Stuart Woods - Below the Belt

“All right.”

“Are you armed?”

“There’s always something in my bag, since I don’t have to bother with airport searches.”

“Perhaps you should keep it within reach.”

“Do you think someone might get rough for the item?”

“I’ve no idea, since I don’t know who’s interested. I’m just erring on the cautious side. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you on my account. Neither would the lady of the house.”

“I’m grateful for your concern, but remember, I have an ace bodyguard here.”

Will laughed. “That’s right, you do, don’t you? Give her my love and tell her to enjoy her extra week off.”

“I’ll make a point of it.”

Will hung up.

“What’s going on?” Holly asked.

“Someone got to Joe for a few minutes’ conversation, and Joe apparently thought the man was me.”

“And you think that’s why we were followed today?”

“Will seems to think so, but he has no idea who they might be.”

She kissed him. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

They grilled some steaks for dinner and found a good cabernet in the wine closet. “Gala did a great job of stocking up for us,” Stone said, “but we’re going to have to eventually do some grocery shopping.”

“I won’t mind that,” Holly said. “It’s one of those things I never have time to do in Washington. I usually eat in the White House Mess.”

“So, you’re going to cook?”

“I love cooking, and I never get the chance.”

“Then you’ve come to the right place.”

Holly did the dishes while Stone walked around the house making sure all the doors were locked and that the front gate was closed. “There are a hell of a lot of doors in this house,” he said when he returned. “I think I’m going to get Mike Freeman’s people from Strategic Services to survey the security system and maybe put in some cameras. I’ll call him in the morning.”

They turned out all the many lights, then repaired to the master suite, where a large TV rose from the floor when the remote control was used. They got into bed and found a movie, but it didn’t last long. Soon they were making love, and when they were exhausted they turned off the TV and fell asleep.

In the wee hours, Stone came half awake. There was a distant rumble coming from somewhere and there was a light on outside that filtered into the bedroom. He got out of bed, found his slippers with his toes, and went to the door that opened onto the master suite portal. He unlocked it and went outside. The hot tub, set into the ground a few feet away, was on, and so were its underwater lights. He found a switch on the instrument panel and turned it off, then pulled the cover over it. He went back to the door and found that it had locked behind him.

“Well, shit!” he muttered to himself. He knocked on the door to summon Holly, but got no response. He found a stone and rapped hard on the glass with that. Finally, a sleepy Holly got the door open.

“What happened?”

“The hot tub came on — it must be on a timer. I went out to turn it off, and the door locked behind me.”

“What time is it?”

“Around two o’clock, I think.” He secured the door again.

“Who would set a hot tub to come on in the middle of the night?”

“Good question. I’ll look into it tomorrow.”

They got back to sleep, until they were wakened by bright sunlight streaming into the room. Stone got up and closed the blinds, but they were both awake now.

“It’s six o’clock,” Holly said. “That makes it eight o’clock where my stomach lives. I’ll make breakfast.”

She was back in half an hour with breakfast and a New York Times .”

“Where’d you get that?” Stone asked.

“It was on the kitchen doorstep. Apparently, you’re a subscriber.”

Stone turned on his recording of Morning Joe . Then, at seven o’clock — nine in New York — he called Mike Freeman.

“Where are you?” Mike asked.

“In Santa Fe, where I’ve just bought a house, and I need the security system checked out and, if necessary, beefed up.”

“Hang on.” He came back after a minute or so. “What’s your address?”

Stone gave it to him.

“I’ve got a team in Albuquerque. They’ll be there before noon, your time.”

“I’ll look forward to seeing them.”

“What created the urge for more security?”

“Paranoia. See you, Mike.” Stone hung up. “There’ll be people here later this morning.”

Then a strange woman’s voice called out, “Hello?”

“Who is it?” Stone shouted.

“It’s Maria.” Maria was Gala’s housekeeper.

“Come in, Maria.”

A middle-aged woman wearing an apron came into the bedroom.

“I’m very glad to see you,” Stone said.

“Miss Wilde said you might need me.”

“I certainly do. You go right ahead and do whatever you think needs doing.”

“Yes, Mr. Barrington.”

“Oh, and this is Ms. Barker.”

Holly gave her a wave.

“You already ate breakfast?”

“I didn’t know you were coming,” Holly said.

“Tomorrow I’ll have your breakfast ready. Seven o’clock?”

“That’s fine,” Stone said, and she went on her way.

“I wonder what other services we have here,” Stone said.

A little after eleven a large green van pulled into Stone’s drive and two men knocked on the door.

Stone opened it. “Strategic Services?”

“Mr. Barrington?”

“Come right in.”

“Mr. Freeman said you need a survey.”

“There it is,” Stone said, waving an arm. “Check it out.”

An hour later, the men came into the study, where Stone was working on the Times crossword. “What did you find?”

“You’ve got a pretty good system here,” the man said. “I can recommend some additions, though.”

“Shoot.”

“I think you need some cameras around the place, about a dozen.”

“Good idea. Go ahead.”

“Also, your door locks are already wired, but I can put an app on your iPhone that will let you lock them all at once.”

“Another good idea. Can you do the same with the lights?”

“May I see your iPhone?”

Stone handed it to him. He switched it on and began tapping things into it. “You’ve got a Lutron system installed here. I can download the app, and you can turn all the lights on and off at once. You also have a built-in Sonos sound system. I can set that up for you, too. Give me a password.”

Stone gave it to him and went back to his crossword.

Late that afternoon the men found him again. He showed Stone two apps on his iPhone. “One is for the Sonos system and the other for the outside cameras.” He sat down and gave Stone a tutorial on both systems. Holly came into the room in time to hear it all.

“You also have an intercom to the gate and to the front door, and a camera at both.” He showed them how to answer both and how to operate the gate from the phone. He held up a plastic bag of keys. “I’ve rekeyed all your locks and made you some spares, too.”

“Wonderful, we had only one key.”

“Then throw that one away. There, I think you’re all fixed,” he said. “Anything else I can do?”

“Not a thing,” Stone said.

“Oh, I put an alarm on your safe. If anybody messes with it, it will tell you on your phone. And all this stuff will work anywhere in the world where there’s Internet access.”

Stone thanked him, gave him money for drinks, and the men left.

“You feel safe and secure now?” Holly asked.

“What with all this gear and you here to protect me, I feel just fine,” he said. “Here’s a key to everything for you.”