Page 87 of Near Miss

He had suggested the same to Carly.

“Why should I worry? I didn’t do anything,” she said.

“You did help plan his execution.”

“They don’t know that, do they?”

“Probably not, but look at it this way. You are a known associate of mine, and I am someone Gromyko very much wanted dead. If they can’t get to me, they may try to get to my friends. Have you forgotten they already kidnapped you once?”

“That’s one more thing I’ll never forget.”

“I thought not,” Stone said. “If you stay here, you are under the protection of Mike Freeman’s people, the best in the business.”

“I suddenly have the desire to work from home today.”

“I thought you might.”

Stone had just finished a mid-afternoon video conference when Dino called.

“Everyone still breathing over there?”

“Last I checked.”

“That’s good to hear. Dinner?”

“Always.”

“Clarke’s or Patroon?”

“Here, I think. No sense in tempting fate.”

“Works for me. What time should we be there?”

“Sixty-thirty for drinks?”

“See you then.”

Stone handed drinks to Dino and Viv as soon as they walked in, and then refreshed the one Carly had been drinking.

“Did you see the news?” Dino asked.

“That depends on what news you mean,” Stone said.

“About Alexei Gromyko.”

“If you’re about to tell me he’s dead, then yes. I heard something about that.”

“I’m sure you did. I was talking about his funeral.”

“That I hadn’t heard. What about it?”

“It’s tomorrow.”

“That’s fast,” Carly said.

“It is,” Stone said. “I guess there’s no question about the cause of death.”

“As the coroner said to me,” Dino said, “ ‘the means of Mr. Gromyko’s demise is self-evident.’ ”

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