Chapter 1
Turtle Bay, Tuesday morning.
Stone Barrington was typing out an email to a client when Fred Flicker rapped on his office door and stepped inside.
Stone looked up. “Yes, Fred?”
“May I take your bag to the car?” Fred performed multiple roles for Stone, including that of butler, occasional bodyguard, and chauffeur.
“Please do. Thank you, Fred.”
Fred grabbed the small suitcase and said, “The car will be at the curb when you’re ready,” then left.
Stone was a partner at the law firm of Woodman & Weld, but he worked out of a suite of offices on the ground floor of his townhouse, instead of the firm’s headquarters in the Seagram Building. It made the commute from his bedroom to his office the easiest part of his day.
He finished the email, hit Send, then put his computer to sleep. As he stood to leave, his phone rang.
Instead of answering, he walked out to the desk of his secretary, Joan Robertson, who had her phone to her ear. She sighed and set the receiver back in its cradle.
“Whoever it is, tell them I’m out of town,” Stone said.
“But you’re not.”
“I’m about to be.”
“Which still qualifies as you’re not.”
“How about we pretend I am?”
“If you say so.” She picked up the phone again, tapped a button, and said, “Sorry, Ben. He says he’s out of town.”
“Ben who?” Stone asks.
“One moment.” She put a hand over the mouthpiece. “Bacchetti. But don’t worry. I’ve told him you’re not here.”
“So, I heard.” He held out his hand. “Let me talk to him.”
Ben was the son of Stone’s best friend, Dino Bacchetti. He was also president of Centurion Pictures, of which Stone was a member of the board.
Into the receiver, Joan said, “Apparently, he’s back in town now. One moment.”
She handed the phone to Stone.
“You’re either up early or in a more civilized time zone,” Stone said. It was barely eight-thirty a.m. in New York, which meant the sun had yet to make an appearance on the West Coast, where Ben lived.
“We’re plenty civilized out here, thank you very much,” Ben said. “And some days I like to get an early start to my day.”
“Lucky me, then.”
“I’m sure you’re busy, so I’ll make this fast. I wanted to know if you would be available via video for a special board meeting tomorrow, at one p.m. your time.”
“I could be,” Stone said. “Or I could just attend in person. I’m about to head to Teterboro and will be in L.A. later this afternoon.”
“Dad said he and Viv were coming out today for a convention. I take it they’re flying with you?”
“Your father is. Viv should be on her way from somewhere west of you. Tokyo, I believe.”
“I should have guessed as much.”
In her role as second-in-command at Strategic Services, Viv Bacchetti seemed to be on the road more than not. This wasn’t surprising, given Strategic Services’ position as the second-largest security firm in the world.
“You should join us for dinner,” Ben said. “Peter and Hattie will be there.”
Peter was Stone’s son, and Hattie was Peter’s wife.
“Count me in.”
“I assume you’re coming out here to spend time with Josie. If so, bring her with you.”
“You say that like I wouldn’t have done so anyway.”
“I’ll add the two of you to our reservation.”
“I appreciate it. So, what’s this board meeting about?”
“I’d love to tell you, but I’d prefer to not talk about it over the phone.”
“Now, I’m really intrigued.”
“I’ll see you tonight.”
They said their goodbyes, and Stone handed the phone back to Joan.
“Can I assume I’m free to go now?” he asked.
“As long as you leave before the phone rings again.”
“Don’t forget about Bob,” he said, referring to his Labrador retriever.
Joan put a hand on her chest. “I’m insulted you would even think that. Besides, Bob and I have big plans for tonight. A walk down to the UN, followed by curling up on my sofa and watching a Cary Grant film.”
“Don’t tell me. North by Northwest.”
“What else?”
“Then I leave everything in your capable hands.”
“Less talking, more walking,” she said and shooed him toward the door.
Fifteen minutes later, Stone’s Bentley pulled up in front of Dino’s building.
“Shall I have the doorman inform the commissioner that we’re here?” Fred asked.
“No need,” Stone said with a nod at the building’s entrance, where Dino had just exited, pulling a suitcase.
Behind him a doorman followed with two more bags.
Fred hopped out to assist.
There was only enough room for two of the bags into the trunk, so the third had to be put in the front passenger seat.
“Traveling light, I see,” Stone said to Dino, who had joined him in the back.
“Don’t look at me,” Dino said. “It’s all Viv.”
“All?”
“Ninety-nine percent. There are a couple formal events at the conference, and to quote my wife, ‘I need choices.’ ”
“I keep telling you two that you should leave a set of clothes at my house in L.A. You’re out there often enough.”
