Worst Fears Realized (Stone Barrington 5)

“Mr. Bergman, this is very serious. Don’t waste another second, and get this woman out of here,” he said, indicating the receptionist. Bergman did as he was asked.

Sarah came over, “Stone, what’s happening?”

“Possibility of a bomb outside,” he whispered. “A crew is on the way to deal with it, now let me get you out of here.” He started to move away from the front of the gallery, then, as an afterthought, he went back to the front window and drew the heavy wool curtains. “Let’s go,” he said to Sarah, taking her arm.

At that moment there was a huge noise, and the front-window curtains billowed as the plate glass behind them exploded inward.

33

S TONE WAS THROWN THROUGH THE AIR, taking Sarah with him, landing hard on the gallery’s marble floor. He lay, dazed, on top of her, and then he realized she was struggling to get out from under him. He rolled over. “Are you all right?” he asked, groggily.

Sarah said nothing, but scrambled up and began running toward the back of the gallery, screaming.

Stone got unsteadily to his feet as Dino arrived and slipped an arm around him. He looked back at the window: the window frame was empty, and fragments of broken glass were everywhere. The heavy wool curtains had disappeared, leaving only fragments clinging to the rod. Outside, where the van had once been, there was only a shallow crater in the asphalt. The cars on either side of the crater were on fire. The noise was incredible. Men and women were screaming inside the gallery and fighting to get out the rear door, as the approaching sirens got louder and louder.

Dino got out a handkerchief and held it to the back of Stone’s head. “You’re bleeding, pal; hold this against your head.”

“I’m okay, Dino; find Sarah for me, will you? And get her to my car; it’s the safest place right now.”

“Okay, but don’t go out front; there might be somebody out there to take a shot at you.”

Stone stood, holding the handkerchief against the back of his head, and surveyed the damage. There seemed to be surprisingly little. Many of the paintings were still on the walls, and only one or two seemed to be badly damaged. He looked back at the window and realized what he had not before: the window did not occupy the entire front of the building. Instead, there was a border of masonry around it a good three feet wide. The blast had been funneled through the window opening, but the masonry still stood.

Forgetting Dino’s advice, Stone walked out the front door, which had merely been blown open, its glass still intact. On the way, he picked up a piece of the broken window and looked at it. The edges were not sharp to the touch. This puzzled him.

Andy Anderson ran up to him. “Stone, are you all right?”

“I’m okay, I think,” Stone replied. “Did you see what happened?”

“After I called the bomb squad, we moved the car up to the end of the block, to be out of the way. We were about to go back and stop traffic when the bomb went off. The light was red, and that had stopped the Madison traffic, so no cars were in front of the gallery when it blew, just the ones parked there. Nobody on the street was hurt that we can find; what about inside?”

“Go around to the back entrance and check for injuries; direct the ambulances there when they arrive.”

“Right.”

“Where’s Kelly?”

“I don’t know; I lost him.”

Stone looked around the street. Some shop windows across Madison were broken, and some parked cars had shattered windows, but he saw little else in the way of damage. He turned and walked back into the gallery, which was now empty. He walked to the rear hallway and out the door, onto the street. Dino was standing with his arms around Sarah, who was sobbing; the scene was repeated up and down the block, but he didn’t see any bodies, or even anyone who was not standing up or leaning against a car. Dino saw him and waved him over.

He took Sarah and held her at arm’s length. “Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked.

She seemed to get control of herself. “I don’t think so,” she said.

“You’ve got some cuts on your legs,” Dino said. “Come on, we’re going to get you both to a hospital.”

Bob Berman ran over to them. “Anybody hurt? That was a big bang.”

“Not badly,” Dino said. “Get Stone and Sarah over to the emergency room at Lenox Hill Hospital.”

“Can we take anyone else?” Stone asked.

“I think you’re hurt worse than anybody else; you were closest to the blast, and Sarah was behind you,” Dino said. “Was it you who pulled the curtains?”

“Yeah, I think I did.”

“I think that had a damping effect and took a lot of the glass. You may have saved some lives, including your own. Come on, get in the car.”