Chapter 18
On Friday, Stone was getting ready to leave for lunch when Joan appeared in the doorway.
“Your twelve-thirty is here,” she said.
Stone had checked his calendar first thing that morning and hadn’t seen anything on it for that time. “I don’t have a twelve-thirty.”
“You do now.”
“I’m meeting Bill Eggers for lunch.”
“I’ll call him and let him know you might be a few minutes late. I’m told this won’t take long.”
“Who is it?”
Instead of answering, she stepped out of the way and motioned for someone to enter.
Carly Riggs walked into his office.
“I thought you were in Maine,” he said.
“I was in Maine, and I’ll be back there in a few hours.”
“What are you doing here?”
She held up a square box large enough to hold a soda can. “I’ve brought you presents.”
She walked over, set it on his desk, and removed the cover. Inside were several buttons of varying sizes and colors, all dark shades. They sat on a tray that could be removed, indicating that there was likely something underneath them.
Confused, he said, “Thank you?”
“Where’s your suit?”
“Which suit?”
“The one you’re wearing to Felicity’s funeral.”
The puzzle pieces clicked into place. “That’s the surveillance equipment.”
“What did you think I brought?”
“Buttons.”
“They are buttons.”
He frowned. “You just said they’re for surveillance.”
“They are for surveillance. Objects have the ability to be more than one thing, you know. So, where’s your suit?”
“At Windward Hall.” Stone kept a complete wardrobe at the countryside estate.
“In England?”
“The last I checked that’s where it’s located.”
“I don’t have time to go to England.”
“I guess I could wear one of my suits from here,” he said.
“That would be helpful.”
He went upstairs and retrieved a dark gray bespoke suit that would be appropriate for a funeral and brought it back to his office.
Carly took it from him, then settled on his couch and began comparing buttons to the ones already on the jacket.
After a few moments, she smiled and said, “Perfect match.”
“Really?” He looked and saw that the button in her hand looked exactly like those on the jacket.
“Don’t act so surprised,” she said. “We’ve based these on suits you are known to wear.”
“It’s nice to be predictable, I guess.”
She opened a small bag holding sewing needles and thread.
“I don’t need to stay while you do this, do I?” Stone asked. “I’m supposed to be meeting Bill.”
“No, but you do need to know how this works.”
“Can you show that to me first?”
She sighed. “If I must.”
She removed the button tray from the box and, from the space below, withdrew a thin, black plastic device about the length and width of a deck of cards.
“Give me your phone,” she said.
He did so.
She tapped on the screen for several seconds, then returned the cell to him.
“See that app with the green icon?” she said, pointing at the screen.
Since it hadn’t been there before, he noticed it right away. The name below it read Health Tracker.
“Open it,” she said.
He obliged. The screen turned white and showcased a black button in the middle, labeled Start.
“Before you get to the funeral, touch that. It’ll turn on this box, which you should put in your inside jacket pocket.” She wiggled the device. “It controls the button camera. The signal will go from the camera to the box to your phone to us in Maine.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“Anything else I need to know?” Stone asked.
“There is.”
She pulled something else out of the bottom of the box and held it out to him. It was a tiny earpiece, the color of his skin.
“Put this in your ear before you start the camera. That way we can tell you if there’s someone specific we want you to aim the lens at.”
“Like a backseat driver?”
She thought for a moment, then nodded. “That is an apt description.”
“Is that it?”
“Just one more thing. Tell Bill I say hi.”
Stone met Bill Eggers at the Grill, the eatery that had replaced the Four Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram Building.
After catching each other up on several clients’ cases, Stone asked, “How are things in Washington?”
Stone was referring to the town in Connecticut where he had once owned a home, which he had sold to Bill several years earlier.
“My wife and I are out there almost every weekend these days,” Bill said. “We’re thinking of moving there permanently when I retire.”
“Retire? You’re not thinking about that yet, are you?”
“I’m always thinking about it, but it won’t happen for another decade, at least. Plan for the future, and all that.
I’d ask you what you plan to do after you stop practicing, but I have a feeling you’ll pass quietly at your desk while going over a contract, and Joan will have to wheel your body out in your office chair. ”
“That’s quite the vivid image. Have you been thinking about this a lot?”
“Not at all. That was all off the top of my head.”
“Maybe you should take up screenwriting once you have all that time on your hands.”
“That’s an idea. Maybe you can put me in touch with your son?”
“On second thought, have you considered writing a novel?”
Bill’s phone began to buzz. He checked the screen, then said, “Sorry, I need to take this.”
Stone motioned for him to do so.
He only half listened as Bill began talking business with someone Stone guessed was also a lawyer. That was until he heard Bill say the name Amanda Jae.
Stone refocused his attention but was unable to pick up anything more than the fact that the conversation had something to do with the accident.
When Bill finally hung up, he said, “Someone’s worried about you.”
“Me?”
“That was Terry Adams at Dixon, Lee & Adams. I believe you know him.”
Stone nodded. “We’ve crossed paths a few times. Good lawyer.”
“He represents M. Booth Yachts. They’re the ones who built the Amanda Jae. Apparently, they’ve just been served with a lawsuit for pain and suffering filed by Cory Whittaker, who’s representing the three crew members who survived the accident.”
“Whittaker?” Stone said, frowning.
“It’s the kind of thing he loves.”
Whittaker was the very definition of an ambulance chaser and had never come across a misfortune he couldn’t figure out how to exploit.
