Dark Harbor

by Stuart Woods

  Dino rang the bell, and the front door was opened by just such a servant, Pietro, a cadaverous sixty-year-old who had once had a fearsome reputation as an assassin. But that was back in the days when Eduardo was still taking an active part in the ruling of his Cosa Nostra family, which ran large parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan.

  Eduardo had since, over the past thirty years, made himself into an elder statesman of everything: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library and nearly every important charity in the city. His Mafia connections had been mostly forgotten by the very few surviving people who knew anything about them. But Dino knew Eduardo still had the power to deal with people in any way he saw fit.

  Pietro led Dino through the elegantly appointed house into the rear garden, where Eduardo sat at a table set for two. Eduardo rose and offered his hand, a good sign, Dino thought.

  “Dino, welcome,” the old man said. He carried his eighty-odd years lightly, looking trim, even athletic, and there was only a little gray in his hair. “Please sit down and have some lunch.”

  Dino sat “Beautiful day,” he said, because he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “Yes, one appreciates good weather as one grows older,” Eduardo noted.

  A waiter came and opened a bottle of Frascati, while another man set before them plates of bruschetta, little slices of bread fried in olive oil, then topped with chopped plum tomatoes, garlic and basil. Dino tried not to eat too greedily, but Eduardo’s younger sister was the best cook he had ever known, and he loved bruschetta.

  “I understand things didn’t go well yesterday,” Eduardo said.

  “That’s understating the case,” Dino replied.

  “You know that I disapproved of your marriage to Anna Maria,” the old man said. He refused to refer to her as Mary Ann, as she preferred to be called.

  “Yes, I knew that.”

  “I was, of course, upset that Anna Maria was pregnant, but my principal objection was that you were a policeman.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Dino said.

  “However, as the years have passed I have come to respect your personal integrity. You would never allow me to use my influence to improve your position in the police department, though I could easily have done so, and you would never accept any gift from me, insisting that everything be in Anna Maria’s name. I realize now that you are being divorced, that works to your disadvantage.”

  Dino shrugged. “All I want is shared custody of Benito,” he said.

  “You will have that,” Eduardo said. “I do not approve of divorce, being a good Catholic, but I understand that people can come to a place in their lives where they can no longer live together, and I see little reason to deny them remarriage at some point. I once put that directly to the Pope, who was unhappy with me for a while, as a result.”

  Dino thought that the Pope would have been at a disadvantage, arguing with Eduardo.

  “You are aware, are you not, that Anna Maria has worked very hard at investing the money that came to her when she was twenty-one?”

  “We never discussed that,” Dino said. “I told her I didn’t want to know.”

  “I understand your position, but I assure you that the funds she started with came from entirely legitimate sources, and that that can be documented to the satisfaction of the New York Police Department or even the Internal Revenue Service.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Dino said.

  “You have lived a long time in an unhappy marriage,” Eduardo said, “and the law entitles you to an equitable division of property.”

  “I don’t want her property,” Dino said, though the thought of existing on a lieutenant’s salary and benefits did not thrill him.

  “Anna Maria was able to do so well with her investments because you insisted on supporting her. That way, she could devote all her capital to making more.”

  Dino shrugged.

  “You are morally entitled to leave this marriage with more than you earn as a policeman,” Eduardo said, “so I have made certain arrangements.”

  Dino said nothing but started in on the veal that had been placed before him.

  “Anna Maria’s holdings now amount to about eleven million dollars, including the value of the apartment you shared, which was bought with earnings from her money. Tomorrow, a million dollars of her holdings will be placed in the trust that you set up at Benito’s birth and to which you would never allow me to contribute. This will be used as you have specified, for his education, and anything left over can be used to buy a home after he is twenty-five, though surely by that time he will have come into a considerable inheritance from me.”

  “That’s very generous of her,” Dino said. This was Eduardo’s move, of course, not Mary Ann’s, but it lifted a load from his mind.

  “Further, five million dollars of her funds go to you, as a complete and total settlement. I know you do not want any part of the apartment or any other wealth deriving from me.”

  “Thank you for understanding that, Eduardo,” Dino said. “And I don’t want her money.”

  “Five million of it is your money, Dino,” Eduardo said, “and it was placed in your checking account this morning.”

  Dino put down his fork and stared at Eduardo.

  “I can hear the gears turning in your mind, Dino,” the old man said. “You are trying to figure out how this money is ill-gotten gains, but I assure you none of it is. It is a reasonable and proper settlement of your divorce; it will stand up to any possible scrutiny by the department, the district attorney or the state and federal tax authorities, and I will not tolerate its return.”

