Near Miss

Gromyko stared at him, not quite understanding the words. “Say that again.”

The Bean Counter did.

“You mean Trench?”

“I’m afraid so. It’s not confirmed yet, but I received a call from one of our people in the police department, and he said it’s only a formality they are waiting on.”

Gromyko walked over to the bar, poured himself a whiskey, and drank it in a single shot. “What happened?”

The Bean Counter described what he knew about the incident.

“A car bomb? So, this wasn’t an accident. Someone killed him on purpose.”

The Bean Counter was tempted to say that’s how car bombs worked, but he knew that would not be received well. Instead, he went with, “So it appears.”

Gromyko did not like his nephew. Trench was a lazy screwup who spent his life bouncing in and out of trouble that Gromyko had to clean up. The Greek had tried to give him a job in the organization, but Trench had half-assed it so badly that Gromyko had realized it was best to keep the waste-of-life far from the business.

Trench’s saving grace was that he was Gromyko’s sister’s only son. The Greek loved her more than he loved anyone else, so as much as he would have liked to disown Trench, that wasn’t in the cards. And now he would have to call his sister to tell her the news.

“Find out who did this,” he said. “Then I will destroy him.”

“When I know, you will know.”

As the Bean Counter left, Gromyko stormed back into the bedroom. The woman was in the bed, the sheet barely covering her.

“I was starting to think you forgot about me.”

“Get out.”

“What?”

“Get out now.”

He marched to his dresser, pulled out several one-hundred-dollar bills, and tossed them at her. “For your time.”

“Hey, I’m not—”

The stare he gave her cut her off. She gathered the money, dressed quickly, and was out of there in a flash.

Chapter 27

Stone woke the next morning to find the bed beside him empty and his secure cell phone ringing. From the lack of a caller ID, he knew who it was.

“This is early even for you, Lance,” he answered.

“It’s not every day one of my consultants is almost blown up.”

“Your concern is touching.”

“It’s not you I’m concerned about. It’s the fact that if you died, I’d have to find a replacement.”

“Again, I’m touched. Is there another reason for your call other than to remind me how important I am to you?”

“There is. I’m afraid you might have kicked a hornets’ nest.”

“How so?”

“If my information is correct, last night’s car bomb had been intended for you. But it was relocated before it was set off.”

“Let’s pretend that’s correct. What does that have to do with a hornets’ nest?”

“Do you know who Trench Molder is?”

“I believe you mean ‘was.’ ”

“The question is the same.”

“He was a self-important layabout with too much time on his hands.”

“He may have been that, but he was also related to the Greek.”

That stopped Stone. He’d had an up-close and personal relationship with Serge Gromyko, aka the Greek. The man was the former head of the Russian mob. Former because Stone had ended the Greek’s life with a bullet to the head.

“Trench was a Gromyko?”

“No,” Lance said, “but his uncle is.”

“Again, I think you are confusing your verb tenses. The Greek is dead.”

“I’m talking about the new Greek.”

“The new Greek?”

“Alexei Gromyko.”

“There’s another Gromyko?”

“Serge’s half brother. Took over after you removed Serge from the picture. And before you ask, he’s also half Russian, half Greek. Their mothers are sisters.”

“That’s a disturbing family tree.”

“The important branch to you is that Alexei’s sister is Trench’s mother.”

“And now you’re going to tell me this new Greek and Trench were close.”

“Close or not, he will not be pleased his nephew is dead.”

“The bomb wasn’t mine, and I didn’t set it off. Trench killed himself.”

“Do you think that’s how the Greek will see it?”

“Gee, thanks for being a bright ray of sunshine.”

“I am only the friendly messenger. My suggestion is to take the appropriate precautions.”

The line went dead.

Stone sat up, his mind churning through this new information. It took him several moments before he realized Matilda was standing in the room, fully dressed, and with her travel case beside her.

“Going home for more clothes?” he asked.

“I’m going to visit my sister.”

“Will you be back in time for dinner? Or...”

“She lives in Los Angeles.”

“So that’s a no, then.”

She expelled a breath, then sat on the bed near him. “Thank you for letting me stay here with you. On the whole, it’s been a wonderful time.”

“I sense a but coming.”

A weak smile. “But what happened last night seems to have knocked me off-kilter.”

“Explosions have a way of doing that.”

“My sister has been asking me to visit for a while, and now seems as good a time as any. Better, really.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“I don’t know. Are you going to try to talk me into staying?”

Given the turn of events, Stone thought her leaving town was an excellent idea. But there was no need to increase her anxiety. “Would it work if I did?”