Chapter 38
Twenty minutes earlier, Seth and his wife, Mary, entered the dining room to clear away the dishes.
“Superb as always,” Stone said.
He, Dino, Felicity, Carly, and Jillian had just finished a late dinner of lobster tail and roasted garlic potatoes that Mary had prepared.
“Don’t get up just yet,” Seth said. “Mary’s made something special for dessert.”
“I wouldn’t dream of moving,” Stone said.
Dino patted his stomach. “I don’t think I can move.”
Seth and Mary disappeared into the kitchen with the empty dishes and returned a few moments later with plates of Mary’s famous apple tarts and homemade vanilla ice cream.
As they started to hand them out, the phone began to ring.
“I’ll get it,” Seth told his wife.
He set the dishes he’d been carrying on the sideboard and headed back to the kitchen. But before he even reached the door, the ringing stopped.
“If it’s important, they’ll call back,” Mary said.
He shrugged and returned to help his wife.
The dessert was as good as promised. After everyone was full and satisfied, Stone, Dino, and Felicity moved to the living room, while Carly and Jillian put their computers back onto the dining table and resumed working.
“I believe I have a bottle of Quinta do Noval Nacional, if anyone is interested,” Stone offered.
“What year?” Felicity asked.
“Nineteen eighty-five.”
“Eighty-five? It would be a crime to say no.”
“Dino?” Stone asked.
“I wasn’t planning on saying no, no matter which year it was from,” Dino said.
Stone retrieved the bottle, then poured glasses for each of them.
“To you, Felicity,” Stone said, raising his glass. “And to the hope that your resurrection comes sooner rather than later.”
“Please let it be so,” she said, then clinked her glass against his and Dino’s.
They drank.
“Any idea of how much longer you’ll have to stay here?” Dino asked.
Before Felicity could answer, the lights cut out, the only illumination coming from Carly’s and Jillian’s laptops.
Everyone fell silent, the only sound that of the drumming rain.
“The storm must have knocked down the power lines,” Stone finally said. “The generator should kick in soon.”
Several seconds passed without the lights turning back on.
“I’m curious what your definition of ‘soon’ is,” Dino said.
“Not this long,” Stone admitted. “Seth?”
Seth entered from the kitchen. “Yes, Mr. Barrington?”
“Is there a problem with the generator?”
“Worked fine when I tested it last. Not sure why it hasn’t come on yet. I’ll go out and check.”
“That’s not necessary, Seth,” Felicity said. “We have people outside who can do that. Carly?”
Carly grabbed the radio lying next to her computer and held it up. “Base to Alpha.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen, helping Mary clean up, if you need anything else,” Seth said.
“Thank you,” Stone said. “And thank Mary again for the delicious meal.”
Carly pushed the Talk button on the radio again. “Base to Alpha.”
As before, there was no response.
She activated the mic for a third time. “Can anyone hear me?”
Still nothing.
“Why do I have the sudden urge to have a gun in my hand?” Dino asked.
Stone felt the same. “Follow me.”
He hurried into his cousin Dick’s secret office, where his gun safe was located. Inside lay a pair of shotguns, a .308 Winchester rifle, and several handguns, including a custom-made Terry Tussey .45. Stone had amassed the small arsenal after the house had come under attack several times.
“I’ll take a shotgun and a Glock,” Dino said.
Stone handed him the weapons, then took the other shotgun for himself and the .45 with its Mitch Rosen holster, which he attached to his belt.
When they returned to the living room, the space was darker than before, as Carly and Jillian had closed their computers.
They, along with Felicity, were gathered near the fireplace, each armed with pistols.
“Still no response?” Stone asked.
“No,” Carly said.
“Dino, it appears we have an answer to your earlier question about how long my situation is going to last,” Felicity said.
“I would have preferred it to have lasted until after we left the island,” Dino said.
“And have you miss out on all the fun?”
From the kitchen came the sound of dishes being stacked.
Stone scooted quickly to the kitchen door. “Seth, Mary, I think it might be a good idea for the two of you to wait in the office for a bit.”
The office was the safest room in the house and had the advantage of having a hidden door, which would prevent anyone unaware of its existence from finding it.
“Not a normal blackout, then?” Mary asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“Can’t be helped, I guess.”
She wiped her hands off on a towel, removed her apron, then calmly exited the kitchen along with Seth. This was not the first time they’d been at the house when it had come under threat.
Stone returned to the others. “Now what?”
“You still have your Winchester?” Carly asked.
“In the gun safe.”
“It has a scope, right?”
Stone nodded. “Attached.”
“Give it to me. I’ll go up into the attic.”
“The attic?” he said, surprised. He hadn’t been there since not long after he took possession of the house.
“It has air vents I can use to shoot from.” She glanced at Jillian. “Where’s your radio?”
“In the bedroom,” Jillian said.
“I’ll grab it on my way up and let you know what I see.”
Stone frowned. “Are you sure you should do this?”
“You wouldn’t ask that if you’d seen my scores from sniper training at the Farm.”
“Don’t tell me. You ranked first.”
“If I can’t tell you, what fun is it?”
With a scoff, Stone said, “Come on,” and led her to the office.