  Dino had never heard Eduardo use the words “I will not tolerate,” and they stopped him in his tracks. “I am uncomfortable with this,” he said, when he had found his voice.

  “I know, but you will grow more comfortable with it as your life grows more comfortable, particularly when you are as old as I. You can now purchase a home of your own, where Benito can visit you regularly and have his own room. If you wish to invest the rest, I will be pleased to recommend someone who I can guarantee will not steal from you or charge unreasonable fees.”

  Dino stared at his father-in-law again.

  Eduardo held up a hand. “Please,” he said. “I ask this of you as a favor. Make an old man happy.”

  Dino sighed. “All right. And thank you, Eduardo.”

  Eduardo snapped his fingers and a man with a briefcase whom Dino had not noticed approached, appeared at his elbow. He opened the case and produced a sheaf of papers. “This,” Eduardo said, accepting them, “will be the settlement agreement between you and Anna Maria. It includes the financial settlement I have just outlined and a guarantee of joint custody. You will have Benito two weekends each month, two days each week and six weeks each summer, all to be mutually agreed on by you and Anna Maria. Anna Maria’s signature is already affixed and notarized. If you should ever feel that Anna Maria is not living up to the agreement’s provisions, you need not go to a lawyer or judge, simply telephone me. Please read it.”

  Dino took a pen from his pocket and signed both copies of the document without reading it. The man in the suit notarized both, handed one to Dino and put the other into his briefcase, then disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

  The two men finished their lunch at their leisure and spoke of whatever came into their minds. It was the only time in the years Dino had known Eduardo that he had ever felt comfortable in his presence.

  Chapter 14

  STONE SPENT THE NEXT DAY working on his cousin’s estate, distributing funds to those named in the will, paying the bills that had come in and dealing with the life insurance company on the two policies that Dick had taken out.

  Around noon, the doorbell rang, and two packages were delivered. One bore the return address of the funeral directors who had handled the cremation and obviously contained the family’s ashes; the other was from Sergeant Young. Stone opened that package.

 
Inside were a pair of khaki trousers and a plastic bag containing a number of items. A letter from the sergeant said that these were Dick’s clothes and the contents of his pockets, and that Dick’s pistol and silencer were being retained as evidence, pending resolution of his case.

  Stone examined the trousers. They were ordinary, from L.L. Bean, and a belt was among the effects. He went through the other effects and found a steel Rolex Submariner wristwatch and bracelet, a wallet, ninety-four dollars in cash held by a money clip, a clump of keys on a ring, a handkerchief, a pocket comb, a silver Mont Blanc pen, a mint Chapstick and a pocket-sized packet of Kleenex.

  Stone’s first interest lay in the fact that Dick’s clothes did not include shoes, shirt or underwear, just the trousers. He imagined Dick being wakened by a noise, slipping on the trousers and coming downstairs, where his killer greeted him with his own gun. He could not think of any other reason why his cousin would be wandering around the house in the middle of the night wearing only trousers. It was still cool at night, and the furnace in the house was programmed not to come on after midnight.

  The wallet was small, since Dick had carried his cash in a money clip. He emptied it of its contents, one compartment at a time, and replaced the items in the same order after he had inspected them. There were a Maine driver’s license, American Express and Visa cards, a bank ATM card on Dick’s Camden bank, a membership card from a London club, a pilot’s license for single-engine land and multi-engine land with instrument ratings for both and a third-class FAA medical certificate with the date of Dick’s last examination, two days before his death, from a doctor in Camden. Stone had not known that Dick was a pilot. The wallet also contained business cards, identifying Dick as the agricultural attache at London’s American embassy, obviously a cover job. The last item was a Maine license to carry concealed firearms.

  Stone returned the items to their bag and put them in a cupboard in the study, then he looked up Caleb Stone’s number in the local phone book and called him. Caleb answered.

  “It’s Stone,” he said.

  “Hi.”

  “I’ve received the ashes from the funeral directors, and you said you wanted to scatter them in the harbor.”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “The three were intermingled, according to Dick’s instructions. Would you like me to bring them over?”

  “I’ll pick them up,” Caleb said. “Is now a good time?”

  “Yes, come ahead.” The two men hung up.

  Five minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Stone ushered Caleb inside and handed him the box.

  “I haven’t opened them,” he said. “I don’t know what sort of container they’re in.”

  “I don’t suppose it matters,” Caleb said, tucking the box under his arm.

