Double Jeopardy (Stone Barrington #57)(23)

“Need help?” Henry Lee asked.

“Not unless you hear gunfire,” Stone said. “We’ll be right back.”





21

Stone retrieved a couple of small flashlights from a drawer and tossed one to Dino. “Don’t use that, unless you absolutely have to. It will just make you a target.”

“Gotcha,” Dino replied.

Stone switched off the back porch light. The two of them checked their weapons, then stepped outside. Stone held out a hand. “Listen. Hear anything?”

They both listened. Branches were snapping and leaves rustling. Someone was not bothering to move quietly.

“Let’s go,” Dino said. “Follow the noises.”

They set off toward the sounds, away from the yacht club. The forest had been cleared of undergrowth here, and they could move quickly.

“If I hear weapons being cocked, I’m going to start shooting,” Dino said.

The noises stopped, and Dino held up a hand. There was a new sound. Someone panting. “I guess they were running,” he whispered.

“No lights yet,” Stone whispered back. “I want to be able to see something before we pour more light on it.”

“Okay. After you.”

Stone crept forward. The brush was thickening. They must be on the property next door, he thought. “Stop,” he whispered. He could hear the panting again, but he could see nothing. “The hell with it. Let’s use the lights.”

“You, first,” Dino said.

“Thanks so much.” Stone flicked on his light. Dino followed quickly. Something moved up ahead. “They’re in black clothing,” Stone said.

“Their weapons must be black, too,” Dino replied. “Sweep right, slowly.”

They panned their lights to their right. Nothing. “Back left,” Stone said. They reached their first aiming point, then continued left.

“Oh, shit,” Dino said. “Run for it!” He dashed past Stone toward the house, nearly knocking him down. “Cover me!”

Stone ran after him. “Yeah, sure.”

They could hear their pursuers crashing through the wooded area behind them. Stone suddenly knew who was chasing them. He stopped and fired a single shot into the air, then pointed the flashlight into the woods. Someone was coming after them, moving quickly. Stone fired another shot upward. Dino stopped running.

“Bear!” Stone shouted.

Dino took off running again.

They made it to the porch and spun around.

“Where?” Dino said.

Then the back porch light came on, and they were blinded for a moment.

Dino adopted a combat stance, his weapon out in front of him.

“Don’t shoot!” Stone yelled.

“Why the hell not?”

“First of all, you can’t see the damned animal.”

“How do you know it’s a bear?”

“Panting, grunting, moving fast. And if you shoot it we’ll have Fish and Wildlife down on us for a week, asking questions.”

Dino backed up to the rear door. “I’m going to let you have the conversation with the bear,” he said, ducking inside.

Stone backed up, too, but slowly. He didn’t want to run for it then have the thing on his back. He stepped inside the house.

Primmy was standing there, her pistol in her hand. “Am I going to get another shot at them?”

“No, you’re not. It’s a black bear.”

“Nonsense! There are no bears on this island.”

“Once in a great while, one or two swim over from the mainland, sometimes in pursuit of a deer. I’ll call Fish and Wildlife tomorrow morning, and they’ll hunt it down, anesthetize it, cage it, and move it to a more suitable environment than my back porch.”

“Good idea,” she said, holstering her weapon.

Stone turned and looked at his guests: each was holding a handgun. “Well,” he said, “this is the best-armed dinner party I’ve ever seen.”

Then they were all looking out the window. The bear stepped into the circle of light from the porch fixture and walked around, sniffing things.

“He’s got your scent, Dino,” Stone said.

“Yours, too.”

Then the bear turned and ambled off into the darkness. The phone rang, and Stone picked it up. “Hello?”

“It’s Billy. We had a report of a bear near you.”

“Too near. He just left my back porch.”

“Did you shoot it? Someone heard gunfire.”

“I fired a couple of rounds in the air to scare him off. It didn’t work. He finally left of his own accord.”

“How big?” Billy asked.

“I didn’t get a chance to weigh him, but up on his hind legs, he looked about as tall as Dino.”

“I’m taller,” Dino said.

“I think a call to Fish and Wildlife in the morning would be a good idea, Billy. We don’t want him eating any of the kids in the swimming class at the club. You might suggest they keep them indoors until they’ve caged him.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“How long since this happened?”

“Four, five years. Good night.” Billy hung up.