Lucid Intervals (Stone Barrington 18)

“He did. The documents are signed and in the safe in his office. I’ll present them to the board in a few days, but as of right now, I’m CEO, and it will stay that way.”

“What about you?” Stone asked. “Do you have a succession plan?”

Freeman chuckled. “So soon?”

“As I said, I don’t think we’re out of this yet.”

“There are a couple of younger men, one in London, the other in Johannesburg, who’ll be competing for the COO slot.”

“How long have you been with Strategic Services?” Stone asked.

“Just passed the ten-year mark,” Freeman replied.

“How did you happen to come aboard?”

“Jim hired me to work out of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I had spent some time out there, and I had the language.”

A little bell went off in Stone’s brain, and he remembered the last thing Jim Hackett had said to him before he was shot. “Except for that business about the Somersville churchyard,” Hackett had said, “I never lied to you about anything.”

Stone looked over his shoulder. The moonlight that was coming through a window illuminated Felicity, fast asleep in her comfortable seat, a cashmere blanket over her. He took a deep breath. “I remember now,” he said. “Jim told me about how Lord Wight recommended a man to him, someone with experience in North Africa and the Middle East.”

“Yes, that’s how I found my way to Jim,” Freeman said.

Stone turned and looked at Freeman. “And he told me the man’s name.” He saw Freeman wince. “Stanley Whitestone, I presume.”

Freeman’s shoulders sagged. “Can Felicity hear us on the intercom?” he asked.

“No, she’s not wearing a headset,” Stone replied, “and she’s asleep.”

Freeman sighed. “I thought that, with Jim’s death, I’d be safe. I should have known that someone would figure it out. I’m sorry it was you, Stone.”

“So you arranged Jim’s death?”

Freeman turned to face him. “I most certainly did not! My, God, I loved the man!”

Stone shrugged. “I had to ask.”

“Does Felicity believe that Jim was Whitestone?”

“Pretty much,” Stone said.

“Are you under some ethical obligation to tell her the truth?”

“I’m no longer employed by her service,” Stone said. “She paid me off and fired me the day before yesterday.”

“I think it might be best for everyone if she continued to believe what she believes,” Freeman said.

Stone thought about that for a few minutes as they moved through the night at 400 miles an hour. Finally, he spoke. “I concur,” he said.

They flew along f

or another ten minutes without talking. Stone wondered if Freeman had fallen asleep, but then he stirred.

“Since we don’t know what’s waiting for us in New York,” Freeman said, “I think we have to get Felicity back to London, and quietly.”

Stone thought about it. “Once again, I concur. How are we going to get her home quietly?”

“Leave that to me,” Freeman said. “I think it would be best if you accompanied her.”