“In principle, I like that idea.”
“Only in principle?”
“If I suggested it to Viv, we’d spend all our free time shopping.”
“What’s so bad about that?”
“I realize you enjoy that kind of thing, but my eyes glaze over after the first thirty minutes.”
“Then you’re not doing it right.”
“Please, oh wise one, enlighten me on the right way to do it.”
“Hire a personal shopper. They’ll do all the looking for you, then bring over the good stuff. You only keep what you want.”
“I like everything about that idea except the part where the press finds out and prints stories with headlines like ‘Police Commissioner Out of Touch with the People.’ ”
“Hardly. I think it would be more along the lines of ‘Comish Lives Lavish Lifestyle.’ It’s shorter and snappier.”
“If you’re trying to sell me on this, it’s not working.”
“I bet if I mention it to Viv, she’d love it.”
“Please don’t.”
They arrived at Teterboro thirty minutes later and pulled up next to Stone’s Gulfstream G500 jet.
While Fred and the flight attendant, who introduced himself as Carl, dealt with the luggage, Stone and Dino boarded the plane.
Dino took his usual seat, and Stone headed to the cockpit where he found Faith Barnacle and Janet Joe. Faith was Stone’s personal pilot and in charge of flight operations for all of Stone’s aircraft. Janet was a friend of Faith’s and was often hired to be her copilot.
“Good morning, Mr. Barrington,” Janet said.
“Janet, we’ve discussed this. Call me Stone.”
“Whatever you’d like, Mr. Barrington.”
“Will you be handling takeoff?” Faith asked.
“If no one minds.”
“It is your plane.”
“I believe that’s my cue,” Janet said. She climbed out of the copilot’s seat. “I’ll go see if Carl’s ready.”
“Oh, fine. You can call Carl by his first name,” Stone said as Faith moved into the vacated copilot seat and he slid into the pilot’s.
“He doesn’t sign my checks,” Janet said.
“No one signs your checks. Everyone has direct deposit. And besides, even if I did, Faith calls me Stone.”
“I grew up with better manners.”
“It’s true,” Faith said.
Janet smiled and disappeared into the back of the plane.
Stone and Faith were just finishing the preflight check when something caught Stone’s eye.
“What’s that on your finger?” he asked.
“Finally!” she exclaimed. “I’ve only been flashing it at you since you sat down.”
“That can’t possibly be what I think it is.”
She grinned sheepishly. “Actually, it can.”
She held out her hand, displaying a diamond engagement ring on her left ring finger. It hadn’t been there the last time he’d seen her.
“Have I somehow slipped into an alternate universe?” he asked.
She chuckled. “Kind of feels that way, doesn’t it?”
“You once told me you’d never walk down the aisle again,” he reminded her.
“I told myself that, too. But…” She shrugged. “Surprise!”
When Stone first met Faith, she’d had a firm rule that she wouldn’t sleep with anyone more than three times. She’d gone through a bad divorce and had no desire to ever have a long-term relationship again. That rule had lasted until the previous year, when she met her now fiancé, Brian Simmons.
Stone had yet to meet him, but it was clear that Brian had a good effect on her. She was both happier and calmer at the same time.
“Do I have to wait until the wedding for you to introduce me to him?” Stone asked. “Assuming I’m invited, of course.”
“It’ll be a small affair, but you are definitely on the list. And you can meet him today, if you want. He and Wyatt are staying with me at the Arrington tonight. Then we’re off to San Diego tomorrow to meet his parents.”
“Wyatt?”
“Brian’s son.”
“Ah. The one into aliens.”
“That’s him.”
Shortly after she’d begun dating Brian, Faith had flown Stone to Sante Fe and had taken a side trip to Roswell to pick up souvenirs for the boy.
Stone pulled out his cell phone. “You’ll need a larger room than your usual. I’ll call ahead and get you upgraded.”
“Not necessary,” Faith said. “Joan’s already arranged for us to get a suite.”
“Joan knew before me?” Stone said.
“Of course she did. She made it clear when I started working for you, that whenever possible, she was to be told everything first.”
“Is that right?”
“I believe her exact words were, ‘Things work smoother around here that way.’ ”
“Hmmm.”
“Is she wrong?”
“I suppose not.”
Janet returned and took the jump seat at the back of the cockpit. “All set.”
She looked at Stone, who looked annoyed, then at Faith, who could barely suppress a grin. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Just Stone having an existential crisis,” Faith said. She glanced at Stone. “You still want to handle takeoff, or do you need a little time?”