“He writes under the name of Martin Schell—likes to be called Marty.”
“Oh, yes, I remember him,” Holly said. “You remember, Stone.”
“Never heard of him,” Stone replied.
“Typical,” she said.
“No need to tell you his real name,” Lance said. “Suffice it to say he has a full legend, from birth through Yale.”
“He went to Yale?” Holly asked.
“No, but that’s what his legend says. If you call the registrar’s office for information on him they’ll have a complete file—his academic record, his degrees, the works.”
“What if you asked someone who went to Yale when he was supposed to be there?” Stone asked.
“Do you remember all the names and faces of your freshman class at NYU?” Lance asked.
“I take your point.”
“He also spent a couple of weeks soaking up the atmosphere in New Haven. He wouldn’t be easily tripped up.”
“Okay,” Holly said, “he sounds great.”
“But you can’t tell anyone at State about him.”
“What about Mac McIntosh?”
“Not even him. Marty will arrive with a folder of correspondence with you, and you can insert those into your files.”
“When will he arrive?”
“He’ll call your secretary and make an appointment.”
“I’ll be back in my office tomorrow afternoon.”
“Fine. May I go back to sleep now?”
“Of course, Lance.”
“And you two can go back to doing what you were doing,” Lance said, then hung up.
Holly was looking carefully at Stone’s iPhone. “Do you really think he could see us?”
4
After breakfast, Stone was still doing the Times crossword when Holly came out of her dressing room, dressed. “I’m off,” she said, kissing him. “May I have Fred for the day? The chopper doesn’t leave until four o’clock.”
“Sure.”
There was a knock on the door, and Fred appeared. “Is your luggage ready, Madam Secretary?”
“Yes, Fred, thank you. And you’ll be driving me today, until four o’clock.”
She kissed Stone again and followed Fred out of the room.
* * *
—
Stone arrived at Patroon for dinner, half a drink later than Dino, but a waiter quickly brought him even. He took a swig.
“How’s Holly?” Dino asked.
“As ever,” Stone said.
“What does she think about the mole?”
Stone gaped at him. “What mole?”
“The one Mac McIntosh says is loose at State.”
“You’re not supposed to know that,” Stone said.
“Why not? I have the same clearances you do.”
“You’ve been talking to Lance, haven’t you?”
“You think Lance is some kind of blabbermouth?”
Stone laughed. “He is, when it’s in his interests to be. When did you talk to him?”
“This morning, at breakfast.”
“You had breakfast with Lance?”
“Isn’t that okay?”
“I thought he was abroad somewhere.”
“He was,” Dino said. “Until he got here in time for breakfast. He was on an airplane from somewhere when you called him in the middle of the night.”
“From where?”
“I’ve no idea. All I can tell you is he ate a big breakfast—eggs, bacon, pancakes—I don’t know how the guy maintains his trim physique.”
“Did he mention why he was telling you about Holly’s mole?”
“He wanted my advice about what to do about it.”
“Last night Holly wanted my advice, which was to call Lance. Now he’s asking you for advice?”
“Yep.”
“Then why don’t you call Holly and ask her for her advice, then you’ll have completed the circle. What advice did you give Lance?”
“I told him to find the guy, then take him out and shoot him.”
“That was my first advice to Holly. The problem is finding the guy.”
“Well, he’s one of the thirty people who were at the staff meeting, right?”
“Maybe.”
“Then give them all lie detector tests. That’s easier than questioning all seventy-five thousand State employees.”
“Don’t you think the Russians—if it is the Russians—have trained him to defeat a polygraph?” Stone asked.
“Maybe. That would complicate things, wouldn’t it?”
“I believe it would,” Stone said. “Did Lance tell you what action he’s taking?”
“You mean about the guy from Yale?”
“The guy who says he’s from Yale. The Agency built that legend for him, and they’re very good at that.”
“How would you know?” Dino asked.
“I read spy novels, like everybody else.”
“I don’t read spy novels,” Dino said.
“That’s a lie. You’ve loaned me half a dozen over the years.”
“I used to read spy novels,” Dino said. “I found them entertaining, until I didn’t anymore. I guess you’re still reading them.”
“I stopped reading them when you stopped loaning them to me,” Stone said.
They both ordered the Caesar salad and the Dover sole. The salad was made tableside with considerable flair.
“What else?” Dino asked, when they were alone with their salads.
“Nothing else,” Stone said.
“No new lady in your sights?”
“No new lady has crossed my path.”
“And I guess the old flames are not speaking to you.”
“That’s a dirty, communist lie. I maintain good relations with my exes.”
“Which must be hard to do, if they’re not speaking to you.”