Page 131 of Stuart Woods' Smolder

“Not yet, but my friend’s convinced one of them is the person Simon had talked to on the phone.”

“Two people here and two people missing from the crime scene in Del Mar,” Monica said.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Stone said.

“Does anyone recognize them?” Billy asked.

“I don’t.”

Monica studied the picture a few seconds longer, then shook her head. “Sorry, no.”

“Apparently there were two other people present this morning, beside those two and Duchamp. It’s possible they’re the buyers.” Billy flipped through his photos until he came to the best one of the men from the BMW, then showed it to the others.

“I’ve never seen them,” Monica said.

Stone gestured to the phone. “May I?”

Billy handed it to him.

Stone pinched the image to magnify the men’s faces. “I’ll be damned.”

“You know them?” Monica asked.

“Not this one.” Stone pointed at the younger man, then moved his finger to the older one. “But him I do.”

“Who is he?”

“Winston Petry.”

“That name sounds familiar,” Dino said.

“It should. He was the defendant in the lawsuit that Herb won for my client.”

“Wait, now that rings a bell. Was he the guy that confronted you in front of the Seagram’s building?”

“The very same.”

“Let me see that.”

Stone passed Dino the phone.

Dino checked out the picture. “He looks like an asshole.”

“He is,” Stone said.

“Is he an art collector?” Monica asked.

Stone shrugged. “I have no personal knowledge of it, but if he is, my guess would be that his tastes run more towardDogs Playing Pokerthan my mother’s work.”

“Then why was he there?”

“Revenge would be my guess.”

“For losing a lawsuit?”

“A thirty-two-million-dollar lawsuit.”

“Oof.”

---