“Yep, the boat is in the best shape of its life.”
“You sticking around for a while?” Stone asked.
“Maybe. I’ve done Virginia, and Ft. Lauderdale seemed too crowded for me, though if I stay longer that would be the best place to sell the boat.” He smiled at Irene. “And nobody in either place cooks like Irene.” He slapped his belly. “I’ve been putting on weight.”
“I’m going to put you on a diet,” Irene said.
Stone felt his cell phone vibrate and stood up. “Excuse me; phone call.” He walked toward the bar. “Hello?”
“It’s Lance.”
“Hi, what’s up?”
“I tried to call Ginny, but she didn’t answer on either the satphone or her cell phone; is she all right?”
“Yes, of course; we’re at dinner at the inn with Irene Foster and her friend Harry. Why wouldn’t she be okay?”
“I’ve been unable to locate Bill Pepper or his wife, and I’m worried. I just wanted to be sure Ginny was all right.”
“Has this ever happened before?”
“Standard operating procedure is for Pepper to always be reachable within an hour of the initial contact.”
“I see.”
“I’d like you and Holly to go to his house, get inside and call me back.”
“I don’t think we can do that for a couple of hours without causing suspicion. Remember, we’re vacationers here; we can’t just make an excuse and walk away from a dinner party.”
“All right, when you’re rid of Irene and her friend, go there. Got a pencil?”
Stone took out a jotting pad and his pen. “Shoot.” He wrote down the address and the burglar alarm code. “Got it.”
“There’s a note in Pepper’s file: a key is taped to the underside of the mailbox. When you leave, reset the alarm with the same code and replace the key, then have Holly call me at home on the satphone.” He gave Stone the number.
“All right, we’ll be in touch.”
“Don’t take Dino and Genevieve with you; tell them that if you’re not back at the inn in two hours, to call me.”
“Thanks, Lance, Ginny will call you later.” Stone closed his phone and went back to the table. “Sorry about that; my secretary is working late and needed some client information for billing. She can’t always read my handwriting.”
Holly wasn’t buying that, but Stone wasn’t sending any signals, either. She tried to relax and get back to pumping Irene. “What’s new on Black Mountain?” she asked.
“Not much.”
“Do you ever see your neighbors up there?”
“Not often. The Pembertons and the Weatherbys still haven’t turned up, and we hardly ever spot Sir Winston outside of his car. I think it’s more neighborly farther down the mountain, where the houses are thicker on the ground. I got a letter from someone wanting to start a neighborhood association, but I can’t imagine what such a group would do. After all, we have the prime minister for a neighbor, and if there were a pothole, or something like that, his people would be all over it.”
“Have you ever even seen the Pembertons or the Weatherbys?” Holly asked.
“Never laid eyes on them.”
Harry spoke up. “Irene says you’re leaving on Saturday.”
“Yep,” Holly said. “I’ve got flying lessons scheduled for next week, and Stone claims he has to work, too.”
“Nobody has ever actually caught Stone working,” Dino said.