The Short Forever (Stone Barrington 8)

“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.