Chapter 45
One month later
Joan buzzed Stone. “They’re here.”
“Show them in,” Stone said.
He grabbed two envelopes off his desk, then got up and moved over to his sitting area.
A few moments later, Joan led in Susan Vest and Ryan Sidney.
“Have a seat,” Stone said, motioning to the chairs across from the couch, which he then sat on.
“Can I get anyone something to drink?” Joan asked.
“I’m fine,” Susan said.
“Me, too,” Ryan said.
“If you change your mind, let me know.” Joan smiled and left.
Stone set the envelopes on the coffee table, one in front of each of them.
“Before we get to these, I should probably get to the bad news first,” Stone said.
“There’s bad news?” Susan asked, confused.
“Sorry, not for you. For Ryan.”
“For me?” Ryan said.
“I’m afraid your law career is not off to a great start.”
Ryan furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand.”
“This isn’t official yet,” Stone said, “but I’ve heard from a friend in the know that given the overwhelming evidence that your father’s last will is legitimate and that Susan is indeed your half sister, the suit you filed on your brother’s behalf will be dismissed by the court.”
That evidence included new DNA tests taken by Susan and Ryan that proved they were half siblings and a video made by Trenton Sidney in which he explained why he’d changed his will. Stone had not been lying about having that.
Ryan smiled. “I’ll just have to learn from my mistakes.”
“And perhaps choose better clients.”
“That, too.”
“Has your brother realized yet that you weren’t part of the suit?”
Ryan’s grin turned to a wince. “We had a rather uncomfortable phone call after he finally took the time to read it. He told me that once he won the suit, he would do everything in his power to make sure I didn’t get anything.”
“Then he’s really not going to be happy when the dismissal is handed down.”
“I believe that’s what would be called an understatement. But I don’t care anymore. I’ve followed him around for too long.” He glanced at Susan. “I have a better sibling role model now.”
“I couldn’t be prouder of you,” Stone said. “If you’re really interested in pursuing the law, I am pretty sure Woodman & Weld would take you on as an associate. There’d be no special treatment, and you’d work a lot, but you’d learn a lot, too.”
“That’s very generous, Mr. Barrington. I’ll think about it.”
“Shall we move on to the good news now?” Stone asked.
“Please,” Susan said.
Stone motioned to the envelopes. “Inside is a proposed asset division between your father’s heirs, meaning the two of you.”
“And Oliver Humphrey College,” Susan said.
“About that. In exchange for promising not to sue them or talk to the press about their connection to your father’s death, they will renounce the one hundred million dollars he left them.”
“That’s surprisingly reasonable,” Ryan said.
“They’re hoping to brush this under the rug as much as possible,” Stone said.
“While that’s fine by me, and I’m sure Susan, too”—he looked at her and she nodded—“I do see a problem.”
“I thought you might. You mean your brother.”
“Exactly.”
Since Aaron would no longer be an heir, he would not be included in any settlement with the college and therefore would be free to sue them himself.
“It is a problem, but it’s not your problem,” Stone said. “And I have a feeling that once Aaron realizes he won’t be getting any inheritance, he might be open to working out a settlement directly with them.”
“He’ll have to find a new lawyer to handle that for him.”
“See, you are learning from your mistakes,” Susan said.
Stone knew they had been spending a lot of time getting to know each other and was happy to see that they were bonding well.
“I guess that leaves one last thing,” Stone said.
“What’s that?” Susan asked.
“Notifying you that, as of yesterday evening, the value of your father’s estate has increased to two point four billion dollars.”
Susan stared at him, frozen in place. “I—I can’t even process that number.”
“Remember, that’s what Charley Fox is for,” Stone said.
“Right. We’re going to meet with him as soon as the estate is settled.”
“Both of you?”
Ryan grinned. “I figured it wouldn’t hurt to find someone new to look after my money, too.”
“Your father would approve,” Stone said.
Ryan first looked surprised then pleased by the comment.
“There is a matter we will need your help with,” Susan said.
“And that is?”
“Ryan and I have been talking. We’d like to set up a fund to be split between the survivors of the Amanda Jae’s sinking and the families of those killed.”
