Shoot First(Stone Barrington #45)(36)

“Hello?”

“Joe, this is Gino Bellini.”

“Hey.”

“You sound funny.”

“Well, Mr. Bellini, that’s because I’m not Joe Cross.”

“Who is this?”

The man repeated a phone number. “Is that the number you’re calling from?”

“Yes.”

“My name is Green. I’m a lieutenant with the Maine State Police. How are you acquainted with Mr. Cross?”

Gino’s mind was racing. Joe had gotten himself arrested. “Oh, we’re just acquaintances,” he replied. He checked his recent calls. “Actually, he called me, and I was returning his call.”

“It’s important that you and I sit down together for a few minutes,” the lieutenant said.

“I’m in New York,” Gino said.

“Then I’ll come to you. Would this afternoon be convenient?”

“Lieutenant, I’d hate for you to make a trip to New York for nothing. Why don’t we just talk now? Is Mr. Cross in some kind of trouble?”

“Well, I guess you could say that. He’s dead. So is his wife or girlfriend. Can you straighten me out on their relationship?”

“I’m afraid not,” Gino said. “Were they sick or something?”

“No, sir, they were shot.”

Gino felt relieved. “I’m sorry to hear that. Have you made an arrest?”

“Oh, there won’t be an arrest. They were shot while trying to shoot someone else. Are you acquainted with someone called Meg Harmon?”

Gino wasn’t going to start lying now. “Yes, but I haven’t seen her for months.”

“What is your relationship to Ms. Harmon?”

“We used to work together. She made me a rich man, and I’m very grateful to her.”

“Do you know where she is at the moment?”

“No, but she lives in San Francisco, or did the last I heard.”

“Are you acquainted with a gentleman named Stone Barrington?”

“No, I’ve never heard that name.”

“May I have your address, Mr. Bellini?”

Gino gave him the New York address.

“If I should happen to be in New York soon, may I stop by to see you?”

“Normally, yes, but I expect to be traveling a lot for a while. I’m really just stopping here for a few days to get over jet lag. I’ve just come from London.”

“Do you have another address, Mr. Bellini?”

Gino gave him his San Francisco address.

“And your e-mail address?”

Gino gave him that.

“Do you have Mr. Cross’s address?”

“I believe he lives somewhere in the Florida Keys. I haven’t seen him for many years.”

“And how did you first make his acquaintance?”

“In high school.”

“Can you think of any reason why Mr. Cross would have your business card in his wallet?”

“What business card?”

“At Harmony Software?”

“I used to work there, but the company was sold last year. Oh, I remember now—I ran into Joe Cross at the airport, and I gave him my card. That must have been two, three years ago.”

“Have you seen him or spoken with him since?”

“No.”

“Well, it’s kind of odd. I’m speaking to you on his cell phone, and he called your number half a dozen times over the past few weeks.”

“As I said, I’ve been out of the country, and I didn’t take the phone with me, and there weren’t any voice mails from him when I got back.”

“When did you get back?”

“Yesterday,” Gino lied.

“He called this number three days ago.”

“I wasn’t here then. Lieutenant, I’m afraid you’re going to have to excuse me. I have an appointment I have to keep.”

“All right, Mr. Bellini. I’ll be in touch.”

“Anything I can do,” Gino said. “Goodbye.” He hung up, and he was sweating.

“That didn’t sound good,” Veronica said.

“It was somebody from the Maine State Police. Joe and Jane are dead, shot by somebody while they were trying to shoot Miss Meg.”

“Oh, shit. How’d they trace him to you?”

“They have his cell phone, and there were calls to me on it. You heard my answer to that.”

“You think we’re in the clear?” she asked.

“If we weren’t, they wouldn’t be calling—they’d be pounding on the door.”

“Still, that’s too close for comfort. Maybe you should lose that cell phone, Gino, and get another one with a new number. The Apple Store is just a few blocks away.”

“Then let’s get over there,” Gino said, rising.



* * *



—

STONE’S PHONE BUZZED. “A Lieutenant Green on the phone, from Maine.”

Stone picked it up. “Hello, Lieutenant.”

“Mr. Barrington, I thought you’d like to know that we’ve got Joe Cross’s cell phone, and he made some calls to a man named Gino Bellini.”