Loitering With Intent (Stone Barrington 16)

STON E A N D D IN O went back to the Marquesa, and Stone got into a shower, thinking about the events of that morning. When he came out onto the porch, Dino was at the pool with a vividly colored drink in his hand, chatting with two young women. Stone was about to join him when his cell phone buzzed.

“Hello?”

“It’s Eggers.”

“Good morning. How’s it going up there? And by ‘up there’ I mean Connecticut.”

“Well, let’s see: Eli has filed a lawsuit against Warren Keating, asking that he be barred from any participation in the sale of the company and that the disposition of the proceeds be put in Eli’s hands. That ought to keep Warren busy for a while, I guess. What’s going on down there?”

“Warren has been busier than you think. The day before yesterday he apparently called a Miami P.I. of my acquaintance and inquired about having some slightly illegal work done.”

“What kind of slightly illegal work?”

“My acquaintance hung up on him before he could spit it all out, 15 0

L o i t e r i n g w i t h I n t e n t

but the trend of the conversation seemed toward the hiring of somebody to kill his son.”

“C’mon, Warren’s not that stupid.”

“No? He’s not only stupid but fast-acting. Last night Evan Keating was shot while sitting in his boat, anchored off Key West.”

Eggers made an odd noise.

“That was pretty much my reaction, too.”

“Is he dead?”

“No, just shot through a shoulder. He’s in the local hospital under police guard, in case the hit guy tries again. He should be out tomorrow, if his fever goes away.”

“I’m having a pretty hard time getting my mind around this,”

Eggers said. “I can’t believe Warren is that evil.”

“You can’t? The man is under suspicion for having murdered his brother by poisoning, he locked up his healthy father in a nursing home on phony grounds, and he’s tried to cheat both his father and his son out of their rightful share of the proceeds of the business sale. Isn’t that evil enough for you?”

“Okay, I’ll admit it. I misjudged the man. Even when I was prying Eli out of that home, I never thought Warren had poisoned his brother, but now I’ve reconsidered. I think I should go to the police.”

“I understand the Connecticut State Police are already investigating him, and I’m sure they’ll get around to you eventually. Just sit tight.”

“Are you coming back to New York soon?”

“No, not for a few days. Evan has hired me.”

“For what?”

“He says for a negotiation, but I have no idea what that means. I intend to ask him again as soon as he’s out of the hospital.”

“Well, I guess we’re enough legally clear of Warren for that to be all right.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Stone said.

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S t u a r t W o o d s

“Can you find out how the investigation of Warren is going?”