Wild Card (Stone Barrington #49)(72)

The cop told him. “But let me give you some advice: In this country, you’ll get the whole story faster by just watching that.” He pointed at the TV.

“Good suggestion,” Tigner said. “May I finish my dinner now?”

“Sure, go ahead, Mr. Tigner.”

The cops left, and Tigner turned up the TV volume, then returned his attention to his steak.



* * *



? ? ?

    A half hour later the police held a meeting in the hotel manager’s conference room.

“What have we got in this hotel?” asked a uniformed captain wearing a lot of brass.

“Nothing unusual,” somebody said. “Looks like half the rooms are taken by campaign people and journalists, and the other by traveling salesmen. Nobody smells funny.”

“Another team found what appears to be the weapon in a furnace in the building next door,” the captain said. “It’s just a mess of melting metal, though. We won’t get much from that.”



* * *



? ? ?

In their hotel room, Ari and Annie had been thoroughly grilled by the police and FBI, and were taking police advice and skipping the hospital, watching TV instead.

“Let’s order some dinner,” Annie said, opening a room service menu.

“We may as well,” Ari said. “If he dies, our jobs are over. Even if he makes it, he’s not going to be campaigning anymore.”

His Skype alarm went off, and he opened his laptop and signed on. Smith sat quietly, staring at him. “Good evening,” he said.

“Good evening,” Ari replied. “Have you heard the news?”

“I expect everybody has,” Smith said. “Any news from the campaign on the senator’s condition?”

“Last we heard, he was in surgery, but no outcome yet.”

“Well, get a good night’s sleep, then tomorrow, go home. Even if Box recovers, I doubt if he’ll stay in the race, but who knows? You’ll still be paid. Just wait for news.”

“Yes, sir,” Ari said. “We’ll be available.” They both signed off.

“I want a steak, how about you?” Annie asked.

“Same here.”

“I wonder what there is to do in Kansas City?”

“Less than in Boston, I imagine,” Ari said.

She picked up the phone and ordered.

Annie hung up the phone. “We’ve got nearly an hour until dinner comes,” she said. “Whatever will we do?” She made a dive for him across the bed.





56


Damien met with the Thomases the following morning, ready to defend himself.

“I see that Joe Box is recovering,” Hank said.

“How did your man come to botch it?” Henry asked.

“No, Poppa,” Hank said, holding up a hand. “It’s better this way. He won’t be a martyr, but he’ll be out of the race, if his prognosis is accurate.”

“That’s right,” Damien said. “Our man made the shot under difficult circumstances, through a plate-glass window, and still managed to disable the man.”

“Oh, all right,” Henry said, “I guess you’re both right. When is your man coming back here?”

“A day or two,” Damien said. “He’s driving.”

“Good,” Henry said.

“Did you have something in mind, Poppa?” Hank asked.

“Stone Barrington,” Henry said.

“You want him killed?”

“He’s at the root of all our problems, going back to his discovery of the Tommassini files. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be in this fix.”

“What fix is that?” Hank asked. “We’re richer than ever and on the brink of retirement to wherever we want to go.”

“I spoke with our young D.A.’s daddy,” Henry said. “His boy is thinking about indicting us.”

“For what?” Hank asked.

“Manslaughter of the two women at Bloomingdale’s.”

“They can’t connect us to that,” Damien said.

“He’s thinking about trying. There’s been a lot of pressure on him since the Times piece.”

“So, there’s pressure,” Hank said, “but there’s no case.”

“Even if it fails, it will bring humiliation upon us.”

“We’ll soon be gone,” Hank pointed out. “Humiliation doesn’t travel.”

“He has a point,” Damien said.

“Humiliation can be cured only by satisfaction,” Henry said.

“Only by revenge, you mean?” Hank asked.

“Exactly. Revenge is in our blood. It has to be satisfied or we don’t rest easy, not even in some tropical paradise.”

“So you want Barrington taken out?” Damien asked.

“I do, and this time, I want it done right. Is that perfectly clear?”

“How about timing?”

“Before an indictment comes down.”

“Do you have any indication of when that might be?” Hank asked.

“A couple of weeks,” Henry replied.

“I’ll speak to my man,” Damien said.