Dirty Work (Stone Barrington 9)

“I don’t think you should believe that your release from police custody has made you immune,” he said.

“Immune to what?”

“To . . . further action.”

She glanced at the door, then leaned back into her seat and sipped her beer. “You said on the phone you knew something about me,” she said. “Exactly what?”

“It’s my understanding that, when you were younger, your parents were killed in an ambush that was meant for someone else, and that after that, you underwent some rather specialized training, then began assassinating various people, with an emphasis on those who were inadvertently responsible for your parents’ death.”

“My, you are well informed, aren’t you?”

“Moderately.”

“ ‘Inadvertently’? Is that what they told you?”

“Who?”

“Whoever told you this rubbish.”

“I think it’s pretty good information, though it may not entirely conform to your view of things.”

She laughed. “Yes, my view of things is somewhat different. I know for a fact that my mother was the target, and killing her husband and daughter, as well, didn’t faze them in the least.”

Stone said nothing.

“You see, there’s two sides to every story.”

“Perhaps so. But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re going to hunt you down and kill you,” Stone said.

She looked amused. “Oh? Well, that’d take some doing, wouldn’t it?”

“They have no legal recourse, so they’re going to use other means.”

“And how do you know this?”

“I hear things,” Stone said.

She reached into her handbag.

Stone sat up straight.

She came out with a hundred-dollar bill and shoved it across the table. “Put that in your pocket,” she said.

Stone put it in his pocket.

“Now you’re my lawyer, right? You’ve been paid for legal advice, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And this conversation is privileged. You can’t disclose it to anyone else.”

“That’s right.”

“Okay, Mr. Stone Barrington, what is your advice?”

“I’d advise you not to spend another night in New York City. I’d advise you not to leave by airline, train, or bus, but to leave by car, and, if you want to leave the country, do that by car, too, or on foot. I’d advise you not to come back for a long time.”

“Anything else?”