Cold Paradise (Stone Barrington 7)

“I’m going to let my people finish here,” Griggs said. “I’m going to the hospital to see how Lundquist is doing. I’ve got to call his department and his family, if he has one.”

“Let’s talk in the morning, then,” Stone said.

“By the way,” Griggs said, “I talked to the Minneapolis Police Department earlier this evening. The guy who rigged Bartlett’s car says the name he knew Bartlett by was Douglas Barnacle. They shared a cell in the Chicago federal detention center when they were both awaiting trial. He says Barnacle was a stockbroker in Chicago who got mixed up in a mob-backed stock scam and turned state’s evidence. That was a little over five years ago. I’m running a check on the Barnacle name now, and I’ll let you know what I turn up.”

“Thanks,” Stone said. “I want to hear about it.” They shook hands and parted.

In the car on the way home Stone and Dino were both quiet for a while.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Dino asked.

“Yes. If Barnacle was in jail in Chicago five years ago, he couldn’t be Paul Manning.”

“Right.”

They drove the rest of the way to the Shames house in silence.

35

ONE BY ONE, THAD SHAMES’S GUESTS STRAGGLED IN for breakfast on the afterdeck at midmorning. Stone thought everybody looked tired, maybe a little shell-shocked. Not much was said, and he didn’t feel ready to tell Thad and Liz what little he knew about Bartlett’s background. He would wait for more information.

Stone was finishing his coffee when Juanito arrived with a fax of a dozen or so pages. Stone flipped through them, with Dino looking over his shoulder, occasionally pointing out something.

“What is that?” Thad finally asked.

“It’s a copy of the criminal record of Paul Bartlett, aka Douglas Barnacle, William Wilfred, Edgar Chase and Terence Keane.”

“He was all those people?” Liz asked.

“Those and maybe more. I’ll summarize for you: He was born Robert Trent Smith, in Providence, Rhode Island, where he attended the public schools and the Rhode Island School of Design, which, incidentally, is very highly thought of. He was kicked out of school a month before graduation for running some kind of swindle that bilked nearly a hundred thousand dollars out of other students and faculty. After that, he chalked up half a dozen arrests for various confidence games. He was, apparently, a real bunco artist, and not averse to the use of violence, when he was caught. Five years ago, he got involved in a mob-backed boiler-room operation, selling worthless stocks at high prices. He ended up in jail and traded his testimony against his cohorts for his freedom and the federal witness protection program. While he was there, he shared a cell with a car thief and insurance scam artist. After that, he apparently left the program and took up a new identity as Paul Bartlett, in Minneapolis, where he eventually married a wealthy widow. Then he got his former cell mate to tamper with the seat belt on his car, and he wrecked it, killing her, but only after she changed her will in his favor.”

“Then he’s not Paul Manning?” Thad asked.

“No. Five years ago, Paul Manning and his wife were sailing in Europe, right, Liz?”

“That’s right.”

“And Bartlett was in jail at the time.”

“So Bartlett was just a waste of your time?” Callie asked.

“Not entirely,” Stone said. “At least you and I managed to get him caught for murdering his wife.”

Dino spoke up. “And I managed to save the State of Minnesota the cost of a trial.”

“I don’t want you to feel you’ve wasted my time, Stone,” Thad said. “You were perfectly right to follow that lead, and I’m glad that it came to some good.”

“But now we’re right back where we started,” Stone said. “Liz, let’s talk about this sighting of Paul Manning in Easthampton.”

“All right,” she said.

“Tell me exactly the circumstances under which you saw him.”

“I was in a shop on Main Street, pointing to something in the window for the saleslady to get for me, and I saw him outside the window.”

“Did you see his face?”

“Not entirely, just partly. I caught a glimpse of his nose, which was straight, and that threw me off for a moment. Then, as he was walking away, he did this thing with his shoulders that he used to do.” She demonstrated with a s