their lights came on, and they pulled him onto the shoulder.
“Stay in your car,” Schwartz said.
“Yes, sir.” He watched in his mirror as two troopers pulled a man from the BMW, while two other troopers stood behind his car, weapons drawn. He saw the man being frisked and relieved of a handgun, then cuffed. One of the troopers then opened the rear door and removed what looked like an assault rifle.
“That’s it,” Schwartz said, “he’s in custody, and he doesn’t have a carry license. You may proceed on your way now, and we’ll be in touch if we need you further.”
“Thank you very much, Lieutenant, and goodbye.” Stone made a U-turn and got back on the Sawmill.
“You seem to have very good relations with the police,” Susan said, “and in two states. I’m impressed.”
“Dan Brady did all the work,” Stone said.
“Do you think that man really meant you harm?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think he was armed to protect himself from me.”
21
S tone was at his desk the following morning when Dino called. “I’m messengering something to you,” he said. “I want you to read it immediately, then messenger it back to me.”
“All right.” Joan walked in with a package. “I think it’s already here.” Stone unwrapped it and found an FBI file about an inch thick, with the name Donald Beverly Calhoun on it.
“Read it and call me back,” Dino said.
Stone started to read.
—
I t was nearly lunchtime when he finished and called Dino. “Thank you,” he said.
“You read it all?”
“Yes. How did you get it?”
“I called the director at home, and he had it copied and sent to me.”
“Do you mind if I copy it?”
“No, but keep quiet about it. What were your impressions?”
“I’m amazed at the guy’s ability to skate on thin ice without ever falling through. I mean, once in a while the ice cracks, and he dips a leg into the water, but then he manages to get up and skate on.”
“What I can’t figure out,” Dino said, “is what he wants. I mean, if he just wants to make money, he’s doing that with his books and ‘documentaries,’ for which he’s getting forty bucks a pop and not splitting the take with an agent or publisher. The guy’s printing money.”
“And he’s doing it all under the radar,” Stone pointed out. “You hardly ever see anything about him in the papers and TV programs I watch.”
“Except when he has a magazine writer murdered, or somebody makes a movie about somebody a lot like him.”
“He’s trying hard to find Peter and Ben, and he’s having me followed by armed men,” Stone said, and told Dino about his experiences over the weekend.
“You did the right thing, calling Dan Brady,” Dino said. “Maybe if you keep getting his people arrested, he’ll back off.”
“I hope you’re right. We’ll lose them when Susan and I leave for England later in the week. I hope I’m right about that, too.”
“Me, too, since Viv is going with you.”
“I’ll have Joan send the file back to you right away,” Stone said. They said goodbye, and he buzzed Joan, who came in. He handed her the file. “Please copy this—the whole thing—then messenger it back to Dino.”
Joan weighed it in her hands. “The whole thing, huh?”
“All of it, and make two copies.”
“Okay, boss.” She left, then he heard the Xerox machine laboring away.
Susan was working on Margo Eggers’s house, so he had Helene send lunch up to her, then made a date with Mike Freeman at the Four Seasons Grill Room.
—
O ver lunch, Stone told Mike about what was going on. “Have you ever heard of this guy Calhoun?”
“Here and there over the years, but you’re right, he skates on thin ice remarkably well.”
Stone pulled a wrapped package from under the table and handed it to him. “This is his FBI file. Don’t ask how I got it. Read it, then send it back to me.”
Mike accepted the package. “You know what I find most remarkable about
“Stay in your car,” Schwartz said.
“Yes, sir.” He watched in his mirror as two troopers pulled a man from the BMW, while two other troopers stood behind his car, weapons drawn. He saw the man being frisked and relieved of a handgun, then cuffed. One of the troopers then opened the rear door and removed what looked like an assault rifle.
“That’s it,” Schwartz said, “he’s in custody, and he doesn’t have a carry license. You may proceed on your way now, and we’ll be in touch if we need you further.”
“Thank you very much, Lieutenant, and goodbye.” Stone made a U-turn and got back on the Sawmill.
“You seem to have very good relations with the police,” Susan said, “and in two states. I’m impressed.”
“Dan Brady did all the work,” Stone said.
“Do you think that man really meant you harm?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think he was armed to protect himself from me.”
21
S tone was at his desk the following morning when Dino called. “I’m messengering something to you,” he said. “I want you to read it immediately, then messenger it back to me.”
“All right.” Joan walked in with a package. “I think it’s already here.” Stone unwrapped it and found an FBI file about an inch thick, with the name Donald Beverly Calhoun on it.
“Read it and call me back,” Dino said.
Stone started to read.
—
I t was nearly lunchtime when he finished and called Dino. “Thank you,” he said.
“You read it all?”
“Yes. How did you get it?”
“I called the director at home, and he had it copied and sent to me.”
“Do you mind if I copy it?”
“No, but keep quiet about it. What were your impressions?”
“I’m amazed at the guy’s ability to skate on thin ice without ever falling through. I mean, once in a while the ice cracks, and he dips a leg into the water, but then he manages to get up and skate on.”
“What I can’t figure out,” Dino said, “is what he wants. I mean, if he just wants to make money, he’s doing that with his books and ‘documentaries,’ for which he’s getting forty bucks a pop and not splitting the take with an agent or publisher. The guy’s printing money.”
“And he’s doing it all under the radar,” Stone pointed out. “You hardly ever see anything about him in the papers and TV programs I watch.”
“Except when he has a magazine writer murdered, or somebody makes a movie about somebody a lot like him.”
“He’s trying hard to find Peter and Ben, and he’s having me followed by armed men,” Stone said, and told Dino about his experiences over the weekend.
“You did the right thing, calling Dan Brady,” Dino said. “Maybe if you keep getting his people arrested, he’ll back off.”
“I hope you’re right. We’ll lose them when Susan and I leave for England later in the week. I hope I’m right about that, too.”
“Me, too, since Viv is going with you.”
“I’ll have Joan send the file back to you right away,” Stone said. They said goodbye, and he buzzed Joan, who came in. He handed her the file. “Please copy this—the whole thing—then messenger it back to Dino.”
Joan weighed it in her hands. “The whole thing, huh?”
“All of it, and make two copies.”
“Okay, boss.” She left, then he heard the Xerox machine laboring away.
Susan was working on Margo Eggers’s house, so he had Helene send lunch up to her, then made a date with Mike Freeman at the Four Seasons Grill Room.
—
O ver lunch, Stone told Mike about what was going on. “Have you ever heard of this guy Calhoun?”
“Here and there over the years, but you’re right, he skates on thin ice remarkably well.”
Stone pulled a wrapped package from under the table and handed it to him. “This is his FBI file. Don’t ask how I got it. Read it, then send it back to me.”
Mike accepted the package. “You know what I find most remarkable about
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