“Then let’s do it.”
They were on the M4 motorway, driving fast.
“Why aren’t we looking for Lance instead?” Dino asked.
“Two reasons: First, Lance is a lot smarter than Morgan, I think, and he’s going to be a lot harder to find; second, Morgan has my money.”
“And that’s the important one, huh?”
“You bet your ass; I don’t give a damn about the device, whatever it is, but Carpenter and her people don’t give a damn about my money, either.”
Following a small map in the magazine ad, they found the house.
“Jesus Christ,” Dino said, as they drove up the drive and came to the place. “I didn’t expect it to be so big.”
“Neither did I,” Stone said, getting out of the car. He took the photograph of Morgan from his pocket and showed it to Dino. “This is our guy.” Morgan was late fifties, heavyset, balding, with graying hair and a military mustache.
“I’ll bet he shaved before he left the house,” Dino said.
They walked into the building, into an enormous living room, ornately decorated.
“Wow,” Dino said under his breath. “This Astor guy knew how to live, didn’t he?”
They approached the reception desk. “Show them your badge,” Stone whispered.
“May I help you, gentlemen?” the young woman behind the desk asked.
Dino flashed his badge. “We’re looking for a man,” he said.
Stone handed her the photograph. “His name is Morgan, although he may be using an alias. It’s possible he’s shaved his mustache, too.”
“Oh, yes,” she said. “Sir William Mallory, and no mustache; he booked in a week or so ago, sent a cash deposit, checked in half an hour ago.”
“Where can we find him?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know,” the young woman said.
“What’s his room number?”
“He didn’t check all the way in,” she replied.
“Pardon?”
“He came to the desk; a porter brought his luggage; he registered, then he left. He seemed very nervous; he was sweating, I remember.”
“Did he show you any kind of identification?”
“Yes; he didn’t want to use a credit card, insisted on paying cash in advance, so I asked him for identification. He showed me a British passport.”
“Did he say anything?”
“He said he’d forgotten something at his London house; he’d have to go back for it.”
“How was he dressed?”
“A raincoat and a trilby hat, which I thought was odd, since the weather is so nice at the moment.”
“How much luggage did he have?”