Carnal Curiosity - Stuart Woods Page 0,72
she still remembered.
—
Stone was in bed, reading the papers and watching Ann towel herself off, when the phone rang. “Hello?”
“Stone, it’s Crane.”
Stone put his hand over the phone. “I’m sorry, I have to take this,” he said to Ann. “What is it, Crane?”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, and then I’ll tell you everything. It would be good if you get Dino over there, too.” She hung up.
“Something wrong?” Ann asked, slipping into her dress. “You look funny.”
“I’m sorry, an old client insists on coming over here immediately. I’d better get dressed.”
She allowed him to zip her up, then got into her shoes and kissed him. “I’m off. See you tonight?”
“You certainly will. Don’t let them work you too late.”
Ann left, and Stone got dressed. He was in his office when Crane arrived. Joan wasn’t downstairs yet—too early—so he let Crane in the street door and took her into his office.
“Did you call Dino?” she asked.
“Not until I know what this is about.”
She sat down on the sofa and took a deep breath. “Don is pulling off some kind of robbery.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow or Thursday—tomorrow, I think. I don’t know all the details.”
Stone picked up the phone and dialed Dino’s cell phone.
“Bacchetti.”
“Where are you?”
“Park Avenue and Fifty-second Street, headed to the office.”
“Come here instead.”
“What’s up?”
“I’ll save it for when you get here,” Stone said, then hung up.
Joan came into the office, then stopped when she saw Crane. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had a visitor.”
“Dino’s on the way over. Let him in, will you?”
“Of course. Coffee?”
“Crane?”
“Yes, please.”
“For three.”
Joan went out the back door toward the kitchen and came back with a thermos carafe. She poured two cups and set one on the coffee table and the other on Stone’s desk. The front doorbell rang, and Joan went to answer it. She came back with Dino and poured him a cup of coffee, then left.
“Hi, Crane,” Dino said. “What’s up, Stone?”
“Start again,” Stone said to Crane.
“Dino, Don Dugan is going to pull off a big robbery.”
“When and where?”
“At the new Creighton Arms hotel. It was supposed to be Thursday, but I think it’s been moved up.”
“Up to when?”
“Probably tomorrow. I did the security planning for the event, and I brought the plans and the file home to work on a couple of weeks ago. I think Don got into it when I was asleep.”
“Does Mike Freeman know about Don’s interest in the event?”
“He may,” she replied. “He’s sending me to Atlanta today. I think he moved up the jewelry show a day to throw Don off, but Don has a contact at the hotel who must have tipped him off.”
“So you know some of this, but not all of it?” Dino asked.
Crane tossed off the rest of her coffee and set the cup down. “I guess you want to know everything.”
“Yes, I do,” Dino said.
“I’m going to need immunity.”
“Immunity from what?”
“From any crime Don may have committed.”
“With your help?”
“I’m going to need immunity before I can answer any more questions. Stone, you can represent me in this.”
“I’ll advise you, but I won’t represent you.”
“What’s the difference?”
“There’s a difference, trust me.”
“All right, advise me.”
“I advise you to get immunity, then tell Dino everything you know.”
Dino said, “Excuse me for a minute, I have to make a call.” He left Stone’s office and walked down the hall to where Joan sat, then pulled out his cell phone.
Stone looked at Crane, who was a nervous wreck. “Don’t tell me anything you don’t tell Dino,” he said. “I won’t be held to attorney-client privilege on this.”
“I understand,” she said.
Dino came back and sat down. “I asked Joan to call Mike Freeman and get him over here,” he said. “Crane, I’ve spoken to the DA, and you’ve got immunity on any crimes of Don’s that you may have known about or taken part in. But I have to know absolutely everything you know, and if you lie to me once, the deal is off. Do you understand me?”
Crane nodded.
“Say, ‘Yes, I understand you.’”
“Yes, I understand you.”
“Stone, you’re my witness,” Dino said.
“I am.” Stone took a small recorder from his desk, pressed a button, and put it on the coffee table. “Go ahead,” he said to her.
Crane took a deep breath and began to talk.
Stone listened as she confirmed everything he had suspected Dugan of, and with a lot of detail he hadn’t imagined. As she was wrapping up her story, Mike Freeman arrived.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “Crane, why aren’t you on the way to Atlanta?”
“I don’t