Stuart Woods: Worst Fears Realized

The snoring was coming from a raincoat stashed in the overhead bin. With the short gun barrel, Stone moved the coat out of the way. A middle-aged man with gray hair and a small beard lay on his back in the compartment, snoring loudly. At first, Stone didn’t recognize him.

Dino came back aboard the airplane, pushing a wheelchair. “Hey!” he called to Stone. “What are you doing back there? You shouldn’t be on your feet!”

“Come back here,” Stone called to him, “and bring your cuffs.”

Mitteldorfer jerked awake at the sound of Stone’s voice. He turned and looked at Stone, and recognition distorted his face. “You!” he screamed.

“Me!” Stone shouted back at him.

IT WAS AFTER 1:00 A.M., AND IT HAD BEGUN raining when Dino’s car stopped in front of Stone’s house. The emergency room had been a zoo. They had given him a local anesthetic, stitched him up, given him a tetanus shot, some antibiotics, and a little bottle of painkillers. It had taken Stone some time to convince his doctor that he would be better off at home than in the hospital.

“Thanks,” Stone said.

“It wasn’t much out of my way,” Dino replied.

“I mean for shooting Hausman. He was about to do more damage.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t shoot him sooner.”

“It’s over, isn’t it? Finally”

“Yeah, it’s over.”

“There’s nobody out there trying to do us in?”

“You can sleep well tonight,” Dino said. “Me, too, come to that. Mary Ann and Ben are already back at home.”

“I’m glad; I know you’ve missed them.”

“Yeah, I have. Being a bachelor isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Oh, I don’t know; it’s not a bad life, when people aren’t trying to kill you.”

“What are you going to say to Eduardo?”

“I’ll reason with him.”

“It might work, if you can do it without annoying him. Sicilians perceive insults even where there are none.”

“I’ll reason with him very carefully.”

“Good. You’re my friend, Stone, but I can’t say I want you for a brother-in-law.”

“I’m hurt, Dino.”

“You going to reason with Dolce, too?”

“I’m not sure she can be reasoned with.”

“Now you’re beginning to get the picture.”

“I’m too tired to think about it right now,” Stone said. “And the painkillers are starting to kick in. I hope I can get upstairs before I fall asleep.”

“You want some help?”

“No, I’ll make it.” Stone opened the car door and stepped out into the rain. “Good night, Dino.”

“Good night, Stone. I’ll call you tomorrow and give you the latest on Mitteldorfer.”

“You do that.” Stone closed the car door and walked slowly up the front steps of his house. He let himself in and took the elevator upstairs, because he didn’t feel like negotiating the stairs. He had a pretty good buzz from the painkillers.

There was a light on in the bedroom, which gave him a little start. He crept into the room and found Dolce asleep in his bed, naked, only partly covered by a sheet. The expression on her face was one of a somnolent child, all innocence and sweetness.

He slipped out of the sling that held his arm, got undressed as quietly as he could, switched off the light, and got into bed beside her. She stirred in her sleep and reached out for him, illuminated by the light of half a moon, coming through the clouds outside.

“You okay?” she asked, without really waking up.

“I’m okay. How’d you get in?”

Her brow wrinkled. “Remote control for the garage door. I brought your car back. What happened?”

She seemed to be waking up, now, and he didn’t want that. He stroked her face, and she slept again. “I’ll tell you tomorrow,” he whispered, letting sleep come to him.

He had absolutely no idea what he would say to her tomorrow.

I am grateful to my editor, vice president and associate publisher Gladys Justin Carr, and her staff, associate editor Erin Cartwright and editorial associate Deirdre O’Brien, as well as all those at HarperCollins who have worked so hard for the success of my books.

I also want to express my gratitude to my agent, Morton L. Janklow, and his principal associate, Anne Sibbald, as well as to the staff of Janklow & Nesbit for their continuing efforts in the management of my writing career and for their warm friendship.

I am also very grateful to my wife, Chris, who is always the first subjected to my manuscripts, for plugging the holes therein and for the shoulder rubs that keep me working at the computer.

Stuart Woods lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and on the Isle of Wight. His first novel CHIEFS won the EDGAR ALLAN POE award and was made into a hugely successful six-hour TV drama in which Charlton Heston took the starring role. Two of his novels, UNDER THE LAKE and WHITE CARGO are under development as feature films.