“Fine.” Stone hung up and called Mason’s number.
“Yes?”
“I’m on for lunch with Cabot at one o’clock.”
“I’ll send one of our taxis.”
“No, it’s at a place called the Waterside Inn, in Bray.”
“Oh, yes; I hope Cabot is paying; the Waterside is not in my budget.”
“It’s his turn. I’m meeting him there; I’ll need a car that passes for a rental, but nothing cheap, please, since Cabot is buying lunch.”
“The car will be outside the house at noon; do you know how to get to Bray?”
“Haven’t a clue.”
“I’ll send along a map.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m also going to wire you.”
“Oh, no you’re not; with Cabot’s background, he’ll know what to look for.”
“Not the way we do it, he won’t; we have something quite new. Someone will be there at half past eleven to equip you; if you don’t like the equipment, you don’t have to wear it, but I urge you to; if Cabot is going to explain himself, we’ll want it recorded.”
“I don’t want a tail of your people, either; he might spot it.”
“There’ll be a van tracking the car and listening to the wire, but it will be at least a mile away, so don’t worry.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Good-bye.” Mason hung up.
Dino, who had heard Stone’s half of the conversation, spoke up. “I’ll tail you.”
“No, no; Mason is going to have a van tracking me from a mile away. You take the morning off.”
“And do what?”
Stone tossed him the Times. “There’s a very nice exhibition of Royal evening gowns at the Victoria and Albert Museum.”
“Yeah, sure; where can I do some shopping? If I come home without something for Mary Ann, she’ll kill me in my sleep.”
“Try Harrod’s; it’s an easy walk from here.” Stone found a London map in the kitchen and showed Dino Harrod’s. “There’s a really good pub right here, for lunch,” he said, showing him the Grenadier, in Wilton Row. “King’s Road is down here, if you want to do some further shopping; Hyde Park is up here, if you feel like a stroll. It’s all very close together.”
“Okay,” Dino said. “It’s Harrod’s; anything else will have to wait until I see how my feet do. After walking a beat, I swore I’d never walk farther than to the can, if I could help it.”
“There are taxis everywhere.”
“Right. You got any English money? I didn’t have time before I left New York.”
Stone gave him a wad of notes. “Spend it in good health; it’s Hedger’s.”
“That’ll make it more fun,” Dino said.
At eleven-thirty sharp, the doorbell rang, and Stone opened the door to find Carpenter standing there, holding a briefcase. “Come in,” he said.