Paris Match

—

HOLLY BUSTLED into the house bearing four shopping bags and a wine carton slung over one shoulder. “Good thing I got your message,” she said. “We would have starved.”

“Have you talked to Lance today?”

“Yes, this morning, but he suddenly got busy after lunch and has been cloistered for the rest of the day.”

Stone told her his news.

“Well,” she said, “this could hardly have come at a worse time.”

“No kidding.”

“Lance badly wants Kate elected,” she said.

“I didn’t know he was sentimental about politics.”

“He’s sentimental about his job. He wants to keep it when the next administration comes in, and he’s not real close to Carson.”

“I feel helpless,” Stone said.

“You’ll have to rely on Lance.”

“Now I really feel helpless.”

“Did he express any ideas?”

“Not really.”

“Lance is at his best when he’s in personal jeopardy. He’ll come through.”

“Time is short.”

Holly looked at her watch. “You’re right. Dino and Viv will be here in twenty minutes, and I have to make it look as though I prepared all this food.” She ran for the kitchen while Stone tidied the living room.

Dino and Viv were on time.

59

Dino walked into the house and looked around the living room. “Holy shit!” he said. “How the hell did you find this?”

“You might say Lance found it for me, though he didn’t mean to.”

Dino accepted a scotch and Viv a martini. “Explain.”

“It was a CIA safe house, belonged to a former station chief here, and the Agency bought it.”

“And you bought it from the Agency?”

“From an Agency foundation, the same one that I bought my cousin Dick Stone’s house from. I think I’ve discovered that the foundation would rather have cash than real estate. My local attorney says it’s a bargain.”

“What’s upstairs?” Viv asked.

“A master suite and three bedrooms. There’s a garage and a staff flat on the other side.”

“I’ll buy the staff flat from you,” Dino said.

“Think of the place as your own, whenever you want it.”

Holly came in with hors d’oeuvres.

Viv bit into one. “This is delicious,” she said.

“Oh, it’s just a little something I whipped up,” Holly replied.

“The hell you say.”

“All right, everything’s from Fauchon.”

“What’s Fauchon?”

“A kind of heavenly grocery store that sells the groceries already cooked.”

“I like the sound of that,” Viv said.

“Okay, enough about groceries,” Dino said. “I want to know what’s been going on. Why were you in a safe house, Stone?”

Stone took a deep breath and gave Dino and Viv an account of his time.

“Well,” Dino said, when he had finished, “you’ve been having a lot more fun than I have. Has Jacques Chance been arrested?”

“As far as I know, no.”

“The guy’s a nutcase,” Dino said. “Somebody ought to throw a net over him.”

“I look forward to that happening,” Stone said.

“I’ve had a couple of long conversations with his old man, Michel.”

“What’s he like?”

“He’s a stiff, but he’s a smart one. Very old-school, but a cop all the way through.”

“Did he say anything about his son?”

“I was present when somebody brought up the subject. He just turned and walked away. Like I say, very old-school. Rumor around the conference was that Jacques is being searched for, but quietly. Apparently, removing the prefect of Paris police is complicated.”

They finished their drinks and moved to the dining table at one end of the room, where Holly had distributed Fauchon’s finest.

Stone tasted and poured the wine, and they sat down to di

“It’s Lance.”

“Hang on.” He excused himself and took the phone into the study. “Okay,” he said.

“Your little insight turned out to be correct,” Lance said.

“What insight was that?”

“The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence—a staffer who had formerly worked in Carson’s office.”

“How did you deal with that?”

“Had a chat with Henry Carson, who denied all knowledge, said the woman was acting out of her own enthusiasm for his candidacy, nothing to do with his campaign.”

“Do you buy that?”

“No, it’s not necessary to buy it. He said all that before I had a chance to brief him. He mentioned the woman’s name.”

“Fu

“I thought so, too. I had a chat with the reporter in question. He’s willing to hold the story.”

“What did you have to give him?”

“An interview—or at least the promise of one—after the first of the year. I don’t give many interviews, so it will be something of a coup for him.”

“Thank you, Lance.”

“You’re quite welcome.” Lance hung up.

Stone returned to the table. “It looks as though Lance has the story contained.”

“Where was the leak?” Holly asked.

“A staffer on the SSCI, used to work for Carson.”

“Whew!”

“Will she get fired?” Dino asked.

“I didn’t ask.”

“If Carson wins, I’ll bet she turns up on the White House staff.”

“Let’s don’t talk about ‘if Carson wins,’” Stone said. “I shudder at the thought.”

60

The following morning, Stone and Holly packed their clothes and moved back into the suite at l’Arrington; it seemed a good idea, since they were departing from the hotel for the airport. Stone sent his tails to be pressed and his shoes to be polished, while Holly unboxed her new gown from Ralph Lauren and hung it in her dressing room.

While she was fussing with that, Stone’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

“It’s A

“Hi, there. How are you?”

“Relieved.”

Oh, no, he thought. “Relieved, as in fired?”

“No, silly—relieved as in relieved. Less anxious, if you like.”

“Have you changed your meds?”

“No. I mean, I’m not on meds. Except sometimes, when I need to sleep.”

“Why are you less anxious?”

“Because the reporter I told you about yesterday told me he wasn’t filing the story. He said he didn’t have backup sources.”

“That’s good news, isn’t it?”

“It certainly is. What I want to know is, how did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Get the story killed.”

“A

“Then how did you do it?”

“Why are you assuming I did something?”

“Because you’re the only person I told about the story.”

“You didn’t tell Kate or Sam Meriwether?” Meriwether was the holder of Will Lee’s old Senate seat and Kate’s campaign chairman.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I had a feeling you were going to fix it.”

“You overestimate me.”

“I thought you would deny it, but I warn you, when you get home I’m going to torture you until I get the whole story.”

“I’ll look forward to that.”

She laughed. “Anyway, I’m relieved, and I wanted you to be relieved, too.”

“I’m relieved.”

“Have a good time at your gala tonight.”

“That will be torture, too.” They said goodbye and hung up.

That evening, when Stone came out of his dressing room, Dino was standing at the bar in the living room, sipping scotch and dressed in white tie and tails.

“I don’t know how you ever got me to have this suit made,” Dino said.

“I told you you’d need it, eventually.”

“You’re usually right about these things.”

Viv walked in from next door wearing a champagne-colored sequined dress and a piece of jewelry around her neck that Stone figured had cost Dino three months’ pay.

“Wow,” he said.

“Me, too,” Dino echoed. “Everything was worth every cent of what it cost, and I don’t want to know what that was.”

“That is the highest compliment you’ve ever paid me,” Viv said, kissing him lightly, so as not to smear her lipstick.