Stone looked at the paper. It was from his Swiss banker.
Sir, it read, I take pleasu
re in reporting the receipt of the following funds into your account. Stone looked at the bottom of the form. The amount was one million dollars.
“Good God!” Stone said.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing; Lance kept his word.”
“Who?”
“Never mind.” Stone stood and thought about the ramifications of receiving this money. Should he return it? If so, to whom?
“You look puzzled,” Joan said.
Stone nodded. “I think you’d better get my accountant on the phone.”
“That doesn’t really mean what it says, does it?” she asked, nodding at the document in his hand.
“I’m afraid it does.”
She picked up the phone. “I’ll get your accountant,” she said.
“You know,” Stone said to her, “it’s amazing what can happen in a short forever.”
She stopped dialing. “What?”
“Never mind,” Stone said. He was trying to figure out how he was going to explain all this to his accountant.
He’d had worse problems.