessary.
Believe me, Collender said, we're used to dealing with the rich and powerful in this town. We know how it's done.
Good.
How do you want my people dressed?
Black tie. I don't want them immediately identifiable as security. Do you have any women?
I've got four, all ex-officers and good.
Put them with men. Couples are less noticeable than single men.
Got it, Collender said, taking notes. If Manning starts shooting, what do you want done?
Stone and Dino exchanged a glance. Stop him in the most expedient way possible.
Collender nodded sagely. I get you.
I hope so, Stone said. I don't want Manning to be able to hurt anybody. I think you can imagine how big a mess that would be.
Oh, yeah, I read you completely. Are we going to have any cops here?
I'm talking to Chief Griggs in a few minutes about that. I'll let you know.
Collender stood up. Anything else?
Stone shook his head.
I'll be going, then. He gave Stone his card. Call me if you think of anything else; there's office, home and cell phone on the card.
Thanks, and it was good to meet you, Stone said.
Callie escorted Collender off the yacht.
You think this guy knows what he's doing? Dino asked.
I hope to God he does. Callie says he's the best around here.
Twenty-four guys with guns at a party? Let's hope they don't shoot each other.
Let's hope, Stone said.
Dan Griggs sounded amenable on the phone. I'm glad we've got a charge against this guy, now, he said. I'd like it if we could snatch him off the street before the wedding.
I'd like that, too, Dan, Stone said.
I think we ought to have a meeting of all the security people and my people the afternoon of the wedding, and we're going to need some kind of lapel pin to identify everybody. I'll bring some.
Good idea, Stone agreed. There's no way everybody is going to know everybody else on sight.
You know, we've covered a lot of parties in this town, mostly off duty, but this is the first time we're actually expecting an armed intruder.
I hope we're being overly cautious, Stone said, but we've got to be ready for anything. The more I learn about Manning, the more he worries me.
Let's meet at four tomorrow afternoon, then, Griggs said. I know Jeff Collender. I'll call him.
See you then, Dan. Stone hung up.
Dino called to him from the saloon, where he was watching a golf tournament on television. Quick, come here.
Stone hurried into the saloon.
Edward Ginsky was a prominent attorney in both New York and Miami legal circles, a television reporter was saying. He was standing in front of a large house. He leaves a widow and two grown children.
What happened? Stone asked.
Ed Ginsky got himself shot.
Any details?
Maid found him on his front steps this morning. He took two in the head.
Stone sank into a chair. Where is this going to end?
It's not going to end until Manning is dead, Dino said. And I think you and I ought to do whatever we can to see that that happens, if he shows up at the wedding.
Dino, are you suggesting we just shoot him down on sight?
As much as I'd like to, I think we have to be a little more subtle than that, Dino said. But not much.
Stone stood in front of the living room fireplace in Thad Shames's house and regarded the decidedly mixed group of men and women who stood around him, dressed or half-dressed in what each of them understood to be evening clothes.
Behind him, propped on the marble mantel, was a crude drawing of the house and grounds that he had done himself with a Magic Marker in black, with other colors for various personnel. He felt quite proud of it, in fact.
Okay, everybody listen up, he said. You see here an outline of the place house, gardens and yacht. There are sixteen small circles, in red, denoting employees of Rightguard Security. Jeff Collender will assign each of you to stations, and, once we've swept the grounds, you are to maintain those stations. Pick up a drink from the bar so you'll look at least a little
like a guest, and the drink will be iced water, soda, tonic or soft drink no booze. Eight of you, four men and four women, will roam the house and grounds as couples. Jeff will assign you areas to patrol.
The green circles denote Palm Beach police officers two at the curb to control traffic, one at the door to display a little authority to anyone contemplating gate-crashing, especially unauthorized members of the press, and to handle the metal detector. Authorized press people will be wearing photo IDs on strings around their necks. If you see anybody taking notes or photographs who is not wearing this tag, firmly request the ID card and, if it is not immediately forthcoming, escort him or her from the premises. If possible, take such people either through the center hall of the house or around the sides to the street. If they become obstreperous, turn them over to a police officer on the street, who will arrest them for trespassing and place them in a police van.
He pointed to his colleagues as he listed their names. Chief Dan Griggs, Jeff Collender of Rightguard, Lieutenant Bacchetti and I will be known as the 'management group' and will be roaming the house and grounds. Everybody has been issued a lapel pin green for Rightguard Security, red for Palm Beach Police, black for management group. You may also see some people with yellow lapel pins, but they are separate. Each of you has been issued a two-way radio, tuned to channel six. You understand that the use of radios is to be confined to sightings of Paul Manning. There is to be no unnecessary chat on the radios; there are too many of us for that. Paul Manning is six feet-three or -four, two hundred pounds, dark hair, going gray, moderately long. We have no photographs or sketches of him. If you spot a man answering that description, say the word 'bogey' into your microphone and give the specific location. If you see a weapon, either in his hand or on his person, say, 'gun' into the radio. Keep it as short as you can while conveying the information you need to. After that, speak into the radio only if the subject changes position or if you are asked questions by one of the management group.
Each of you has two sheets of paper with the entire guest list printed on them. If you have reason to suspect that a visitor is uninvited, politely request his or her name and refer to the list. If the name does not appear, ask the person to accompany you to the front door by one of the routes already mentioned, and turn him or her over to a police officer, who will determine if that person is, in fact, invited. It is possible that some invited guest may bring along another, uninvited guest. If an invited guest intercedes on behalf of such a person, do nothing, but make a note of the name on your guest list. Apologize for any inconvenience.