Shoot First

by Stuart Woods

  “Spectacular views,” Stone replied.

  “Who lives upstairs?” Beria asked.

  “A woman of my acquaintance,” Stone replied.

  “And her husband?” Beria asked slyly.

  “I’m afraid so. Fortunately, he’s out of town.”

  Beria gave a short laugh, and the elevator stopped. The door slid open, and the two men got off. “Be careful,” Beria said.

  “Don’t worry,” Stone said, following them out of the elevator, but more slowly, hoping to put more distance between them.

  The two went through the outside door and turned right, toward Park Avenue. Stone turned left, got out his phone and called Fred, who was waiting on Park.

  “Yessir?” Fred said.

  “Meet me on the corner of Fifty-ninth and Lex.”

  “Yessir.”

  Stone put away the phone and continued walking. As he did, a black S-Class Mercedes drove past him, and Beria waved from the rear seat. As Stone approached Lexington Avenue, the light changed and the Mercedes stopped. The rear window slid down, and Beria said, “Can I give you a lift somewhere?”

  “Thank you, but my car is just around the corner,” Stone replied with a little smile. He turned left, just as Fred drew up. The light changed, the Mercedes turned right and drove down Lex. Stone got into the Bentley. “Fred,” Stone said, “follow the Mercedes, but keep well back.”

  “Which Mercedes, sir?”

  “The black S-Class.”

  “Which black S-Class?” Fred asked.

  Stone looked ahead of them and saw two Black Mercedeses driving a block down Lex ahead of them.

  “Shit,” Stone muttered.

  “Let me know when you decide,” Fred said

  “Do you know which one entered Lex from the direction I came?”

  “I’m not sure,” Fred replied.

  “Be sure to keep up with the changing lights,” Stone said. “We don’t want to get stuck. If we get a red light, run it.”

  “As you wish, sir.”

  As Stone watched, the Mercedes in the left lane turned left on East Forty-ninth Street, and the other continued straight ahead. “Follow the one that turned,” Stone said, taking a flier.

  “Yessir.”

  The Mercedes continued east, stopping for a couple of lights, then, as it approached First Avenue, it pulled over and stopped.

  “Stop,” Stone said.

  Fred pulled over. “The car has diplomatic plates,” he said.

  From half a block back, Stone watched as Beria and the gorilla got out of the Mercedes and went up the front stairs into a building. The Mercedes drove away.

  “Continue,” Stone said, “but I want to see what that building is, so go very slowly.”

  As they passed the building Stone saw two brass plaques, one on each side of the large doors. The one on the left was unintelligible to him, since it was in the Cyrillic alphabet; the other, in English, read: PERMANENT MISSION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION TO THE UNITED NATIONS.

  “Okay,” Stone said, “home.” He waited until he was at his desk before he called Dino.

  “Bacchetti.”

  “It’s Stone.”

  “I figured.”

  “How did you figure?”

  “I don’t know. I get a creepy feeling sometimes when the phone rings, which means it’s you.”

  “I want to report a double murder.”

  “Then call the police,” Dino said.

  “Has the mayor fired you?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Then you are the police.”

  “Yeah, but all I’m going to do is call Homicide and tell them to get on it, so why don’t you just call nine-one-one?”

  “Because I don’t want to have to explain why I was where the murders took place.”

  “You’re going to have to explain that to me,” Dino pointed out.

  “I have no problem with that. You’re taking the call, then?”

  “Yeah, okay, let me get a pencil.”

  Stone heard drawers opening and closing, then Dino came back on the line.

  “Okay, go.”

  Stone gave him the address and floor number of the building.

  “Okay, who got offed?”

  “A man named Gino Bellini and his wife, Veronica.”

  “The guy who hired Dirty Joe?”

  “That’s the one,” Stone replied. “Did I tell you that Dirty Joe and his girl are dead? They were shot while tracking us in Maine.”

  “Yeah, you told me. That’s Maine’s problem,” Dino replied. “Who killed the Bellinis?”

  “A man named Stanislav Beria and an unsub.”

  “I know the name,” Dino said. “Beria is with the Russian UN mission.”

  “Well, yes, I saw him go inside the mission, but he also works for Selwyn Owaki.”

  “He can’t work for Owaki. Beria is a legitimate Russian diplomat,” Dino said. “I met him at a cocktail party at the Russian Embassy.”

  “I don’t question that, but Gino Bellini told me he works for Owaki.”

  “Was this before or after Bellini was murdered? We could use a witness.”

  “Before, obviously, and I’m a witness to both murders.”

  “You actually saw them happen?”

  “Yes. Well, more correctly, I heard them happen, one shot, followed a moment later by another.”

  “So you’re not a witness?”

  “Beria and his gorilla were the only other people in the apartment, besides Bellini and his wife.”

  “And you. You were in the apartment.”

  “Yes, Dino, I was.”

  “Were you in the room?”

  “I was in the living room. Everybody else was in an adjoining study.”

  “So you’re not a witness.”

