Стюарт Вудс - Indecent Exposure

“She also said that they prefer not to use a naval or Coast Guard vessel as an escort, since they might attract the attention of the media. Instead, they have asked the secretary of the Navy to look through his inventory and see if the Navy possesses a motor yacht of a suitable size that could be used.”

“A sensible suggestion. I hadn’t thought about a Coast Guard cutter attracting attention.”

“Just between us, since the close election, death threats directed at the First Family have been received, and they are being particularly careful about personal travel.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, and I understand their concerns. Will you be flying in with them, or shall I transport you myself?”

“If it is convenient, could you pick up Peter, Celeste, and me at Manassas and fly us to Key West to meet the yacht on the day?”

“I’d be delighted to, Manassas is on the way.”

“Oh, and Kate suggests that if there’s room, you invite Dino and Vivian Bacchetti to join us.”

“There is room, and I will invite them. They can fly down with us.”

“And she will be traveling at all times with two Secret Service agents as body people, and they will need to stay aboard. How many cabins are there?”

“Seven, so we will have three spares available, should she need to bring a secretary or maybe a food taster.”

“I’ll let her know. Oh, there’ll also be a naval officer aboard who is in charge of the football.”

“There’s a large, open upper deck, but it’s not really suitable for sports.”

“I refer to the suitcase that travels everywhere with the President, containing the codes and communications for nuclear war.”

“Oh. Well, it looks as though we will have a full complement of passengers, then. I’ll let the chef know.”

“The Secret Service and any staff can dine with the crew,” Holly said. “The Secret Service will need to inspect the yacht, of course, and I’m told a small amount of communications equipment will need to be brought aboard. They’ll need a full day.”

“Then they can have their day.”

“And I’ll need the cell phone number of the captain, so that various people can communicate with him in the planning stages.”

Stone gave her the captain’s name and number.

“I think that’s all for the present,” she said. “As you can see, all this could be a logistical nightmare if it’s not very well planned well in advance.”

“I get the picture.”

“Are you surviving without me?”

“Barely. Oh, I saw the piece in Just Folks. I don’t think there’s anything that will alarm you.”

“Good, I get enough alarms in this job.”

They said goodbye and hung up.

Stone called Dino.

“Bacchetti.”

“I am required by the President of the United States, on pain of death, to command the presence of the commissioner and Mrs. Bacchetti aboard the yacht Breeze , for a holiday cruise with the Presidents Lee and family, departing from Key West, Florida.”

There was a brief silence. “Okay,” Dino said. “Anything else?”

“We will depart Teterboro for Key West on my airplane that morning.”

“Got it.”

“That is all.”

“Have you read the thing in Just Folks ?”

“Sort of.”

“Maybe you’d better read it more carefully. See ya.” Dino hung up.

Stone reached for the magazine; the item Dino had clearly referred to was near the end.

Stone Barrington has been either a bachelor or a widower for all but a year of his life, a fact well known to a great many women. A dozen or so that this publication spoke to were very complimentary of his style, equipment, and skill. “That combination is very hard to come by,” one of them said, sighing. “You should excuse the expression.”

Stone sat back in his chair and emitted a sound that combined a groan and a whimper.

“Ah,” said Joan, who had been standing in the doorway. “You’ve read the magazine.”

Stone leaned forward and pressed his hot forehead against the cool desktop.

“I’ll leave you alone with yourself,” Joan said, and closed the door behind her.

Stone refused all calls for the rest of the day. As Joan was leaving work she stopped by his desk and left a stack of phone slips. “Most of them are from women,” she said, “but one of them is from Bill Eggers.” Eggers was the managing partner of Woodman & Weld.

“I’ll never be able to leave the house again,” Stone said, but Joan had already gone.

Grimly, Stone called Eggers’s private line.

He answered himself. “Bill Eggers.”

“It’s Stone, returning yours.”

Eggers emitted a low chuckle. “Stone, all of us at Woodman & Weld, partners and clients alike, would like to congratulate you on exceeding our opinion of you. And in a national magazine!” He roared with laughter, then hung up.

No sooner had Stone set down the phone than the office doorbell began ringing repeatedly. Wearily, he got into his jacket and walked down the hallway past Joan’s office to the outside door and unlocked it. A woman he didn’t know but who looked vaguely familiar was standing there.

“Come with me, please,” she demanded, then turned and started down the sidewalk. She stopped and looked back. “Come with me this instant!”

Stone tried to catch up with her. “I don’t understand,” he said.

She stopped two houses down the street, where the front door stood open. “In here!” she said, pointing.

“Madam, I...”

“In here!” she shouted.

Stone peered inside, wondering what awaited him. He stepped into an entrance hall and a man wearing a cardigan sweater, reading glasses, and carrying a newspaper appeared from an adjoining room.

“This is my husband,” the woman said. “I want you to tell him about the relationship between you and me!”

He looked at her, then back at him. “What relationship? We have no relationship,” he said. “I don’t know either of you.”

“There!” she shouted at her husband. “Is that good enough for you?”

“Yes,” the man replied weakly.

She turned toward Stone. “Thank you, you may leave now.”

Stone was happy to leave as quickly as possible. He didn’t look behind him until his office door was closed and locked.

He went upstairs to his study and poured himself a stiff drink, not bothering with the ice, and sank into a chair before the fireplace. The phone rang, and he glanced at the caller ID: Dino.

He picked it up. “Yeah?”

“Are you drunk yet?” Dino asked.

“No, but I’m making a start.”

“I’m in the car. I’ll be there in three minutes.”

“In the study,” Stone said. Three minutes later the doorbell rang, and he buzzed it open.

Dino came into the study, poured himself a stiff scotch, and sat down. “You okay?” he asked, tapping Stone’s glass with his own.

“No,” Stone replied, “I feel like I’ve been struck with an ax handle.”

“Like in the bar fight in Shane ?”

“Exactly like that. Do you know, a woman who lives a couple of doors down the street just rang the downstairs doorbell and insisted I come to her house, address her husband, and tell him we weren’t having an affair? I’d never clapped eyes on either of them.”

Dino dissolved in laughter. “What did you say to him?” he asked, when he had recovered enough.

“What do you think I said to him? I denied everything.”

Dino laughed again.

“Joan gave me a stack of messages, all from women except one from Bill Eggers.”

“What was Bill’s reaction?”

“Pretty much the same as yours.” Stone downed half his drink.