Hit List (Stone Barrington #53)(33)

“Sure, but come here; I’ve had some unpleasant news that makes me not want to be on the street.” He hung up without explaining.



* * *



—

Dino turned up on time, and Fred served them clam chowder in the study.

“Okay, so what’s the bad news?”

Stone told him about Larkin’s cohorts, Cox and Hardin. “Lance says that now they’re not just hardened pros, but angry hardened pros.”

“I see his point,” Dino said, “but maybe it’s not a bad thing: angry people make mistakes.”

“Let’s hope so.”

“Have you got a long gun in the house?”

“I don’t believe in them,” Stone said, “but I’ve got nothing against shotguns with eighteen-and-a-quarter-inch barrels.”

“I’ve got one of those in the car,” Dino said.

“I thought you might have.”

Dino called his car, and a few minutes later, Joan came upstairs carrying a police riot gun and a box of 12-gauge shells and set them gingerly on the coffee table. “Delivery for you,” she said. “Are we expecting a riot?”

“Not really,” Stone said.

She left without another word.

“Good choice of weapon,” Dino said, “but if you hit anybody with it there’ll be a big mess to clean up.”

“Yeah, I remember when that guy, Bennedetto, took one in the chest.”

“Ah, the Tony Bennedetto case,” Dino said, as if remembering it fondly.

“The guys in the police garage wanted to dump his car in the river, rather than clean it up.”

“In the end, they used a fire hose,” Dino said. “I’ll bet it smelled bad the next day, though. I wouldn’t want your valuable rugs stained with guts and brains.”

“Neither would I.”

“And make sure they’re not your guts and brains,” Dino said.

“I’ll try to remember that,” Stone replied.



* * *



—

Around six o’clock, Stone stationed Fred outside the garage with the door open. When Vanessa showed up in a cab he directed it inside before he opened her door and paid the cabbie.

Stone was waiting for her in the study.

“Do I sense unusual defensive preparations?” Vanessa asked.

“Only a precaution,” Stone replied.

“Yeah,” she said, “against an early death.”





27


Vanessa gave him a kiss, then pointed at the coffee table. “What is that?” she asked, indicating the shotgun.

“Oh, that’s Dino’s. He left it here.”

“But not by accident,” she said. “It looks like something the police would use.”

“Let me get you a drink,” Stone said, changing the subject.

“Don’t change the subject.”

“It’s a police shotgun,” Stone said.

“Is it a riot gun?”

“Well, if you’re quelling a riot, I guess it is.”

“Are we anticipating a riot?”

“Vanessa, please; it’s just a shotgun.”

“Can you put it away somewhere?” she asked.

Stone picked up the gun and put it behind the door. “There, dear, is that better?”

“Yes, now I can pretend it isn’t there.”

“Whatever works for you,” he said, handing her a drink.

They dined on roast chicken, stuffed with sausage, buttered peas, and wild rice, taken with a bottle of Far Niente cabernet.

“We couldn’t have done better in a restaurant,” she said.

They were on coffee and cognac when Vanessa said, “What’s the difference in security between our dining here and out?”

“Exposure, if we dine out,” Stone replied.

“Would these people who are trying to kill you hesitate if you were sitting in a restaurant?”

“I expect so. Smart criminals understand that that sort of thing is not in their best interests, because the worse the crime, the harder law enforcement goes after them.”

Fred came, took their dishes, and wished them a good evening.

“Are we all alone now?” Vanessa asked.

“We are. Would you like to go upstairs?”

“I don’t want to wait that long,” she said. “I want your face in my lap now.” She pulled him toward her.

“Love to,” he said, stripping off her knickers and applying himself to the task at hand. When she had climaxed noisily, they exchanged positions, and it was Stone’s turn to be noisy.

Finally, she was curled up, her head on his chest. She poked at him. “Are you wearing a bulletproof vest?”

“No, I’m not,” Stone replied.

“Do you own a bulletproof vest?”

“Yes, from my days as a policeman, but I never wear it.”

“Is a bulletproof vest really bulletproof?”

“Some are, some aren’t. Most of them would stop a pistol round, but not one from a long rifle.”

“Like a hunting rifle?”

“Yes, or an assault weapon, as used by the military.”