Hit List (Stone Barrington #53)(10)
“Great, I’ll send somebody over to remove it. See ya.” Dino hung up.
Stone pressed another button on the desk phone.
“Yes, sir?” Joan said.
“Change all our computer passwords,” he said.
“Change them to what?”
“My father’s middle name, plus two exclamation points.”
“And what would that be?”
“Check my birth certificate. If you enter it incorrectly, we’ll have to buy all new computers.”
“Certainly.”
His cell phone rang. Vanessa. “Good morning again.”
“I enjoyed the first one more,” she said.
“Any time.”
“I really needed you last night. You lifted the gloom.”
“What are you doing today?”
“I’m down at the shop, cleaning out my mother’s office.”
“I don’t think you should do that. Have you already started?”
“Only a moment ago. Why shouldn’t I?”
“Because of what Betty had been doing for many years. Lance is going to want to see every scrap of paper and, especially, the contents of the safe. I’ll get him to send some people over.”
“Well, I don’t know the combination to her safe, so tell him to send me a safecracker, too.”
“I’ll do that.”
“What are you doing for lunch?” she asked, and there was a leer in her voice.
“Oh, no you don’t.”
“Why not?”
“You’re overestimating my physical properties.”
“I’ve inspected your physical properties carefully, and I find them sufficient to my needs.”
“But they are insufficient to your desires,” he declared. “Wait until this evening, anyway.”
“Six-thirty?”
“Fine. I’ll try to get in a restorative nap before then.” They hung up.
Stone called Lance and scrambled.
“Yes?”
“Vanessa was about to clean out her mother’s office, but I stopped her, thinking your people might like to examine the contents thereof.”
“Funny you should think of that,” Lance said, “there’s a team on its way to her offices as we speak.”
“Oh, and she doesn’t know the combination to her mother’s safe; says you should send a yegg.”
“Most people write down the combination and tape it to the bottom of a desk drawer, or some similar place. They’ll look for it there, before we send a safecracker.”
“As you wish. Goodbye.” He hung up, knowing that Lance was looking for somebody to send.
* * *
—
A couple of hours passed, and Lance called back.
“Well, we went over Betty’s office,” he said.
“Find anything?”
“The combination of the safe, taped to the bottom of a file drawer.”
“And what were its contents?”
“Stacks of dollars and euros, mostly.”
“She was ready to get out, then?”
“At all times,” Lance said, “save when we actually came calling on the Vineyard.”
“Did you find anything else of value?”
“No, but my team is on the way to her apartment now, and that could be more productive.”
“Good luck to you, then.” He hung up.
9
He picked up Vanessa at her apartment and was given a drink.
“You were right,” she said. “Those CIA—at least, I think that’s who they were—people turned up at my offices a couple of hours after you called.”
“What did they find?”
“A whole lot of money in the safe. I heard one of them say there was more than two hundred thousand dollars, some of it in euros. And do you know what?”
“What?”
“They took it away.”
“Did they give you a receipt?”
“Yes, but only because I demanded one, or I said I would call the police and charge them with burglary.”
Stone laughed. “I like that,” he said. “Would you like me to see if I can get it back from them?”
“Would I ever! I was thinking of a grand European vacation.”
“Where in Europe?”
“Wherever my little heart desires.”
“Well, you’re not going to get the actual banknotes back, but would you take a check?”
“As long as it doesn’t bounce.”
“Let me have your receipt.”
She dug into her purse and came up with a piece of notepaper that had been ripped from a pocket ring binder.
“Ray Rodriguez,” he read, peering at the receipt. “Or is it Roy?” They couldn’t tell. “I’ll call Lance tomorrow. Oh, do you have any actual cash in your purse?”
“What do you need?” she asked, rummaging.
“Whataya got? A buck will do.”
“The smallest I’ve got is a ten.”
“That’ll be ten dollars, please.”
She handed it to him but didn’t release her end. “Ten dollars for what?”