Stuart Woods: Below the Belt

Stone removed the tray, stretched out on the bed, and switched on the TV, looking for Morning Joe . Then he realized that the program would have aired at four AM, local time. He went through the schedule and marked his usual morning programs for recording on the DVR, then switched to CNN.

Holly came back. “I forgot my gun,” she said.

“You’d get better results with a laxative.”

She got into bed with the case. “Let me put this as plainly as I can. If you don’t unlock this handcuff immediately, I’m going to make it my business to see that your life is entirely miserable for the next two weeks. Oops, make that three — Kate extended my little holiday for a week last night, and she took some pleasure in doing it, so I’m not in the best of moods. You might keep that in mind.”

Stone felt his belly. “Excuse me,” he said. He went into his bathroom, took the key from his robe pocket, flushed the toilet, and went back into the bedroom. “Success!” he cried, holding up the key.

She held out her hand. “Give.”

Instead, he unlocked it for her. “There,” he said. “I’m glad you got to see how that felt.”

“All right, what happened last night?”

“Rock slide, collision with rocks, two ruined tires. After midnight a forest ranger came along in a truck and took me to the opera house. No one there, of course, and my phone was dead, so I had to walk home.” He got up and plugged in his phone to recharge.

“Poor baby,” she said, patting his hand.

“You could have given me the key last night.”

“I didn’t have the key, just an envelope, which was always where you found it this morning.”

“You might have mentioned it.”

“I didn’t know what was inside.”

“You could have guessed.”

“I was too cold to guess, after spending two hours huddled on your doormat.”

“I hope you understand that I am innocent of all blame.”

“You could have given me the house key.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t foresee that you would need it. Anyway, you could have asked.”

“All right, enough of this,” she said. “What are we going to do today?”

“First, I’m going to secure this,” he said, picking up the strong case. “Then we’ll see.” He took the case into the study, where he knew Gala had a safe, and he thought he knew the code. It worked, but the case was too large to fit into it. He went back into the bedroom.

“It wouldn’t fit in the safe, right?”

“Right.” He tried to get it under the bed, but the base that held the mechanism prevented that.

“Under the bed? That’s the best you’ve got?”

“I’m open to suggestions,” he said.

“Freezer?”

“Too obvious and the case is too big.”

“Oven?”

“The same.”

“Put it in the pool or the hot tub.”

“Is it waterproof?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re an intelligence officer, you’re supposed to be more devious than that.”

“I really don’t know if it’s waterproof.”

“I mean, devious about where to hide it.”

“Oh, why don’t we just lock it in the trunk of the car and take it with us until we can buy a bigger safe?”

“That’s a thought, except we don’t have a car. Will had the Secret Service return it, I suppose.”

“Okay, what are we going to do today?”

“We’re going to buy a car and a safe.” Stone called the American Express concierge and ordered up a car and a driver. He hung up and checked his watch. “You’ve got forty-five minutes to get beautiful.”

They put the strong case into the trunk and got into the large SUV.

“Good morning,” said the driver. “I’m Dan Rivers. I see you’ve got me booked for four hours.”

“That is correct, Dan,” Stone said. “We have some shopping to do. Can you take us to the Porsche dealer?”

“In Albuquerque? Sure, it’s an hour’s drive.”

“No Porsche dealer here?”

“Nope.”

“Bentley?”

“Nope.”

“Mercedes?”

“That we have.”

Fifteen minutes later they pulled up to the showroom. Stone and Holly got out and peered through the glass. Three cars, one C class and two E classes. They walked inside.

A salesman ambled over. “Good morning. Can I show you something?”

“Do you have anything larger that this?” Stone asked.

“Not in stock, but I can get you just about anything in a matter of days.”

“We need something immediately,” Stone said. Then he saw something interesting parked outside. “Is that for sale?”

“The Porsche Cayenne Turbo? It certainly is.”

“Let’s have a look at it.” Stone walked outside and around the car; it needed washing.

“This,” the salesman said, “is a deal. I took it in trade yesterday for an S550. The guy’s wife didn’t want an SUV. It’s less than a year old and has under three thousand miles on it.”

“Let’s drive it,” Stone said.

“I’ll go get the key.”

“I’ve got one of these,” Holly said. “It’s a sensational car. Zero to sixty in four-point-three seconds — nearly as fast as the 911 sports car.”

The salesman returned with the key. “Just put this in your pocket — you don’t need the key to start it. Ignition switch is on the left, foot on the brake and turn it.”

Stone got in, followed instructions, and the engine leaped to life. Five minutes later they were tearing down a back road, taking corners fast. They returned to the dealership. “I had my heart set on an S550,” he said.

“Let’s go pick some options, then give me a week or ten days.”

“How much for the Cayenne?”

The man mentioned a number.

Stone mentioned a lower one.

“Is this cash or financed?”

“Cash.”

The salesman mentioned another number.

“Done. How long to get it cleaned up?”

“Give me an hour,” the salesman said.

Stone went into the dealership, was introduced to an accountant, signed the papers, and wrote them a check.

“We’ll have to clear this,” the man said.

“I’ll be back in an hour. Get it cleared.”

They went back to their car and driver. “Give me a second,” Stone said. He got out his iPhone and Googled safes in Santa Fe, then gave the driver an address.

“Something I should mention,” the driver said as he pulled out of the dealership.

“What’s that?”

“Do you have some personal security or something?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because we’re being followed — two cars, changing places every block or two.”

“What kind of cars?”

“A black one and a silver one, both Japanese, I think. I can’t tell the brands apart.”

“Have you had any experience at being followed?”

“I’m a retired police detective, I’ve had more experience following than being followed.”

Stone didn’t look back. “Is there a mirror on the passenger sun visor?”

The driver turned it down; the mirror was there.

Stone swapped places with Holly and kept his eyes on the mirror. “They’re both Toyotas,” he said after a couple of minutes.

“If you say so.”

“Think you can lose them before we reach our destination?”

“I believe I might be able to do that.” He turned into a parking lot, then into an alley behind a row of stores, then into the next street over. “They caught a light,” he said, making another turn, “and we’re a block from your destination.”

“Drop us there, then drive around for a while, until they figure out we’re no longer with you. We’ll get a cab.”

The driver let them out in an alley next to the safe store. Stone tipped the driver generously and they went in the back way.