Cold Paradise (Stone Barrington 7)

“All right,” James said and hung up.

“He’s playing games?” Dino asked.

“I don’t know what the hell he’s doing.”

“Manning’s afraid you’re going to set him up for an arrest.”

“A reasonable fear,” Stone said.

“Can you really get him off on the insurance fraud charge, or are you just blowing smoke up his ass?”

“I’ve already gotten him off,” Stone said. “But I’m not going to tell him that.”

“How did you get him off?”

“I negotiated a deal for Allison with the insurance company, whereby they agreed not to prosecute in order to get some of the money back.”

“And the deal includes Manning? Why?”

“I didn’t want to admit to them that Allison was still alive, so I wrote the agreement without reference to names. Now they can’t prosecute anybody.”

“That’s pretty slick, Stone.”

“I’m a pretty slick lawyer,” Stone replied.

“Yeah, sometimes,” Dino admitted.

They were back on the yacht, having a drink with Callie, when Stone’s phone buzzed again. “Hello?”

“It’s Frederick James.”

“What did you come up with?”

“I propose that you and I meet, in order for me to establish my credentials.”

“Okay, where?”

“Where are you?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m in New York, but I have to go to Miami on business later in the week. Is there someplace between New York and Miami we can meet? Preferably in an airport?”

“I’m on the west coast of Florida,” Stone said. “How about Palm Beach International? It’s a couple of hours’ drive for me.”

“Agreed. Now, what do you need from me?”

“In what state are you licensed to practice?”

“New York.”

“Okay. Bring a copy of your New York law license, your New York driver’s license and your United States passport. Also, I’ll need a photograph of you with Paul Manning, taken no earlier than today and no later than tomorrow, and I want a copy of the day’s New York Times prominently displayed in the photograph.”

“I can do all that, I think, although Paul doesn’t like to be photographed.”

“I can imagine. Then I’ll need a copy of Manning’s U.S. passport, with his current identity recorded therein, and I want that clearly visible in the photograph, too.”

“Whoa, whoa, he’s not going to go for that.”