Stone Barrington 36 - Scandalous Behavior (16 page)

“You see how you manipulate me?”

“
Manipulate
is a vulgar word. I simply offer you irresistible opportunities.”

“Come to dinner tonight?”

“Oh, how I wish I could, but the Muddle East occupies me nonstop.”

—

T
he cook at Windward Hall, on six hours’ notice, shopped, cooked, and served dinner for nine people as if it were an everyday matter, and Stone plundered his new cellars for wines that would please Marcel. Everyone went to bed happy, especially Stone, who was relieved to have Susan back in his bed, if only for a night. Perhaps he could persuade her to make it two, or even longer.

—

T
he following morning, Susan, Peter, and Ben toured the empty servants’ quarters below, and Susan drew up specifications for the electrician to beef up the wiring and Wi-Fi arrangements for the rooms and made a list of desks and chairs to order from London.

—

A
nd in a London hotel Dr. Don Beverly Calhoun took the news of the loss of Curtis House with ill grace, firing his estate agents.

28

T
he following morning Stone sat down with Marcel, at the latter’s request. “We must make a decision, you and I,” Marcel said, “about the ownership of Curtis Hall.”

“How do you mean?” Stone asked.

“I suggest to you that we might enjoy owning the Curtis property, just the two of us. After all, we are the major investors in the Arrington Group of hotels. We could make it a pet project.”

“That is an attractive idea,” Stone said, “but I suggest that we form a corporation to own Curtis House, and that you and I own thirty percent each of the shares, and that the remaining forty percent be owned by the Arrington Group, then add a provision that, if the group decides to sell or close the house, you and I will have an opportunity to buy it at a fixed price. That will give us the full support services of the Group, while retaining control of
the hotel, but it will also reduce our cash input, something that would make me more comfortable.”

“I like your suggestion,” Marcel replied. “It achieves all our goals with less money.”

“I’ll call Woodman & Weld in London and have them write the sales agreement.”

“And I will call our bankers and have them produce a bank check for the deposit on the property. You and I should now arrange to move fifteen million pounds each into the Arrington Group’s account, to cover the purchase and the renovation.”

“Agreed,” Stone said, and they each made the necessary phone calls to instruct their bankers. Later in the day the contract was faxed for Stone’s approval, and a messenger arrived with the bank check. Stone and Marcel went to Curtis House for drinks, first signing the sales contract with Lady Curtis and handing over the check for the deposit. They finished a little drunk but all very happy.

The electrician began work on the rewiring of the new offices at Windward Hall, following plans specced by Susan overnight, and the following day a team of four painters arrived and began their work. The day after they finished, basic office furniture and computers arrived and were installed, and Peter and Ben’s office manager arrived from Los Angeles to set up the computers and their software, then living in a Windward Hall guest room.

It was two days after the contract signing that the first black SUV, a Mercedes, was seen near the front gates of Windward Hall. Stone called Deputy Chief Inspector Holmes and related the events of the past couple of weeks.

Holmes listened, then spoke: “Has this vehicle trespassed on the property of either Windward Hall or Curtis House?” he asked.

“Not yet,” Stone replied.

“Do you have evidence that the occupants of the vehicle possess firearms or have the intention of harming anyone on either estate?”

“No.”

“Then I have no cause that would support an arrest. I will, however, cause police cars to drive past the properties twice a day on their regular rounds, and, perhaps, speak to the occupants of the vehicle in a polite fashion, just to let them know we are aware of their presence.”

“I think that is a sensible way to proceed,” Stone said, “and I thank you for your assistance.”

By the beginning of the following week, Peter, Ben, and their staff of one were in their new offices, and Stone took possession of a small room there, and Susan Blackburn, who was now operating her business from Windward Hall, possessed three rooms. Suitcases of her clothes arrived and were unpacked in the woman’s dressing room in the master suite.

Stone had established communications from the house with Woodman & Weld and his major clients. Those phoning the New York office could be connected directly from the firm’s switchboard to either Stone’s new office or his cell phone, avoiding transatlantic call charges for the callers.

Viv Bacchetti, who had been living quietly, reading a lot, but
joining the others for lunch and dinner each day, announced that Strategic Services would require her presence in New York in another week, and that Dino had found a European Union conference on terrorism in Southampton that would require his presence in England for a few days. As part of her work, she conducted a security survey of Curtis House and made recommendations for the installation of equipment and the assignment of personnel to guard the place during the renovation. A Strategic Services aircraft dropped Dino off on the Windward airfield, jet-lagged and a little crabby. The gang received him in the library for cocktails on his first day, and his mood improved exponentially with each Scotch.

Viv gave Dino a tour of the house, and he was much impressed. “I am surprised,” he said to Stone, “how much at home here you seem already. The place seems to suit you.”

“Suit me it does,” Stone said.

“I understand Dr. Don is in the country. Have you had him to tea yet?”

“Not yet, nor for the foreseeable future. He does have one of his black SUVs stationed near our main gate, though, so he hasn’t forgotten about us.”

