Стюарт Вудс - Cut and Thrust

The sidewalk in front of Spago was choked with paparazzi, and Stanton and Charlene were elbowing their way through the mob, smiles fixed on their faces, apparently enjoying themselves.

“I guarantee you,” Ann said, “that picture will be on the front page of the New York Post tomorrow morning. And a lot of other rags, too.”

Stone was having breakfast in bed with Ann the following morning when his phone rang. “Hello?”

“Stone, it’s Ed Eagle. How are you?”

“I’m very well, Ed, and it’s good to hear from you. Are you in Santa Fe?”

“No, I’m in L.A. for the convention. I’m a New Mexico delegate.”

“When did you get in?”

“Last night. We’re staying at Susannah’s place in Century Center — unless you can get me something at The Arrington.”

“Come and stay with me. I have an unoccupied guest room, and you haven’t seen my place since it was finished. Get here in time for lunch and we’ll catch up.”

“I’d love to. Susannah can’t make it until later — she’s having a beauty day at some spa or other.”

“Come at half past twelve. I’ll leave your name at the gate, but prepare for a thorough pat down from a security guard.”

“As long as she’s beautiful,” Ed said. “See you then.” He hung up.

“That was my friend Ed Eagle,” Stone said to Ann. “Do you know him?”

“He’s a New Mexico delegate. I’ve seen his name on the list. Who is he?”

“A remarkable man. He was born in Brooklyn to a Hasidic Jewish family and became a fanatical basketball player in high school. His family wouldn’t countenance his continuing his athletic career — they wanted him in the family diamond business — so he left the sect and got himself a basketball scholarship to Arizona State. By that time, he had grown to six feet seven inches tall. He was a great player, making all-American for three years, but he didn’t play pro ball — went to law school instead. Now he lives in Santa Fe, and he’s widely thought to be the best trial attorney west of the Mississippi.”

“I’ve read something about him. Somehow, I thought he was an Indian.”

“People thought that at ASU, too, and he never corrected them. It amuses him to just let people go on thinking it. Oh, and he’s married to the film actress Susannah Wilde.”

“She’s wonderful. I love her work!”

“He had an earlier wife, though, who turned out to be a real piece of work. Let me see if I can get her story straight — there’s a lot of it. Oh, yes, she’s from a Jewish family, too, and she was married to an important diamond merchant who was considerably older than she. Unfortunately, she formed an attachment to a boyfriend who had a criminal streak in him and a desire to hit it big. Using information he got from her, he walked into her husband’s New York offices and robbed the place of every stone in the safes. Something went wrong, and the boyfriend shot and killed her husband, then he beat it out of town without her.

“She cooperated with the police, and she was helpful in catching the guy, but she ended up doing a stretch at a women’s prison in Westchester County. Ed was up there on a case, met her, and was impressed. He told her when she got out to come to Santa Fe and he’d help her restart her life. She had a couple of years left on her sentence. To his surprise, she turned up a couple of months later, having gotten out on an early-release program, and the two of them hit it off. Pretty soon they were married, and he thought it was going okay, then one day he got a call from his broker saying that she had sold most of his stock portfolio and taken all of the considerable amount of cash he had there.”

“This is some story,” Ann said. “If I ever write my novel...”

“There’s more. He went to Mexico City and managed to get the bulk of his money back, then he put a couple of trackers on her to bring her back to the States. Meantime, she had killed a Mexican cop in Acapulco who had attacked her, and they got ahold of her before she could leave the country. She was sent to a women’s prison east of Acapulco and within a pretty short time she had escaped and somehow made her way back to the States, where she got arrested for another murder. She was tried and, while awaiting the verdict, she escaped from the courthouse and with the help of a friend decamped to a spa somewhere around Palm Springs. It was there, a few days later, that she learned she had been acquitted at trial. At this point, all they had against her was jailbreak, and she negotiated that down to a suspended sentence.”

“Is there more? I’m exhausted.”

“There’s more. She met and married a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who had made a billion in the electronics business. He got himself killed in a freeway accident and she inherited everything. Now she lives in San Francisco, married to a car salesman she bought a Bentley from, and she bought him the dealership. She’s also inherited a significant chunk of stock in Centurion Studios.

“But all this newfound wealth has not caused her to stop hating Ed Eagle. On two occasions, she’s hired hit men to kill him. Both attempts failed, but Ed lives with the knowledge that she could try again.”

“What’s her name?”

“She didn’t change it after leaving Ed — it’s still Barbara Eagle, as far as I know.”

“Holy shit! I know about her. She’s very big in half a dozen arts organizations in San Francisco, and she was a big Democratic contributor until someone uncovered her more unsavory aspects and Dick Collins stopped taking her money. Now she’s a big-time Republican contributor!”

“As far as I’m concerned,” Stone said, “they can have her.”

“I want to meet Ed Eagle,” Ann said.

“He’s coming to lunch here today. Can you shake free?”

“I can try. Twelve-thirty, did you say?”

“Out by the pool. Susannah won’t be there today, she’s spa-ing.”

“I’ll do what I can,” she said.

“I think you’ll like Ed — I know he’ll like you.”

Stone was waiting by the pool when Ed Eagle arrived. Manolo saw to the couple’s luggage, then brought a pitcher of iced tea for Stone and his guest.

“You’re looking well, Ed.”

“You, too, Stone. I was awfully sorry about Arrington’s death.”

“I got your note, thanks, and the flowers. Is Susannah well?”

“She’s just great. She’s been developing her own films for a while now and she enjoys that.”

“She’ll have to meet my son, Peter. He and Dino’s son, Ben, are at Centurion now.”

“I’ve read about him and I’ve seen both his films. Susannah and I were impressed.”

“I’m sorry she couldn’t make lunch. My girlfriend, Ann Keaton, may join us if she can get away from work.”

“What does she do?”

“She’s Kate Lee’s deputy campaign manager, and, as you can imagine, she’s pretty busy this week.”

“I expect so.”

“Let’s give her a few minutes before we go ahead and eat,” Stone said. “Tell me, what’s going on with your ex-wife these days?”

“She remains a thorn in my flesh,” Ed said. “I won’t feel entirely safe until she’s dead.”

“Just don’t help her along.”

“It’s crossed my mind,” Eagle said. “Susannah would go up to San Francisco and shoot her on sight if I’d let her.”

Stone laughed. “That would be even worse than doing it yourself.”

“You’d think that with all the money she’s got these days she would forget about me, but, no, she hasn’t.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Stone looked up to see Ann approaching, and the two men stood up. Stone introduced them and poured her a glass of iced tea.