Cold Paradise (Stone Barrington 7)

Stone explained the stack of paper.

“And how did you get the guest list of a New York hotel?”

“You don’t want to know.”

Juanito came back with the phone for Stone.

“Hello.”

“It’s Dan Griggs. Paul Bartlett didn’t take any flight out this morning, and he didn’t charter any aircraft on the field, but he did turn in his rental car at Hertz, at the airport.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Stone said. “Why would he drive to the airport and turn in his car, then not fly out? How would he leave the airport without transportation?”

“I’ll check the local cab companies and see if a driver picked up anyone answering his description,” Griggs said.

“You might check if he rented a car from another company, too, and if so, what kind and what license number. Might be nice to get his driver’s license info from Hertz, too.”

“I got that. It lists a Minneapolis address.”

“Issued when?”

“Two years, three months ago.”

“Can you check with the Minnesota motor vehicle department and find out if it was a renewal or a new license, and if he turned in a license from another state?”

“Sure, that’s pretty easy.”

“Oh, and what’s his date of birth on the license?”

Griggs told him, and he repeated it to Liz.

“Eighteen months younger than Paul,” she said.

“Keep me posted,” Stone said to Griggs, and hung up.

Liz was still going through the hotel list.

“Anything at all?” Stone asked.

“Just Garland so far,” she said. “Pity the hotel doesn’t photograph its guests.”

“I’ll bet it won’t be long before they start that,” Stone said. “That’ll make it easier to track fugitives.”

“And errant husbands,” Liz said. “I wonder if there’s a Mrs. Bartlett.”

“He said she died last year.”

“Might be interesting to check with the Minneapolis Police Department and find out if that’s true and, if so, how she died,” Liz said.

“You know something, Mrs. Harding,” Stone said. “You’d make a good cop.” He picked up the phone and called Dan Griggs.

“It’s Stone. Bartlett said his wife died last year. Can you check with the Minneapolis PD and see if there was foul play suspected?”

“Sure can do that,” Griggs said. “Bartlett’s driver’s license was issued after a driving test, not swapped for another state’s.”

“Now that’s really interesting,” Stone said. “How many middle-aged men take driving tests?”

“Only those who learned to drive late in life, and that’s not likely—and those who haven’t driven for a long time or who’ve been out of the country long enough for their licenses to expire.”