The Stone Barrington Collection vol 2 Read Online Free

ferry, so he’ll be here by two-thirty.”
    “Did they take any photographs?”
    “I’m not sure, but I did.” Seth reached into a pocket and handed Stone a small electronic camera. “It was Dick’s, just a point-and-shoot thing, then you put the pictures in the computer. I didn’t know how to do that.”
    Stone put the camera into his pocket. “I’m sorry you and Mabel had to see that,” he said.
    “So’m I,” Seth replied.
    “Seth, Dick left you and Mabel some money, half a million dollars, and he left another half a million in a trust for your kids’ education. How old are they now?”
    “They’re eighteen and nineteen; boy’s younger. They’re at Bowdoin, freshman and sophomore. Dick had been paying for their college. I’m relieved to hear that’s going to keep on.”
    “That will continue, and they can go to graduate school, if they want to. When the older one is twenty-five, what’s left in the trust will be divided between them.”
    “Nice little nest egg for them, then.” Seth began to cry.
    Stone patted him on the back, but didn’t say anything.
    “Lunch in half an hour, in the kitchen,” Seth said. He handed Stone a bunch of keys. “These were Dick’s.” Then he hurried out of the room.
    Stone walked around the study, looked at the view of the harbor, looked at the book titles. A remarkable number of them were in his own library. There were silver-framed photographs of Barbara and Esme on his desk. He suddenly felt closer to Dick, remembered his good cheer, his sense of humor, his innate kindness.
    “Who are you?” a voice said.
    Stone turned to find Caleb Stone standing behind him. He had put on some weight but was still recognizably the twenty-year-old Stone had known, with the same broken nose. “Hello, Caleb. I’m Stone Barrington.”
    Caleb stood stock-still for a moment and looked him up and down, then, remembering some vestige of manners, walked over and offered his hand. “Hello, Stone,” he said. “What the hell are you doing here?” The question was made up of equal parts of amazement and hostility.
    “I’m here at Dick’s invitation.”
    “You mean, he invited you up here to stay?”
    “Yes, he did. Along with some friends.”
    “You mean there are other people in the house?”
    “Three, here and in the guesthouse.”
    “Christ, we planned to move in here tomorrow.”
    “I’m afraid you’ll have to change your plans.”
    Caleb ignored this statement. “The boys are home from school to help, and their mother is packing right now.”
    “I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Stone said.
    “Now, you listen to me. I want you and your friends to get out of this house, and I want you on the next ferry.”
    Stone walked over to the sofa and chairs by the window. “Caleb, come and sit down for a minute; I need to tell you some things.”
    “Jesus, you haven’t been up here in decades, and you’re acting like you own the place.”
    Stone sat down and pointed at a chair. “I think you’re going to want to hear this sitting down.”
    Caleb sank heavily into a chair facing him. “What have you got to say?”
    “The day before yesterday, I received a Federal Express package from Dick, which contained a letter, hiring me as his attorney, and the original of a will he had written and had properly witnessed.”
    “What will? I’ve got Dick’s will at home. He made it out eleven years ago, and I’m his executor.”
    “I’m afraid the new will supercedes that,” Stone said. “Dick appointed me executor. It’s a simple document: He provided for Seth Hotchkiss and his family, for a few of Barbara’s relatives, and left the rest to a foundation that helps the families of dead CIA officers.”
    “Why the hell would he do that? Dick didn’t have anything to do with the CIA. He was a diplomat.”
    Stone was surprised that Caleb knew nothing of Dick’s work. “On the contrary, Dick was a career CIA officer, and he had recently been promoted to a high