Dino held a finger to his lips. He found a switch and the bed rose until Stone was in a sitting position. Dino pointed to the curtain and cupped a hand behind his ear.
Stone tried to focus. He could hear a woman’s voice from behind the curtain.
“Don’t you die on me, goddammit,” she was saying.
“Don’t you leave me in this mess. We’re going to get out of this together.”
Stone recognized the voice, and he looked at Thad, whose face was drawn and whiter than usual.
“I’m going to need some time to heal,” Paul Manning’s voice rumbled, surprisingly strong.
“They’re taking you to surgery in a minute,” Allison Manning said. “But I’ve got to talk to you first. Thad told me they know about Winston.”
“Do they know about you, or just me?” Manning asked.
“I don’t know, but I can get Thad to tell me. Don’t worry, I can deal with Thad. He’ll believe whatever I tell him.”
Stone looked at Thad. He looks worse than I do, he thought.
“The money is already in the Caymans,” Manning said. “You know the account number. Wait until I’ve recovered; but before they move me to some jail ward, find a way to get me out of here. Charter a plane and bring me a gun.”
“All right,” Allison said. “I hear a gurney. They’re coming for you.”
“Better get out of here and back to Shames.”
“I love you,” she said.
Thad stepped over to the curtain and drew it back. Allison spun around and looked at her husband and the other two men. It took her only a moment to recover. “Thad! Thank God you’re here!”
“Hello, Liz,” he said. “Or, perhaps I should say, Allison.”
“Did you hear all that?” she asked. “Paul is crazy, you know. I was trying to find out what he did with your two million dollars.”
Dino left the cubicle.
“Were you?” Thad asked. “Well, I guess you found out, didn’t you? It’s in the Cayman Islands, and you know the account number.”
“Thad …”
Thad held up a hand. “Don’t. You’ll just embarrass us both.”
Dino returned with Dan Griggs and the Houston detective, Fritz Parker.
“Mrs., ah, Shames, I guess it is,” Griggs said. “You’re going to have to come with me. This detective has some questions he’d like to ask you, and I have a few, myself.”
Allison looked at Thad. “You’ve got to help me,” she said.
“I don’t see how I can,” Thad replied. Then he turned and walked away.
“Stone,” she said, “you’ve got to represent me. I need your help.”
“You don’t need me, Allison,” Stone said. “You can afford the very best. Paul probably has a phone number in his pocket.”
“Please, please,” she begged.
“Goodbye, Allison,” Stone said. “I expect I’ll see you in court.”
They led her away, then Griggs came back. “We took a nine-millimeter away from Manning,” he said, “but it looks like the security guard was shot with a smaller caliber. You have any thoughts on that?”