the discussion, one way or another.”
“Is Fratelli wanted for something?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Then your guy has no cause to print him. Dino, Coulter is my client.”
“So was Fratelli.”
“Sort of. I talked to him a couple of times. But Coulter is my signed-up client, and I’m not going to let him be put through the gossip mill because some stupid detective thinks he looks like somebody from twenty-odd years ago.”
“He’s not a stupid detective.”
“Then call him in and tell him not to behave stupidly. You think Woodman & Weld takes on clients without checking them out?”
“I wouldn’t think so.”
Stone had not done any checking out at all; his only information about either of the Coulters came from Joan, who knew of Hillary Coulter from the society pages. “Then let this be the end of it, Dino.”
“I’ll pass on your message to my guy,” Dino said. “But he kind of has a point.”
“Oh?”
“If Coulter is Fratelli, then he has the kind of past populated with people who might be a part of that robbery—heist guys, for instance, maybe fences.”
“I don’t buy it for a minute, Dino.”
“Well, what about this? Another one of the Coulters’ guests got hit at home.”
Stone didn’t like the sound of that. “Yeah?”
“This victim had an elaborate security system—not Dugan-installed—which included an alarm sensor on a concealed cupboard that held a rather large personal safe. The system was somehow breached and the safe cracked either by a very good safecracker or just by someone who had the combination. His wife’s jewelry was taken, but what really upset him was that he had a stash of bearer bonds and a few pounds of gold bars, just in case the world ended tomorrow.”
“And there’s no Dugan connection?”
“No, but there’s a connection to your client Coulter.”
“I’m telling you, Dino, even if Coulter is Fratelli, what would his motive be? He’s happily married to a very rich woman, and I happen to know—don’t quote me on this—that their finances are very well blended. A couple of robberies—even big ones—wouldn’t come to a drop in their bucket, so there’s no motive.”
“Okay, I’ll yield to you on that one, but how about the insurance connection? The victim’s insurance company: your client Steele. They also insured about half of what was taken at the dinner party.”
Something clicked very loudly in Stone’s head. “There’s another connection,” he said.
“I’d like to hear about it.”
“Crane Hart.”
“Yeah, but she works for Mike Freeman at Strategic Services.”
“Her most recent employer before Mike was Steele. That’s how I met her—she was the adjuster on my claim.”
“Now, why didn’t I know that?” Dino wondered.
“It never came up, I guess. But it’s just possible that when she was with Steele, she had access to the files on clients. Maybe when she left she took some files with her. You can put a lot of information on a computer thumb drive, and that would be a treasure trove for a gang of thieves.”
“Stone, I take back my disparaging remark of last night about your detective skills.”
“Thank you kindly.”
“I think we’ll have a chat with Crane Hart.”
“Don’t do that yet.”
“You got a better idea?”
“Yes. Talk to her boss at Steele. He’ll know what files she had access to.” Stone looked up the number and gave it to Dino.
“I’ll talk to the guy myself,” Dino said.
“Let’s not bring Mike into this—not until you’ve got something solid. I introduced him to Crane.”
“And you don’t want him to think you’re fingering her because she dumped you?”
“Something like that. And I’d hate to get her fired, if she’s not involved.”
“Okay, I’ll tread softly.”
“When you talk to the guy at Steele, don’t make it about Crane, just ask who over there might have had access to customer files. See if he brings up the name spontaneously. He was very upset when she left him for Mike, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he held a grudge, so don’t dangle her name in front of him.”
“I’ll do that, pal, and I’ll let you know how this plays.”
“Good luck, Dino.” Stone hung up, hoping he was wrong.
32
Stone had closed his office for the day and was sitting in his study with Dino, who had dropped by on the way home. Stone had just poured the drinks when his phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Stone, it’s Jack Coulter.”
“Good to hear from you,” Stone said, not wanting to mention his name in Dino’s presence.
“I wonder if you’re free for lunch tomorrow?”
“Certainly.”
“May we meet at the Brook, the club on East Fifty-fourth? You know it?”
“Yes, that will be fine.”
“Twelve-thirty.