“In a way that makes it clear we’re not the ones liable for the accident,” Ryan said. “That’s where you come in, I think.”
“That’s an incredibly kind gesture,” Stone said. “I’ll work something up and run it by you.”
“Thank you,” Susan said. “Actually, there is one more thing.”
“There is?” Ryan asked, surprised.
“Obviously, we haven’t had time to talk about this,” she said to him. “And if you’re against it, then you don’t have to do it. But I was thinking that your father’s plans—”
“Our father,” Ryan corrected.
She smiled sheepishly. “Yes, our father. Sorry, I’m still getting used to that.”
“Understandable. So, what about our father’s plans?”
“I was thinking about the scholarship program he wanted to set up. Students shouldn’t have to suffer because of one man’s misdeeds.”
“You’re saying we should set up the fund ourselves.”
“Or I could do it alone.”
“Nonsense. I think it’s a wonderful idea. And spoken like a true teacher. I’m in. Mr. Barrington, would you be able to help us with that, too?”
“I would be honored,” Stone said.
Soon after they left, Stone’s phone buzzed. “Yes?”
“Josie on one,” Joan said.
Stone picked up the call and said with a smile in his voice, “Hello.”
“Hi, yourself. I have news.”
“Don’t tell me you’re coming to New York.”
“I won’t because I’m not. Not any time soon, anyway. And lest you forget, I believe the promise is for you to come this way?”
“It is. I was just hoping for a surprise.”
“How’s this for a surprise? The Minerva will return to port tomorrow, and Xavier has agreed to take it up to Maine this weekend. As long as you’ll be available, that is.”
On Friday morning, Stone and Dino flew to Islesboro, and a few hours later were joined by Felicity.
She’d returned to public life a week after the storm.
The story MI6 ran with was that she’d been at a highly sensitive meeting out of the country when her car had been bombed, and at the urging of several government officials—no names given—she had stayed off the radar to help in the search for the perpetrators.
As with the best of deceptions, this one was sprinkled with some truth.
When asked if those responsible had been found, Felicity had smiled and replied, “Unfortunately, that information is classified.”
On Saturday morning, they drove to the ferry pier, as it was the appropriate size for the Minerva. They boarded at 8:45 a.m., between scheduled ferries.
It took a bit more than an hour to reach their destination, most of that time spent traveling south along the island and into the waters halfway between Islesboro and the island of New Haven.
Bruce was readied and hoisted into the water, and Sam guided the ROV down to where some fishermen had spotted wreckage the week after the storm.
It took a little searching, but Bruce’s cameras finally revealed a field of debris, some parts recognizable as belonging to an airplane and others too torn apart by the crash and waves to be identified.
There was no question, though. It was Stone’s Cessna.
“Goodbye, my friend,” Stone said.
“You’re not getting maudlin on us, are you?” Felicity asked.
“I may have only flown it now and then, but it served me well.” He sighed. “Now, I have to find a plane.”
“I thought you enjoyed buying planes.”
“You’re not wrong about that,” Dino said.
Felicity sighed. “I suppose now would be as good a time as any to tell you, based on my recommendation, the British government has agreed to pay for a replacement aircraft.”
“Really?” Stone said.
“Within reason. Don’t be picking out something bigger than you need.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Dino asked.
“The fun is that I don’t have to pay for it,” Stone said.
“Precisely,” Felicity said.
They spent another hour searching through the wreckage but found no signs of either Bronsky’s or Parker’s bodies.
“Probably for the best,” Stone said, when they decided to call it a day. “I have a feeling that if we had found something, it would have been pretty gruesome.”
“You’re right, of course,” Felicity said. “I still can’t help wishing I had a bit more closure.”
“If anyone had survived that crash, and there’s no way they could have, they would have drowned long before they could have been rescued,” Dino said. “You saw the Coast Guard data. There were no ships out that night.”
Felicity raised her hands in the air. “I know, I know. He’s dead.”
“He is,” Stone said. “And unlike you, he’ll stay that way.”
Felicity laughed. “Did you practice that line beforehand?”
“I didn’t, but it was pretty good, wasn’t it?”
“It was okay at best,” Dino said.
Stone raised an eyebrow at him. “And exactly how are you getting back to New York?”