Stuart Woods - Below the Belt

“He could write that check,” Rawls said. “ Forbes says he’s worth fifteen billion.”

“Holly is worried,” Stone said.

“I am,” Holly agreed. “He’s richer and smarter than the last guy, and he’s great on TV.”

“That’s half the ball game,” Ed said.

“Yeah, but the other half is going to be a lot tougher,” she said.

“Ed,” Stone said, “I think you’d better come home with us — pack a few things.”

“I don’t want to leave here.”

“Ed, if you didn’t believe you were in danger here, you wouldn’t have insisted we come ashore. My place is much more secure than yours, so kindly get your ass in gear. And leave your car here and ride with us.”

“Oh, all right,” Rawls said, struggling out of his chair. “Gimme a minute.”

Stone and Holly drove Ed back to Stone’s house, and they pulled the old station wagon into the garage, so nobody would see them enter the house. Bob greeted them as they came in the door.

“Who’s this?” Rawls asked.

“This is Bob.”

“I used to have a Lab. Great dogs.”

Bob allowed himself to be scratched behind the ears.

Stone grabbed Ed’s bag and led the way upstairs to a bedroom. He left Ed to get settled and went back downstairs.

“I feel better with Ed here,” Holly said.

“So do I. I keep thinking we’re going to find him dead at his house.”

Ed came back downstairs. “Did you open the strong case yet?”

“No,” Stone replied.

“That’s good. You don’t want to know too much at this point. As it is, they probably think I’ve told you everything.”

“They?” Holly asked.

“For want of a better name.”

Stone fixed them all a drink, called Seth and Mary and told them they’d be three for dinner, then they sat down. Ed found the remote and turned on the TV to CNN. “I feel more connected if it’s on,” he said.

“Ed,” Stone said, “why did you leave the strong case with Joe Adams?”

“I saw Joe and Sue last summer, when they were on Mount Desert Island, and we talked about what I had. We agreed that I should put together what’s in the case as a backup, and I gave it to them before they went to Santa Fe in the autumn.”

“What sort of shape was Joe in when you saw him last?”

“He seemed lucid most of the time. Now and then he would call me Tom.”

“He did the same with me when I saw him last,” Stone said. “Any idea who Tom is?”

“I don’t know, maybe one of his Secret Service detail.”

“I guess that makes sense. Did Joe know about your archive here?”

“Sort of. I didn’t go into detail about my storage area.”

“How much does Sue know?”

“She was always there when Joe and I talked — mostly, I think, to kind of translate for Joe, if he lost the thread of the conversation. She could bring him back on track most of the time. When he got tired, he was more likely to wander, and she’d get him off to bed.”

“How did they get him up and down stairs?” Stone asked.

“He walked,” Ed replied. “He wasn’t that far gone.”

“When I saw him a couple of weeks ago, he had one of those electric scooters.”

“I suppose he was declining.” He saw something on TV and turned it up. They were talking about a state funeral for Joe Adams at the National Cathedral, with burial to follow at Arlington.

“That’s fitting,” Ed said.

“Do you think Sue will come to Maine this summer?”

“I expect so. They have friends on Mount Desert, neighbors they know. They had a boy killed in Vietnam but no other kids.”

“It’s going to be lonely for her,” Holly said.

Mary called them to dinner.

After dinner, as they were moving back into the living room, they heard a siren from a passing vehicle.

“That’s the volunteer fire department,” Ed said. He went to the front door and looked outside. “Oh, shit,” he said.

Stone and Holly joined him at the door. “What is it?”

“It’s my house,” Ed said, pointing at the flames in the distance.

“It’s a good thing you’re here, Ed.”

“Yeah, I guess they expected me to take another pill and be in bed by now.”

“We’d better call the police,” Stone said.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Ed replied.

“Why not?”

“Until the place cools down and the volunteers have a chance to poke through the ashes, they’re going to think I died there, and that’s okay with me.”

“I see your point,” Stone said. “I think that early tomorrow morning we should get the Cessna over here to fly us to Rockland, then go to New York.”

“Why New York?” Ed asked.

“Safety in numbers, real cops, real FBI, should we need them. I have a large house. We’ll install you in a suite, and you can watch all the CNN you like while we figure out what to do.”

“I hate to leave,” Ed said.

“You don’t want to stay here now, Ed,” Holly said, “not until this is over.”

“It won’t be over until after the election,” Ed said. “If then.”

“Ed,” Stone asked, “are the firemen going to find your archive?”

“Unlikely,” Ed replied, “unless they’re looking for it. There are two fire doors between the house and the archive, so it wouldn’t have burned.”

Stone called Rockland airport and arranged for their pickup, then let Seth know their departure time.

They were at the airport at six AM, before the island began stirring, so no one would see Ed’s departure. An hour later they were taxiing to the runway in Rockland for takeoff. Stone didn’t file a flight plan, and they flew back to Oxford, Connecticut. From there he filed, and they made a normal trip to Teterboro, where Fred was waiting with the car. An hour after that, they were pulling into Stone’s garage.

Stone locked the strong case in his safe, then took Ed upstairs to his rooms, then he returned to his office and began catching up on work with Joan.

“Who’s your guest?” Joan asked.

“His name is Ed,” Stone replied. “That’s all you need to know.”

“Whatever you say.”

When she had returned to her office, Stone called Dino.

“Bacchetti.”

“Welcome me home,” Stone said.

“Okay, welcome home.”

“You two free for dinner at my house this evening?”

“Special occasion?”

“Not exactly, but I think you’ll find the company interesting.”

“You mean, it won’t be just you?”

“Holly’s here, and another guest.”

“Male or female?”

“I’ll let you figure it out. Six-thirty for drinks?”

“We can do that. What are you being so mysterious about?”

“All will be revealed at dinner.”

“Really?”

“Well, maybe not all — just enough to keep you engaged.”

“Okay, pal, we’ll see you at six-thirty.” Dino hung up.

Stone and Holly sat in the study with the Bacchettis; Ed Rawls had not appeared yet.

“So where’s your guest?” Dino asked.

“He’ll be along.”

“Ah, now we know gender — progress!”

“I think you’ll find him an interesting man, if you can set aside any preconceived notions you might have.”

“Preconceived notions — more progress! Is it Al Capone? I have some preconceived notions about him.”

The phone buzzed, and Stone picked it up. “Hello?”

“I fell asleep, so I’m running a few minutes late,” Ed said.

“We’ll drink one for you.”

“Is he not going to show?” Dino asked.

“He’ll show, but he’ll be a little late.”

“Why don’t you fill me in so I can dispel my preconceived notions?”