  “I heard the shots.”

  “From the next room.”

  “Dino, Beria, his gorilla, and I were the only people in the apartment still standing, and I didn’t kill them, so who’s left?”

  “Why didn’t they kill you?”

  “I was hiding behind a curtain, and while they were still in the study I made a run for the service elevator, in the kitchen.”

  “Why didn’t you take the regular elevator?”

  “Because I didn’t want to be seen by the front desk staff leaving the building.”

  “Why? You say you didn’t kill them.”

  “That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t think I did.”

  “Go on.”

  “Then I rode down on the elevator with Beria and the gorilla.”

  “Let me get this straight. You heard two people shot in the next room, then you rode down on the elevator with the shooters?”

  “I was in the kitchen, waiting for the service elevator to arrive on my floor. I got in, the door closed, then it opened again and Beria and the gorilla got in.”

  “And they didn’t notice you?”

  “They did. I pretended to be visiting a woman upstairs.”

  “What woman?”

  “There was no woman, Dino. Beria asked if I lived upstairs, and I said no, I was visiting a woman whose husband was out of town.”

  “Was this something derived from your own experience, Stone? Visiting a woman whose husband is out of town?”

  “No, Dino, I made it up so Beria wouldn’t shoot me.”

  “So where are the dead bodies?”

  “Where they fell, in the study, I imagine. I suggest you get a team over there right now, then arrest Beria.”

  “Beria is a Russian diplomat, and as such, he carries a diplomatic passport and is immune from arrest, even for a double murder.”

  “Then arrest the gorilla.”

  “You want my people to appear at the Russian mission a
nd ask for a gorilla?”

  “I suggest you put a couple of men outside the mission. Since he and Beria appeared to be joined at the hip, when Beria leaves, arrest the gorilla.”

  “I’m going to have a hard time getting an arrest warrant for a gorilla,” Dino said. “I don’t think I’d even like to mention a gorilla to a grand jury, under oath.”

  “I have done my duty as a citizen,” Stone said. “You want dinner tonight? P. J. Clarke’s at seven?”

  “Is Meg still there?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’d love to have dinner with Meg. See you then.” Dino hung up, and so did Stone.

  34

  Stone sent Fred over to Arthur Steele’s office with the checks Arthur had signed. As Fred left for Steele’s office, Joan buzzed Stone. “Arthur Steele on one.”

  Stone pressed the button. “Hello, Arthur, your checks are on their way back to you by hand.”

  “Which checks?”

  “The ones you signed and gave to me.”

  “Which one did you give Bellini?”

  “The one for ten million, but he gave it back, sort of.”

  “You’re sending me all four checks, then?”

  “That is correct.”

  “Did you get the computer files you wanted?”

  “Yes.”

  “Without paying for them?”

  “Yes.”

  “Stone, forgive my asking, but how did you do that?”

  “It’s complicated, Arthur. I’ll explain when I see you again.”

  “Stone, did you do something to Bellini? I don’t want to be a party to anything like that.”

  “No, Arthur, and Bellini is dead, so I couldn’t do anything to him.”

  “Did you kill him?”

  “Of course not—someone else did.”

  “I’m confused.”

  “I told you it was complicated, Arthur. All you need to know for now is that your checks are being hand-delivered to you now, and I got back the computer files, so there won’t be an insurance claim.”

  “This sounds too easy, Stone. What are you keeping from me?”

  “Arthur, please do this—pretend that we didn’t have lunch today and that you didn’t give me any checks. You’ll feel better.”

  “But what about Bellini? Am I going to be questioned by the police?”

  “No, Arthur, you are not, trust me. Have a drink and relax. Goodbye.” Stone hung up.

  * * *

  —

  STONE AND MEG had a drink in his study before leaving to meet Dino. “I have good news for you,” Stone said, digging in his pocket and coming up with the thumb drive.

  “What is that?” Meg asked.

  “It contains the designs and specifications that Dino Bellini stole from you.”

  She went to the computer on his desk, plugged in the thumb drive, and examined some of the files. “How did you get them?” she asked, returning to her chair.

  “Bellini gave me the drive.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I gave him a check for ten million dollars.”

  “Your own ten million dollars?”

  “No, it was from Arthur Steele, but I’ve since returned the check to him.”

  “Gino gave you back the check?”

  “I persuaded him to.”

  “How did you do that?”

  “I told him that Dirty Joe had confessed to two Maine State Police officers and an EMT that he had been hired by Bellini to kill you, and that the two Maine cops were downstairs in his building waiting to arrest him.”

  “But that wasn’t true. Was it?”

  “No, I lied.”

  “And that worked?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what happens now? Is Gino still coming after me?”

  “No, Gino is dead. Veronica, too.”

  “Good God, Stone! Did you kill them?”

  “No, I did not kill them. You are the third person to whom I’ve had to deny that, and I’m getting tired of it.”

  “Stone, if you had killed Gino and Veronica, would you deny it to me?”

  “No. Yes. I mean, I didn’t kill them, so there’s no need to deny it.”