“Peter, Ben,” Dino said, “tell us how
Hell
’
s Bells
is doing in the States.”

“We took in seventy million dollars in sales the first week,” Ben replied, “and half again the second week, with eight hundred more screens showing the film. That figure held for the third week, so we have a major hit on our hands. We have a proper
London premiere next week at a Leicester Square movie palace. Our stars are coming, and Centurion Studios has taken suites at the Savoy to house them and for interview purposes. We have a premiere in Paris the following weekend.”

“I hope you’ll stay in the Paris house when you’re there,” Stone said. “Maybe you’ll think of a story that can be shot in Paris.”

“What a good idea,” Peter said.

Elsie came into the library and bent close to Stone’s ear. “There’s a phone call for you, Mr. Barrington,” she said, “from a person called”—she referred to a note in her hand—“Dr. Don Beverly Calhoun.”

29

S
tone took the call in a far corner of the library. “Yes?”

“Mr. Barrington, this is Dr. Don Beverly Calhoun. I think you know who I am.”

“Oh, yes, I know who you are.”

“I thought that, since we have similar interests, perhaps we should meet and have a chat.”

“Similar interests? You and I?”

“We are both interested in Curtis House and in your son and his partner.”

“Mr. Calhoun—” Stone said.

“That’s Dr. Calhoun.”

“Oh, yes, you hold a Ph.D. from that South Carolina diploma mill, don’t you?”

“Mr. Barrington—”

“
Mr.
Calhoun, you have no legitimate interest in either of the subjects you just mentioned, particularly the latter one, and I would advise you, most seriously, to back away from both.”

“Or suffer the consequences? Do I detect a threat in your words?”

“I make it a point not to make threats, except in a legal context.”

“Then let’s get legal: I am contemplating suing your son and his partner for libel.”

“In Britain?”

“Possibly.”

“Then I suggest you ask your attorneys to advise you on the perils of proving libel here. It is more difficult than, perhaps, you have read in the newspapers, and it is
very
expensive. It’s even more difficult in the United States.”

“I have the resources to press such a suit to its conclusion,” Calhoun said.

“And my son has not only his resources, but mine to back him up, plus those of a major Hollywood film studio. Such an ill-considered action would have the eventual effect of reducing your financial status to a smoking ruin.”

“I’m told I have grounds, in either country.”

“Then you are poorly advised. Have you even seen the film?”

“I have.”

“And you still believe the nonsense you have been told?”

“It is not nonsense.”

“I should tell you that the film has been reviewed by the best
legal counsel in both countries, and they did not find it necessary to make a single cut in order to defend it. But if you wish to squander the fortune you have sucked from the pockets of your credulous followers, then do what you must.”

“Now, now, Mr. Barrington, don’t you think that in a friendly chat we could iron out our differences?”

“On what basis?”

“For a start, I am willing to pay you a million pounds more than you have agreed to pay for Curtis House. How does that sound? A quick million-pound profit in less than a week?”

“I would not consider it a good return on investment to have you and your followers for neighbors.”

“Must we descend into telephone insults?”

“Certainly, I would prefer to insult you to your face, but since I have no intention of meeting you, the phone will have to do.”

“I warn you, Mr. Barrington, I am keeping abreast of your movements and actions.”

“And how did that work out for you in the states of Connecticut and New York? I should tell you that the law in this country with regard to firearms is much stricter than in the States, and I should also tell you that you have already attracted the attention of local law enforcement, and that private security arrangements for my property are in place. Now, since we have nothing further to discuss, I bid you good day.” Stone hung up.

Peter got up and walked over to where Stone sat. “Is everything all right, Dad?”

“Did you overhear my end of the conversation?”

“Well, toward the end you were sort of shouting.”

“I apologize, but I was speaking to Dr. Don Beverly Calhoun.”

“Ah, I see.”

“He’s threatening a libel suit, but don’t be concerned. You should, however, call the studio and have them call your British distributors and warn them. If he proceeds, Calhoun will ask for an injunction to stop distribution, pending disposition of his suit, and if they aren’t ready, he might get it, at least temporarily. British businesspeople get very skittish at the mention of libel, because the laws are so different here. I should think that a little proactive PR defense would be a good idea. You should give a couple of interviews and address the problem head-on. Say that your legal advisers have told you there are no grounds for such a suit.”

“They have already done so, and they didn’t ask for a single cut.”

“I thought as much.” Stone picked up the phone. “Excuse me for a moment, I have another call to make.” Peter went back to his seat, and Stone called Felicity Devonshire.

“Yes, my dear?”

“I have just had a phone conversation with Dr. Don Beverly Calhoun.”

“And how did that go?”

Stone related the substance of the conversation. “Could you speak to the Home Secretary again?”

“Give me more ammo.”

“Calhoun’s people followed me in Connecticut and New
York and were arrested for carrying illegal firearms. As we speak, one of his trademark SUVs is parked near my front gate, and I have alerted the local authorities. I think that indicates a disregard for the law in three places, not to mention the fact that the man is a suspect in the murder of a journalist in California who had the temerity to tell the truth about him.”