“So you hired Teddy to kill Croft and duBois?”
“Certainly not; didn’t you hear what I just said? He volunteered, and I did not discourage him. Then Pemberton abruptly disappeared and Harold Pitts arrived.”
“Who is in this with you?”
“There is a group of us on the island, mostly members of Parliament, as I am, who thought that with Croft and duBois out of the way, we could go to Winston and bully him into backing off. After all, he had already accumulated enough to keep him in luxury for the rest of his life.”
“From what I know of Sutherland,” Stone said, “I don’t think he could have been bullied.”
“Neither do I, and I was prepared to go further if he resisted us. Then, early this morning, Teddy killed duBois, and I believe that he suddenly found himself with an opportunity to kill Winston, and he did that, too. I don’t think it was planned.”
“How long have you known that Pemberton/Pitts was Teddy?”
“I suspected it from what I had read in the international press about Teddy, but I didn’t press him on it, until you arrived and told me what you were doing. Immediately after that, after he had taken on the Harold identity, I asked him, straight out, if he was Teddy Fay, and he admitted it. Irene has always known, of course.”
“Of course.”
“Holly,” Thomas said, “you’re very quiet back there.”
“I’m just taking all this in, Thomas, and I’m wondering what your next move is.”
“Let me ask you a question: do you believe that you and Stone can take Teddy alive, get him past the police and transport him back to the United States in your airplane this morning?”
Holly took a deep breath. “After reflection, no.”
“Then you’re going to Black Mountain to kill him.”
“I’m not,” Stone said.
“I am,” Holly said. “And so are you, aren’t you, Thomas? You and your people can’t risk having Teddy taken by the police, just as my people can’t.”
“I’m afraid you’re right,” Thomas said.
“Are you in touch with Teddy?” she asked.
“He has a cell phone.”
“Call him and tell him that I want to talk to him, just talk. Tell him I have an offer from the director that he should consider.”
“Do you have an offer from the director?” Stone asked.
“No.”
Thomas pulled the car to the side of the road, took out his cell phone and pressed a button.
“Yes?” Teddy said.
“It’s Thomas. I’m in the car with the woman you know as Ginny Heller; her real name is Holly Barker, and she’s with the Agency.”
“I’ve known that for several days,” Teddy said. “It took some time for me to place the face, because she looks different from the last time I saw her, but I finally remembered.”
“Holly has an offer from the director to present to you,” Thomas said.
“Do you really believe that?” Teddy asked.
“Yes, I do, and I think you should hear her out. This could be the best possible solution.”
“Does it involve going back to the States and being tried?”