“Exactly.”
“She is quite something,” Leslie said. “I believe I might be one of the few men on the island she hasn’t slept with.” He giggled.
“Surely she can’t be that bad.”
“I exaggerate, of course, but I know of four instances where gentlemen have succumbed to her tender mercies. At the moment, I believe, she has an in-house lover.”
“Yes, one Harry Pitts; they knew each other back in Virginia.”
“I wonder if Mr. Pitts is or was CIA, too?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, these intelligence people tend to stick close to their own kind, don’t they?”
“I think he is probably what he says he is, a retired building contractor.”
“Perhaps, perhaps not. Permit me my fantasies; they are all that is left for an old man.”
“Do you know of an Englishman named Robertson?”
“Ah, the retired Englishman; he is quite new to the island, and also a denizen of Black Mountain. I understand he was in the computer business in some fashion, back in the mother country.”
“Have you met him?”
“No; I meet so few people these days, but I hear a lot.”
“Have you heard anything that might make you think that Mr. Robertson is not exactly who he says he is?”
Sir Leslie grinned. “No, but I suspect everyone.”
Stone laughed. “Please excuse me, Leslie, but I must rejoin my friends; they will think I’ve been arrested.”
Sir Leslie stood. “Then you must see to it that their worst fears are not realized. And Stone, if you should run afoul of the Colonel, tell Thomas to call me; I’ll be happy to represent you.”
“Thank you, Leslie.” They shook hands, and Stone took his leave. As he went through the garden gate he looked back to see Sir Leslie back on his knees, digging in the soil.
20
Stone drove back to the inn and parked at the cottage, and he saw Holly and Genevieve stretched out on the beach, naked, a very pleasant sight. He liked Holly’s slimmer body. He went inside, undressed, grabbed a towel and joined them.
“Hey, there,” Holly said. “Where you been?”
“I made a stop at the airport, then I went to see my old colleague Sir Leslie Hewitt.”
“And?”
“And I gleaned some useful information. Where’s Dino?”
“He says the sun makes you old; he’s napping inside.”
“Have you spoken with Lance today?”
“Yes; nothing new.”
“You may need to call him again. I began thinking about how Teddy always has an escape route planned, and if he’s on the island how he might need an airplane to get out of here to where there are international connections. So I went out to the airport and had a talk with a fellow named Don Wells, who runs the FBO, and he showed me an old Cessna 140 that belongs to a recent arrival on the island, one who answers to the general description of Teddy Fay.”
“Who is he?”