Son of Stone (Stone Barrington 21)

“No, please give it to the butler at the house. He will send it to me in New York, along with some other items from the house that are being packed.”

“Just one other thing,” the sheriff said. “The autopsy on Mrs. Barrington revealed that one of her ovaries had been removed, and the remaining one was in the early stages of ovarian cancer. The pathologist says that it’s unlikely that she knew. Whether she would have survived the illness would have depended on how long she waited to be treated.”

“I see,” Stone said. “She had an examination in December, but nothing was found.”

“As the pathologist said, the cancer was in the early stages.”

“What are the chances of finding Tim Rutledge?” Stone asked.

“That will depend on how well he prepared his disappearance. We know, since he cleaned out his bank accounts, that there was premeditation, but we don’t know how long he was planning this. We’re tracking his credit cards, but nothing has been charged as yet.”

“How much did he take from his bank accounts?”

“About two hundred thousand dollars in cash, from checking and savings, and a cashier’s check for half a million from investments, including an IRA. That check hasn’t cleared the bank yet. When it does, we’ll find out where he cashed it, and that might help us.”

“So, he’s not hurting for funds.”

“No. He left the station wagon in his parking spot at the university, so we think he has a second car, though there is not one registered anywhere in his name.”

“Finding him may be harder than you think,” Stone said.

“You could be right. In any case, I will keep you posted on any developments. May I have your e-mail address?”

Stone gave it to him. “Thank you for checking in, Sheriff.” He hung up.

“Anything?” Joan asked.

“Nothing. The man is on the run, he’s smart, and he’s got money. My bet is he’s already out of the country, probably in Mexico.”

The phone rang again. “It’s Sean Patrick for you,” Joan said. She handed him the phone and went back to her office.

“Hello, Sean.”

“Hello, Stone. Thank you for being so kind to Hattie while she was in Virginia.”

“It was a great comfort to Peter to have his friend there,” Stone said.

“We were both very taken with Arrington, and we’re sorry we won’t have her as a permanent friend.”

“Thank you.”

“Stone, when we left to fly back to New York with Mike Freeman, one of your pilots was kind enough to show me your Gulfstream jet. Mike thought you might want to sell it.”

“I think so, Sean. The Mustang is adequate for my purposes.”

“My partners and I have been looking for an airplane to buy, and I think a G-III might suit us very well.”

“It’s a very nice airplane,” Stone said. “Arrington bought it a little over a year ago, and it had had only one elderly owner up until then, so it’s a low-time airplane. I’d be happy to send you copies of the paperwork she used to make her decision. Mike advised her on the purchase, so he knows a lot about it, too.”

“Thanks. I’d like to see the paperwork and perhaps have our consultant on the purchase go down to Virginia and see it.”

“Of course. If you like the airplane, you might consider hiring the crew, too. Arrington was very pleased with them.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Have you given any thought as to what you’ll do with the house and farm?”

“We’ll sell it, I think.”

“I’m not in the market for such a place, but I have a lot of very wealthy clients, so I’ll mention it here and there.”