“Another Allison Manning,” Thomas repeated, chuckling to himself.
“Thomas, please do whatever you can to keep that woman from ever hearing the name of Sir Winston Sutherland,” Stone said.
Thomas laughed aloud. “Right!”
Chapter
26
Stone marched over to the marina, jumped aboard Expansive, and went below. The saloon was empty. He went aft to the owner’s cabin, and found Allison sound asleep. “Wake up,” he said, patting her on the shoulder.
Allison opened her eyes slowly. “Oh, hello,” she said, reaching for him.
Stone took her hands in his. “Not now, Allison; we have to talk.”
“Talk? What about?”
“Come into the saloon.” He handed her a robe and went ahead of her.
She came in, tossing her hair and rubbing her eyes. “What is going on?” she asked.
“Tell me about Paul’s first marriage,” he said.
“What?”
“Paul was married before he married you; tell me everything he told you about that.”
She took a bottle of mineral water from the fridge, uncapped it, took a long swallow, and settled onto the sofa beside him. “He was married, that’s all. It didn’t work out.”
“When did he get married?”
“When he was a lot younger, in the early eighties, I think.”
“How long was he married?”
“Three or four years. What’s this all about?”
“Do you know exactly when he was divorced?”
“No, not exactly.”
“Have you ever seen a copy of his divorce decree?”
“No.”
“Not even when you went to get your marriage license?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Normally, if you’ve been married before, you have to produce a divorce decree in order to get a license. Where were you married?”
“In New York, at the courthouse, by a judge.”
“You went with Paul to get the license?”
“Yes, but I don’t remember anything about a divorce decree.”
“Swell.”