  “But you just did.”

  “Because I didn’t.”

  “Are you telling me the truth?”

  “Yes, and that’s the last question I’m going to answer on the subject.”

  “If you didn’t kill them, who did?”

  “I just said I wouldn’t answer any more questions about it.”

  “Stone . . .”

  “Listen very carefully. Gino and Veronica were killed by someone he had sold the stolen designs to—a man named Beria, who works for an arms dealer.”

  “None of those names mean anything to me.”

  “It’s not important that they do.”

  “Wait a minute, you said that Gino sold this man the designs?”

  “Yes, but he got them back.”

  “How? Why are you keeping this from me?”

  “Tell you what—tomorrow morning, when I’m sober and less tired, I will explain everything to you in detail. In the meantime, all you need to know is that you have your designs back, Arthur has his check back, Gino and Veronica are dead, and I didn’t kill them. May we leave it that way until tomorrow morning?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Thank you very much.” Stone looked at his watch: “It’s time we left for dinner.”

  “With Dino and Viv?”

  “Yes. Or at least, with Dino. Viv travels a lot on business, and she could be out of town. I didn’t ask.”

  “Do I have to keep this business about the designs from Dino?”

  “No, I’ve already explained it to him.”

  “Why Dino? Why not me, first? I mean, they’re my designs.”

  “I had to report the murders to the police, so I called Dino as soon as possible.”

  “Gino and Veronica were murdered?”

  “Yes, I told you that.”

  “You said they were dead.”

  “Well, they didn’t simultaneously drop dead of heart attacks.”

  “But you didn’t kill them?”

  “If you ask me that again, I’ll have to kill myself,” Stone replied.

  “You’re going to have to explain all this to me later, Stone.”

  “I have already promised to do so. Shall we go?”

  “Oh, all right.”

  35

  They found Dino at the bar at P. J. Clarke’s, half a drink ahead of them.

  “Where’s Viv?” Meg asked.

  “Somewhere in darkest California, on business. Happens all the time. Our table is ready. You want to order your drinks in the dining room?”

  “Sure,” Stone said, and steered Meg that way.

  When they were seated and the drinks had been served, including another for Dino, he said, “I assume Meg knows about this?”

  “About what?” Meg asked.

  “Yes, she knows.” He turned to Meg. “About what I told you a few minutes ago.”

  “Oh, that.”

  “My people are taking Bellini’s apartment apart as we speak,” Dino said. “They were both in the study, as you said. One each in the head.”

  “Oh, God,” Meg said. “I’m going to be sick.”

  “Why?” Dino asked. “You didn’t get shot.”

  “No more details, please.”

  “I forgot to tell you,” Stone said, “I took Bellini’s gun from the apartment. I’ll send it to you tomorrow.”

  “Why did you do that?”

  “It was lying on the coffee table when the doorman rang to say Beria was on his way up, and Bellini was already in the study, so I stuck it in my belt. A little later, when I ha
d to sneak out of there, with my shoes in my hand, I thought I might need it for self-defense if Beria saw me. Then, in the elevator, I was glad I had it.”

  “Give it to my homicide detectives,” Dino said.

  “Which detectives?”

  “The ones who will be calling on you first thing in the morning to question you about the murders.”

  “I had hoped to avoid that by going straight to the top,” Stone said.

  “You hoped in vain. We have procedures, remember?”

  “Yes, yes.”

  “Stone,” Meg said, “if you didn’t kill them, why are the police questioning you?”

  “Because Dino somehow neglected to tell them that I didn’t kill them.”

  “I couldn’t do that,” Dino said. “They have to draw their own conclusions from evidence and the witnesses.” He turned to Meg. “Stone is the only witness, so it’s standard practice that he is the immediate suspect, until the evidence clears him.”

  “What kind of evidence will clear him?” she asked.

  “Beats me,” Dino said. “I haven’t visited the crime scene.”

  “Lack of motive,” Stone said to her.

  “I wouldn’t lean too heavily on that,” Dino said. “After all, you went to Bellini’s apartment to get something he stole from your client. An objective person might conclude that he was reluctant to give it to you, and in the ensuing argument, you shot Bellini, then his wife, because she was a witness.”

  “An objective observer would not think that if he knew that I went to see Bellini with seventy million dollars in checks of different amounts, in order to buy the stolen designs back from him, and he accepted one for ten million.”

  “They didn’t find any checks,” Dino said.

  “That’s because I returned the checks to Arthur Steele, who gave them to me for the purpose of buying back the stolen designs.”

  “In that case, an objective observer might conclude that you murdered them to get back the ten million,” Dino said, “and a jury might very well accept that conclusion.”

  “Stone is going to trial?” Meg asked.

  “I am not,” Stone said. “When Dino’s detectives have heard all the facts, they will move on to the next suspect, who is the person who killed them, one Stanislav Beria. I am your witness to that.”

  “You didn’t actually see Beria shoot them, and my people didn’t find him in the apartment,” Dino said.