  Stone struggled for something else to say. “I saw your boys over at the yacht club yesterday,” he said finally. “They’re the image of you at that age.”

  “Yes, they are,” Caleb said. “I’m very proud of them. They’re doing well at Yale, and they’re the stars of the wrestling team, as I was.”

  Stone nodded.

  Caleb looked uncomfortable. “Would you mind if we borrowed the picnic boat to scatter the ashes? All we’ve got is a Boston Whaler, and it doesn’t seem appropriate to the occasion.”

  “Please do,” Stone replied. “I suppose the keys are in it, since the yard delivered it yesterday.”

  “Thank you,” Caleb said. “I’ll have the boys bring it back when we’re done.” He stood still for another moment, then said, “Well, I suppose I'd better go. Thank you for taking care of the funeral directors. Will you send me a bill?”

  The estate paid for it,“ Stone said. ”I’ve already sent them a check. I’ve dealt with the insurance company, and you should have a check from them within a week.“

  “Thank you for that, too,” Caleb said and headed for the door.

  Stone walked him to the door, shook his hand and closed it after him. Stone had still not become accustomed to Caleb’s newfound civility and quiet nature.

  The phone rang, and Stone answered it in the study, at Dick’s desk.

  “It’s Dino.”

  “How are you? How did the meeting with Mary Ann and the lawyers go?”

  “Lousy, but the one with Eduardo went better.”

  “Why with Eduardo?”

  “It was at his invitation.” Dino told him what had happened.

  “That’s very good news, Dino.”

  “Yeah, now I’m not stuck with just a salary and a pension.”

  “What are you going to do with it?”

  “I’m going to buy an apartment and invest the rest with a guy Eduardo recommended. So I’ll be out of your house as soon as I can find the right place.”

  “Take your time.”

  “How’s it going up there?”

  “It’s all very pleasant. I played golf yesterday with an old cohort of Dick’s and had lunch at the yacht club, but I have no leads on the murders.”

  “Am I going to have to come up there and solve this for you?”

  “Any help would be appreciated.”

  “I’m going to be tied up here for a few days, then maybe I’ll do that.”

  “You’d be welcome. How’s Elaine?”

  “As ever. What did you expect?”

  “As ever.”

  “I gotta run; I’ve got an appointment with a real estate agent.”

  “Take care.” Stone hung up. It was past his lunchtime, and he went into the kitchen and found Mabel fixing him a shrimp salad.

  “Oh,” she said, “I thought of something. About that night.”

  “What did you think of?” Stone asked.

  “It was the vacuum cleaner.”

  “What about the vacuum cleaner?”

  “It was in Mr. Dick’s study, over by the door to the terrace.”

  “Where would it ordinarily be?” he asked.

  She pointed to a door across the kitchen. “In there, in the broom closet.”

  “Do you think Dick used it?”

  She shook her head. “Mr. Dick never lifted a finger to clean anything; I don’t think he would know how to operate a vacuum cleaner.”

  “Did you mention this to the police?”

  “Yes, and they put some powder on the handle, but they didn’t seem to find any fingerprints. When they were through with it, I cleaned the powder off and put it back in the broom closet.” She set his plate on the kitchen table.

  Stone sat down to eat. So whoever had killed Dick and his family had vacuumed as he left the house through the terrace door. Very neat fellow. Vary smart, too. “Mabel, have you changed the bag in the vacuum since that night?”

  “There was no bag in it,” she said. “I put a new one in.”

  Very smart fellow, indeed, Stone thought.

  Chapter 15

  THE NEXT DAY STONE was sitting at Dick’s desk, trying to clean up the last details of the estate before sending a check to the foundation, when the phone rang. His hand was on the receiver before he realized that none of the buttons was lit and that the sound of the phone was very muffled. He put his ear to the door of Dick’s secret office, and the bell became louder.

  Stone got out his keys, opened the door and picked up the phone. “Yes?” he said.

  There was a silence on the other end, then a man’s voice: “Stone?”

  “Yes, speaking.”

  “This is warning,” the man said. His voice was heavily accented.

  “Yes?”

  “Kirov.”

  “What?”

  “You understand me?”

  “I understood Kirov.”

  “Then you know.”

  “Know what?”

  The man was silent for another long moment. “Is Stone?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then you know.” He hung up.

  Then it dawned on Stone that the man had thought he was talking to Dick. “I’m a little slow on the uptake,” he sa
id aloud, then hung up the phone. He locked up the office, went back to the desk and called Lance’s cell phone.

  “Yes?”

  “It’s Stone.”

  “Hello”

  “Dick just got a call in his other office.”