Stuart Woods - Shoot Him If He Runs

“Quite.”

Dino didn’t know what else to say. “I would be happy to inspect the shooter’s roost or the crime scene, if that would be helpful.”

“Probably not,” duBois replied.

“Mr. Barrington was also a homicide detective on the NYPD. We were partners for some years. I’m sure he would be glad to help, as well.”

“What about his girlfriend? Is she a police officer, too?”

Dino almost said yes, but remembered. “No, she is a flying instructor; she owns and operates a small flying school in Florida.”

“Yes, I have heard this; did she fly you here?”

“No, we were fortunate enough to arrive by private jet.”

“Are New York policemen so wealthy, Lieutenant Bacchetti?”

Dino laughed. “Oh, no. Mr. Barrington is the one with money. He is a prominent attorney in New York, and an airplane company offered him the ride, with the hope of selling him a jet.”

“And will he buy one?”

Dino smiled. “Just between you and me, Mr. Barrington is not that rich, but he neglected to mention that to the salesman.”

DuBois did not smile. A car door slammed behind them.

Dino looked up to see Stone and Holly walking toward them.

“Ah,” duBois said, rising, “Mr. Barrington and Ms. Heller, I presume.”

“That’s right,” Stone said.

“Good. You are both under arrest.” He made a motion and the two police officers cuffed Stone’s and Holly’s hands in front of them.

“Colonel duBois,” Dino said, getting to his feet. “Why are you arresting my friends?”

DuBois turned and looked at Dino. “Lieutenant Bacchetti, I would advise you to mind your own business.”

Dino’s eyes flicked toward Stone and Holly; he saw a folded piece of paper fall at her feet, and she kicked it under the police car.

“Call the embassy, Dino,” Stone said, as they got into the back of the police car.

The car drove away.

“What was that all about?” Genevieve asked.

“I don’t know,” Dino said. He walked over to where the police car had been parked and retrieved the piece of paper Holly had dropped. When he unfolded it, he saw the photographs of the three men. “Robertson, Pemberton and Weatherby, I presume,” he said. Then he walked quickly to the phone.

The phone was answered by a young man. “United States Embassy,” he said.

“I don’t suppose you would connect me with the CIA station chief, would you?” Dino asked.

There was a brief silence. “Sir, what is the nature of your business?”

“Please give him or her a message,” Dino said. “Virginia Heller and Stone Barrington have just been arrested by a Colonel Marcel duBois of the Home Office, presumably in connection with the murder of Colonel Croft.”

“And your name, sir?”

“Dino Bacchetti; I am traveling with Ms. Heller and Mr. Barrington.” He gave the man the phone number at the inn. “I believe this to be a secure line,” he said, “since we disabled the bugs in the telephones. I can’t speak for your end.”

“I will pass on the message,” the young man said, then hung up.

James Tiptree’s phone rang, and he picked it up. “This is James Tiptree.”

“Scramble,” a voice said.

Tiptree pressed the button. “Scrambled.”

“Jim, this is Lance Cabot; we met some years ago in London.”

“Yes, Lance, I remember.”

“Have you received cable traffic regarding the replacement for Hugh English?”

Tiptree sat up straighter. “Not yet.”

“You should shortly. The cable will say that I have been appointed to replace Hugh.”

“Ah, well, congratulations, Lance.”

“Thank you. I’m calling to brief you with a situation on St. Marks.”

Tiptree immediately wondered what Cabot could know about St. Marks that he, himself, did not. “Yes?”

“I have an operative in St. Marks who is investigating the possibility that Teddy Fay is alive and on the island.”

Tiptree nearly laughed but decided silence was the better move.

“Are you acquainted with Teddy Fay?”

“I’ve heard about him, of course, but we never met.”

“My operative’s name is Holly Barker; she is using the cover of a real person named Virginia Heller, called Ginny, who operates a flying school in Florida, and she has a passport and other identification in that name.”

“Right.”

“She is traveling with two men, Stone Barrington and Dino Bacchetti, and a woman, Genevieve James. The two men are contract consultants to the Agency; the woman is just for color. They are traveling as vacationers and staying at the English Harbour Inn.”

“I understand; do they require my assistance?”

“Not at the moment, but I wanted you to be aware of their presence on the island. Barker and Barrington have already met with Bill and Annie Pepper. I had hoped to remove them all from the island tomorrow, but, as you know, travel restrictions have been imposed since the murder of Colonel Croft.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that; I was sitting on a bench next to Croft when the bullet struck him.”

“That must have been an interesting experience,” Lance said drily.

“Indeed; my clothes are at the cleaners.”

A young embassy officer knocked, entered Tiptree’s office and placed a sheet of paper on his desk. Tiptree nodded, and the man left.

“Lance,” Tiptree said, “it appears that Barker and Barrington do require my assistance. I’ve just received a telephone message from Bacchetti, saying that the two of them have been arrested by Croft’s successor, Colonel duBois, in connection with Croft’s assassination.”

“That’s preposterous,” Lance said. “They had nothing to do with it, but we suspect that Teddy Fay might have. Their only orders are to locate Teddy and verify his identity, then to report back to me.”

“Then I had better get over to police headquarters and see what I can do about shaking them loose before Colonel duBois gets too enthusiastic in their interrogation. I regard the man as worse than Croft, a loose cannon.”

“I understand,” Lance replied. “Do not, repeat, not bring State into this. Call me when you know more.” He hung up.

Tiptree hung up and buzzed his secretary. “Have my car brought around immediately,” he said, then hung up. He turned to his computer and began entering the names of Virginia Heller and Stone Barrington. In less than a minute he was printing out color copies of their U.S. passports. He put them in his briefcase, closed it and walked out of his office.

“Your car is waiting,” his secretary said.

“I’m going to police headquarters to try and obtain the release of two American citizens who have been detained, Virginia Heller and Stone Barrington. Alert the ambassador and tell him they are my good friends. If you haven’t heard from me in an hour, get him moving on it, but tell him Langley says not to involve the State Department.”

“Right.”

Tiptree set off on his second journey of the day to police headquarters. He hoped to God no more blood would be spilled. Blood only complicated his life.

Stone sat, still handcuffed, on a very uncomfortable chair before a desk in an otherwise bare room, more angry than frightened. It was clear that the chair he sat in had been constructed with the idea of discomfort in mind, and he was sure that he was about to be interrogated. He ran over the details of Holly’s cover in his mind, just to have everything straight. He stood up, walked to a wall and leaned against it.

A door opened and duBois entered. “Sit down,” he said.

“Thank you, no. What is the meaning of this?”

DuBois walked over and backhanded him. “Sit down and shut up, except to answer my questions.”