“I am at your beck and call,” Stone said, handing her a card, “and I hope I may be of service soon.”
Mirabelle tucked the card into her bosom. “We shall see,” she said.
—
TWO HOURS LATER, sated and suffering from jet lag, Stone and his party went downstairs to his waiting Mercedes van. It wasn’t there.
Stone was about to call Rick LaRose when his cell phone vibrated. He glanced at the calling number. “Yes, Rick?”
“Your van has become unavailable,” Rick said. “Get everybody back inside and wait for my call.”
Stone herded his group back inside. “Rick LaRose’s orders,” he said.
“Oh,” Mirabelle said, “there is my car outside now.” She said good night to all, went outside and departed.
A moment later, a long black car appeared outside, and Rick LaRose got out and came inside. “We have another car for you,” he said.
They trooped outside and got into the car. As they drove away Stone asked, “Whose car is this?”
“The ambassador’s,” Rick replied.
“And what happened to the van?”
“Don’t ask.”
5
Stone was awakened by the room service waiter early the next morning. For a moment he forgot he had left the order on the doorknob.
He let the man in, then got back into bed while the waiter set a tray on his lap, along with a copy of the International New York Times and one of Paris Match. Stone tried that, but his French wasn’t good enough to read it, so he reverted to the Times. He switched on the TV and found CNN.
His phone rang. “Yes?”
“It’s Rick.”
“Good morning, Rick.”
“Do you have the TV on?”
“Yes, on CNN.”
“Turn it to the local news, channel two.”
Stone switched and found a Frenchwoman gazing into the camera, producing a torrent of her language. “Okay, got it. What am I watching?”
“Just hang on for a minute.”
“Have you planted something on TV, Rick?”
“No, but I got a tip to watch this.”
The woman’s image disappeared, replaced by that of a burning vehicle.
“What’s this, a bomb in Paris?”
“No, that’s your van,” Rick said.
Stone looked more closely, but it was hard to tell. “And why is it on fire?”
“Someone is sending either you or me a message.”
“If the message is for me, what is it?”
“If it’s for you, I think it means, ‘Pay attention this time.’”
“To what?”
“To the people who tried to kill you when you were last in Paris.”
“The Russians?”
“Looks that way.”