Double Jeopardy (Stone Barrington #57)(16)

“Oh, good. We—Dino and his wife, Vivian, and I—are dining at my house around seven. We would be very pleased if you would join us. I live at . . .”

“I know where you live,” she said.

“Shall we say six-thirty, for drinks?”

“Perfect.”

“We will not dress up for dinner.”

“Excellent. I’m not sure I even own a dress anymore.”

“You’re perfect as you are.”

“Something every woman loves to be told. You’re not bad yourself, you know.”

Dino reappeared with an ice cream cone. “Ready?”

“Primmy, may I present my friend Dino Bacchetti? Dino, this is Hester Primrose, who prefers to be called Primmy.”

“Who could blame her?” Dino asked, shaking her hand. “How do you do?”

“I do very nicely, thank you,” Primmy replied.

“Do you want to finish your cone before we depart?” Stone asked Dino.

“Why bother? You’re driving.”

“Quite right,” Stone replied, wolfing down what was left of his cone. “See you at six-thirty, Primmy.”

“You may count on it.”

They got into the car. Stone got it started, then headed for home.

“The time it took to buy an ice cream cone seems to have been enough,” Dino said.

“I got lucky.”

“You usually do.”

As they turned off at Stone’s driveway, an elderly Mercedes convertible, top down, passed them going the other way.

“What was that?” Stone asked. “A fifty-seven 300?”

“More or less,” Dino said. “Did you see who was driving?”

“No,” Stone replied. “I was absorbed with the car—a very nice specimen. They must have just got off the ferry.”

“Probably.”

“I’ve always liked that year for Mercedes,” Stone said.

“Why, did you used to drive one?”

“No, at the time I became able to recognize the model, I couldn’t yet afford one.”

“Why don’t you buy one now?”

“My garages, both here and in New York, are too crowded,” Stone replied.

“You didn’t recognize the driver, then?”

“No. Was it the Jacksons?”

“I’ve never seen the Jacksons, but I’m certain it was not.”

“Why?”

“It was being driven by one of the Stone twins,” Dino said. “Take your pick.”





15

They had finished lunch and had divided up the Times, when the phone rang. Stone had a sudden twinge and hoped that Ms. Primrose was not calling to cancel. “Hello?”

“It’s Billy. The twins bought the house, the one down near the point. Get this: they’ve already engaged a builder from Camden for the renovation. He’s going to bring his crew over on the seven AM ferry every day and they will depart on the four o’clock.”

“Have they already closed?”

“Monday morning,” Billy said. “They’re faster than even you. They tried to hire Tracey, too, but she declined as gracefully as she could.”

“Smart girl.”

“I hope she was graceful enough.”

“So do I,” Stone said.

“Something else. They asked me about cleaning their family stuff out of the barn at the old house.”

“What did you reply to that?”

“I explained that the contracts among the past two owners specified that the contents of all buildings were included in the sale.”

“How did they take that?”

“Not well. They said they’d make the new owner an offer.”

“One that he can’t refuse?”

“Let’s not go there.”

“Have the Jacksons arrived yet?”

“They phoned from the air: ETA is two PM. I’m meeting them at the airstrip.”

Stone glanced at his watch: half an hour. “It’s important that I meet them before the twins do,” he said. “Can you ask them to expect me to drop by around three-thirty?”

“All right.”

“Thank you, Billy.” He hung up.

“Was that Billy?”

“It was, and with bad news.”

“They already bought the house?”

“You guessed it.”

“And you’re meeting the Jacksons at three-thirty?”

“You’re a good listener, Dino. I thought I’d invite them for dinner tonight. It’s a chance to get to know them, and it’ll give Primmy something to gossip about around the island.”

Something fairly loud flew over at a low altitude. “I think that’s the Jacksons’ Pilatus landing now. They’re a little early.

“Want me to go with you?” Dino asked.

“No, you’ll meet them tonight anyway.”

“As you wish,” Dino said. He went into Dick Stone’s little office and used the copying machine, then returned and gave both Stone and Viv copies of the Times crossword.

Stone worked on it until it was time to go meet the Jacksons.