Foreign Affairs

Hedy made a swooshing sound.

“Have you been holding your breath?” Stone asked.

“Yes, I didn’t even realize it.”

“The autopilot is flying the airplane now,” he said. “It will continue to do so until we’re on final approach to Le Bourget.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“I don’t think anything will make you feel better,” Stone said, “but it’s too late to get out and walk.”

—

An hour and a half later the airplane touched down at Le Bourget.

“Well, that was fairly painless,” Hedy said, when Stone had shut down the engines.

“It usually is,” Stone said. Stone got out of the pilot’s seat and opened the door. A large car pulled up to the airplane, and Stone unlocked the luggage compartment and began handing the driver their bags.

Reflexively, Stone looked around the ramp for suspicious cars or people. He saw nothing, but somehow, he didn’t feel relieved.

15

When they arrived at the entrance to Stone’s mews in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the gates were open; Joan had arranged for them to be expected. As they got out of the car, the gates closed.

“Wow,” Hedy said, looking around the mews. “This is beautiful.”

“That’s what I thought when I first saw it,” Stone said.

“This is the first thing I’m going to paint,” she said.

“And I will be the customer for your painting.”

The driver took their bags inside. Stone introduced Hedy to the housekeeper, Marie, who then took the driver and the luggage upstairs to the master suite.

Hedy walked into the living room and looked around. “This is like a beautiful set in a French movie.”

“That’s not exactly an accident,” Stone said. “Although the house was sparsely furnished when I bought it, I hired a woman who has a shop around the corner to decorate it to my specifications. Her shop specializes in supplying movie set designers with furnishings. By the way, there’s an artist’s supply shop a couple of doors down from her. They should have what you need.”

“Then I’m going there now,” Hedy said. “Which way?”

“Out the gate, take a right, and it’s half a dozen shops down the street.” He took a key from a kitchen drawer and gave it to her. “This will get you back in through the door in the gate.”

Hedy departed, and Marie returned with the driver. Stone tipped him and sent him on his way.

“Welcome home, Mr. Barrington,” Marie said in her heavily accented English. “How long will you be with us?”

“I’m not sure, Marie, a few days, at least.”

“I’ve prepared some food for di

“Let’s wait until Hedy comes back.”

“As you wish.” Marie disappeared into the kitchen.

Stone sat down in the living room and phoned Marcel in Rome.

“Hello, Stone, I tried to call you at the Hassler, but you had gone, and your cell phone didn’t answer.”

“I’m sorry about that, Marcel. The security people insisted that I disable it. I’ll have it working again in a few minutes.”

“Where are you?”

“In Paris. We had a threat, and I thought it best to get out of town for a bit. How is it going there?”

“Michael Freeman’s people have been excellent. It seems that I was not as secure here as I had thought.”

“Have there been any incidents since I saw you?”

“Only that Mr. Casselli continues to call each day, and I continue to refuse to speak to him. The new construction company begins today clearing away the ruins of the old hotel. They will be ready to start construction in a week or so. The architects have produced elevations and infrastructure plans already, and they are beautiful. My instructions to them were to make the building look as if it has always been there.”

“Perfect.”

“I believe Dino has been trying to reach you. He called here a couple of times.”

“I’ll call him right away.”

“Have a good time in Paris. Will you be coming here afterwards?”

“If you need me.”

“I’ll try not to, but you never know.”

Stone said goodbye and then called Dino, who was still in his office.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“I had to disappear for a few days, and Mike’s people insisted I disable my cell phone. Not soon enough, though. Casselli’s people managed to track me down. We arrived in Paris an hour and a half ago.”

“Ah, Paris.”

“Why don’t you and Viv join me for a few days?”

“I’ll see if I can think of a good enough excuse. In the meantime, I’ve spoken with a man named Massimo Bertelli, in Rome, who is head of the Italian Anti-Mafia Investigative Department, or DIA, and asked him advice on how you should proceed.”

“I’d be grateful for his advice,” Stone replied.

“He’s assigned a special team to monitor your situation and to take such action as is required. He says to stonewall Casselli, to give him nothing. He’s unaccustomed to that sort of stand, and it will rattle him.”

“That is exactly what Marcel and I have done and will continue to do, though I have to say he’s managed to rattle us.”

“You’re better off in Paris. There’s nothing you can do in Rome but advise Marcel, and you can do that on the phone.”

“I don’t want to run out on Marcel.”

“Don’t overestimate your importance.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Let me talk to Viv and see what her schedule is, then I’ll get back to you about coming to Paris.”

“Do that, it would be good to see you both.” Stone hung up.

Hedy was just coming through the door. “I got what I needed,” she said. “Everything will be delivered in an hour.”

“Lunch?”

“Great.”

“An omelet?”

“Perfect.”

Stone went to the kitchen and gave Marie their order.

He went back to the living room, found his cell phone, and reinstalled the SIM chip, then put it into his pocket. Less than a minute passed before it rang. He checked the caller ID window, but got nothing. “Hello?”

“This is Leonardo Casselli,” a voice said.

Stone hung up. He removed the SIM chip, then used the landline to call Joan in New York.

“You got there okay?”

“I did. I’d like you to do something for me.”

“Okay.”

“Please go to the Apple store and buy me a new iPhone, with a new number. Get it authorized and working, then FedEx it to me in Paris.”

“You lose the old one?”

“No, I just don’t want to use it. I’ll back up the new one to the iCloud and get all my files and apps onto the new phone.”

“Will do.”

Stone put his phone and the SIM chip into his briefcase; he could live a day without using it.

The omelet was perfect.

16

After lunch, Hedy took her easel and paints into the mews, picked a spot, set up, and began to paint. Stone found a half-finished book next to his easy chair and set about finishing it. He read until the shadows outside were long, then he put his head back and dozed for a while.

He was awakened by the slamming of the front door. Hedy came into the room, wiping paint from her hands, and kissed him on the forehead. “Sorry about the noise, the door got away from me.” She held up the painting.

“Wonderful!” he said. “And sold!”

“It’s my gift to you for keeping me entertained and safe, not necessarily in that order.”