Hit List (Stone Barrington #53)(63)

“I think our best guess is Georgetown, in the Cayman Islands. Loose banks, reachable from New York without refueling, in the right airplane.”

“I say, let’s go there,” Dino said.

“It may be our best guess,” Stone replied, “but it’s still one hell of a long shot.”

“Have you got anything better to do?” Dino asked.

“Not really.”

“Can I go, too?” Herbie asked. “I cleared my afternoon.”

“Why not,” Stone said. “Let’s take Dino’s car to Teterboro. It has a siren.”

Once aboard, Stone got out his cell phone and began issuing orders to pilots and refuelers. It took them forty minutes to reach Teterboro, and when they did the G-500 had an engine running. They boarded, and the other engine started up.

Herbie took a seat and had a look around. “How much?” he asked.

“Don’t ask,” Stone replied. “You’d have to win the lottery all over again.” Herbie had already won it once.

Dino sat down with him and buckled his seat belt. “Okay,” he said, “what does this guy look like?”

“You saw him,” Stone said.

“His back was to me. I saw a fedora, some eyeglasses, and a kind of hawk nose.”

“You can’t keep a fedora on while fleeing on a motorcycle,” Stone said, “and he looked skinnier to me than last time.”

“It’s all that running,” Dino said.

Four hours later, they set down at Georgetown.





50


They had a rental car waiting in Georgetown, and the three of them piled in.

“Maybe we should have three rentals,” Dino said.

“Herb is the only one who’s had a clear look at the guy from close up,” Stone said. “One car is best. Start looking, Herb.”

They were heading down a sort of main drag, and Herbie’s head was swiveling. “Every other building here is a bank,” he said.

“Look for a guy in a business suit and a hat,” Stone said.

“I thought the hat would have blown away,” Dino chipped in, “on the motorcycle.”

“I know it’s hard to believe,” Stone said, “but he might still have the hat.”

“Herb,” Dino said. “Did the glasses look to you like a disguise, or something he needed to see?”

“No idea,” Herbie said, “but there’s a guy in a suit, no hat.”

“Herb,” Stone said. “He’s black, and it doesn’t look like a disguise.”

“There is that,” Herbie said, and went back to swiveling.

They reached the end of the street, made a U-turn, and started back the other way. Herbie nodded toward the sidewalk. “That looks kind of like him,” he said, pointing at a man walking into a bank, “except for the Hawaiian shirt.”

“Let’s get in there,” Stone said, pulling into a handicapped parking space.

“You can’t park here,” Dino said.

“Stop sounding like a cop. You see any other parking spaces?”

“Not really.”

They got out of the car and crossed the street. “Don’t go peering through the window,” Dino said. “He’ll spot us from inside.”

“I’ll go in,” Herbie said, handing Stone his suit jacket and tie. He walked into the bank and came out ten seconds later.

“The guy in the Hawaiian shirt is sitting at a desk, talking to somebody who looks like a banker, but his back is to me. “He’s wearing a straw hat.”

Stone handed Herbie back his clothing and peered through the window. “Could be him,” he said.

“So, what are we going to do about it?” Herbie asked. “Dino, do you have any authority here?”

“Nothing but a badge and my native sense of command,” Dino replied.

“That’ll have to do,” Stone said. “What’s our plan?”

“Let’s let him see us,” Dino said, “and see how he reacts. If he runs, he’s our guy. Probably.”

Dino motioned for them to spread out a little when they entered the bank. As they did, the man stood up and shook the banker’s hand. He was holding a briefcase, something Stone hadn’t noticed before.

“Hi, Sig,” Stone said.

The man didn’t turn, but froze instead. He said something to the banker, and the man indicated the rear of the bank.

“Restroom,” Stone said.

“Back door,” Dino replied. They watched as the man went into the restroom, then they crowded into the hallway behind him. Dino tried the door. “Locked,” he whispered. “We’ll have to wait him out or kick in the door. What’s your preference?”

“My preference is not being arrested for kicking in the door,” Stone replied. “Be patient.”

Dino took a step back and kicked in the door. It flew back, banged into the wall. Dino stepped in with his gun in his hand. “Freeze!” he yelled.

“Window,” Stone said. It stood open, flapping a little in the breeze. “Nice window, big.”

Dino hopped up onto the toilet and looked both ways out the window. “Alley,” he said. “I don’t see him. We’ll have to split up.”