“How is your visit going?” Thomas asked as he poured their coffee.
“Very well, thanks,” Stone said, stirring in a sweetener and sipping. “Until last night.”
Thomas’s eyebrows went up. “Something wrong?”
“We had dinner at Irene Foster’s house last night, and when we returned to the cottage we found that it had been ransacked-neatly, but nevertheless, ransacked.”
“I’m very sorry,” Thomas said, looking concerned. “Was anything missing?”
“Nothing, but some things had been left behind.”
“What?”
“All three phone extensions had been bugged.”
“Bugged?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing happening in St. Marks. You’re sure about this?”
“Go down to the cottage, unscrew the mouthpiece on any phone, and you’ll see the device.”
“But who would do such a thing?”
“I was hoping you might have a suggestion.”
“Surely you don’t think that I…”
“No, of course not, Thomas; I apologize if I gave that impression. Our best guesses are Teddy Fay or Sir Winston Sutherland.”
“Well, I don’t know about Mr. Fay, but certainly Sir Winston would do such a thing, if he thought it in his interest.”
“But what could he possibly hope to learn by bugging our quarters?”
Thomas shrugged. “Perhaps you could better tell me. Is there something about your visit to St. Marks that you haven’t told me?”
Stone shook his head. “No, there isn’t; I’ve told you everything.”
“Let’s start with Teddy Fay, then. Is there some reason, assuming he’s on the island, that he would bug the premises?”
“I suppose he might want to learn if our presence here has anything to do with looking for him.”
“You say the choices of culprit are Fay and Sir Winston; has it occurred to you that they might be combining their efforts?”
“Combining? How?”
“Well, if I were a fugitive living on the island, I might look for some sort of official protection. Mightn’t you do the same, if you were Fay?”
“But what would be in it for Sir Winston to hide a fugitive from the United States?”
“Money, of course; does Fay have money?”
“We believe so, but we don’t know how much. Anyway, that sort of bribe would be very small compared to the money I understand he’s getting from the offshore gambling interests.”
Thomas smiled. “It is not my experience of Sir Winston that any sum of money would be too small to escape his attention. But he might have other reasons to assist Mr. Fay; Sir Winston has a supple mind, and it is always attuned to whatever person or information might be useful to him.”
“I cannot imagine what use Teddy Fay’s presence in his country would be to Sir Winston.”