“Whittaker also warned that once the missing are declared dead, he’ll be filing a wrongful death suit on behalf of the missing’s families. Terry has an inside source who told him Whittaker has already signed up the families of six of the seven people who are presumed dead.”
“It’ll be almost impossible to prove the company’s liability,” Stone said.
“True, but with the right jury, one never knows. I think their bigger concern is the potential PR hit.”
“That I can understand.”
“Which brings us back to you. Terry’s worried you might file suit, too. You have a much higher profile than the others. Plus, you’re a well-regarded lawyer, which would give the others’ claims an appearance of truth.”
“You can let Terry know that barring definitive proof of company negligence, I have no intention of suing.”
“He’ll be glad to hear it.”
“I do have some news he’ll probably be interested in. We received approval to take a look at the wreck with a remote underwater vehicle and will be doing so probably on Monday. Depending on what’s found, those suits might disappear in a few days.”
“I’ll let him know.”
Stone frowned. “On second thought, maybe hold off until after we do the search. Just in case we find something that bolsters the plaintiffs’ suits.”
“Good point. I’ll wait until I hear from you.”
After lunch, Stone attended the business deal signing that had prevented him from leaving for the U.K. earlier in the day. As expected, there were no last-minute glitches, and after the paperwork was done and pictures were taken, Fred drove him back to Turtle Bay.
When they arrived, it was almost four p.m. Stone had hoped to lift off from Teterboro by five, but that would be impossible at this point.
“Wait here, Fred, if you would,” he said. “I shouldn’t be more than ten minutes.”
“Very good, Mr. Barrington,” Fred said.
Stone hurried inside and was surprised to find Joan waiting for him.
“You have visitors,” she said in a hushed voice.
“I don’t have time for visitors,” he replied, matching her volume.
“It’s the Sidney brothers.”
Stone sighed. “What do they want?”
“To talk to you.”
“I meant specifically.”
“I asked, but that’s all the one who does all the talking would tell me.”
“Fine. Please call Faith and have her push our takeoff to six p.m. Also, let Dino know I’m running a little late.”
“Got it.”
“Oh, and have Helene bring down my garment bag. I need to put the suit Carly was working on in it.”
“Already done. I’ll take the bag to Fred while you’re talking to the brothers.”
“Why don’t I take the bag to Fred, and you talk to the brothers?”
“I already told you they wouldn’t talk to me, remember?”
“I was trying not to.”
They walked back toward Stone’s office.
Aaron and Ryan were sitting in the chairs near Joan’s desk. The moment they saw Stone, Aaron jumped to his feet.
“We need to talk to you.”
Beside him, Ryan slowly rose to his feet and took a couple steps back, as if to separate himself from Aaron.
“Civilized people usually make appointments,” Stone said.
Aaron reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded set of papers. He tossed them onto the floor at Stone’s feet.
“You’ve been served.”
“I think you’ve been watching too much TV,” Stone said.
“I don’t care what you think,” Aaron growled. “Once I prove that your fake will is…um…fake, I’m going to make sure you lose your law license!”
“A fake, fake will would make it a real will.”
“You know what I meant.”
“You should really think about this. If you proceed, the only one who is going to lose anything will be you, to the tune of several hundred million dollars.”
Aaron’s jaw tensed, and the tips of his ears turned red. “My brother and I aren’t going to lose anything. What we are doing is reclaiming what is ours.”
Stone glanced past him at Ryan. “You’re involved in this, too?”
At the same time Aaron said, “Of course he is,” Stone could have sworn he saw Ryan give the slightest shake of his head.
Stone focused back on the elder sibling. “I guess if there’s no changing your mind, then there’s nothing else we need to discuss.”
Aaron huffed, then shot a glare at his brother. “Let’s go.” To Stone, he said, “See you in court.”
“Still think you’re watching too much TV,” Stone said as Aaron marched out.
Ryan nodded to Stone and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
From the front of the office, Aaron bellowed, “Ryan!”
Ryan hurried after his brother.
As soon as Stone heard the front door shut, Joan said, “Someone has anger issues.”
“Noticed that, did you?”
“Hard to miss.”
“Feel free to call the police if Aaron shows up again.”
Joan’s eyes lit up. “Ooh. I hope he does!” She jutted her chin at the folded papers on the floor. “Are we just going to leave those there?”
Stone picked up the stack, quickly scanned through it, then chuckled.
“What?” Joan asked.
“Ryan is identified as the attorney of record, but Aaron is the only one listed as plaintiff.”
“That wasn’t the impression Aaron gave.”
“No, it was not.” He handed the document to her. “Have Ash go through it and work up a response. I’ll go over it when I get back.”
Ash walked in from the hallway to the back. “Have me go through what?”
Joan held out the lawsuit.
“A present from the Sidney brothers,” Stone said.
“Don’t tell me they’re challenging the will,” Ash said as he took the papers.
“One of them is.”
“One?”
“Joan, you fill him in. I need to leave.”
Stone entered his office to drop off his briefcase and made sure there was nothing else pressing he needed to deal with.
When he stepped back out, Ash was sitting in one of the chairs the brothers had been using, reading the document.
He looked up at Stone. “He’s not going to win this.”
“I tried to tell him that,” Stone said, then turned to Joan. “Don’t forget about Bob.”
She tsked. “Like I would ever do that.”
She held out his garment bag.
“I thought you were taking that out for me,” Stone said.
“And I thought your meeting was going to last longer.”
He took the bag and said, “I’ll see you both next week.”