Wild Card Read online

  BOOKS BY STUART WOODS

  FICTION

  Wild Card†

  A Delicate Touch†

  Desperate Measures†

  Turbulence†

  Shoot First†

  Unbound†

  Quick & Dirty†

  Indecent Exposure†

  Fast & Loose†

  Below the Belt†

  Sex, Lies & Serious Money†

  Dishonorable Intentions†

  Family Jewels†

  Scandalous Behavior†

  Foreign Affairs†

  Naked Greed†

  Hot Pursuit†

  Insatiable Appetites†

  Paris Match†

  Cut and Thrust†

  Carnal Curiosity†

  Standup Guy†

  Doing Hard Time†

  Unintended Consequences†

  Collateral Damage†

  Severe Clear†

  Unnatural Acts†

  D.C. Dead†

  Son of Stone†

  Bel-Air Dead†

  Strategic Moves†

  Santa Fe Edge§

  Lucid Intervals†

  Kisser†

  Hothouse Orchid*

  Loitering with Intent†

  Mounting Fears‡

  Hot Mahogany†

  Santa Fe Dead§

  Beverly Hills Dead

  Shoot Him If He Runs†

  Fresh Disasters†

  Short Straw§

  Dark Harbor†

  Iron Orchid*

  Two-Dollar Bill†

  The Prince of Beverly Hills

  Reckless Abandon†

  Capital Crimes‡

  Dirty Work†

  Blood Orchid*

  The Short Forever†

  Orchid Blues*

  Cold Paradise†

  L.A. Dead†

  The Run‡

  Worst Fears Realized†

  Orchid Beach*

  Swimming to Catalina†

  Dead in the Water†

  Dirt†

  Choke

  Imperfect Strangers

  Heat

  Dead Eyes

  L.A. Times

  Santa Fe Rules§

  New York Dead†

  Palindrome

  Grass Roots‡

  White Cargo

  Deep Lie‡

  Under the Lake

  Run Before the Wind‡

  Chiefs‡

  COAUTHORED BOOKS

  The Money Shot** (with Parnell Hall)

  Barely Legal†† (with Parnell Hall)

  Smooth Operator** (with Parnell Hall)

  TRAVEL

  A Romantic’s Guide to the Country Inns of Britain and Ireland (1979)

  MEMOIR

  Blue Water, Green Skipper

  *A Holly Barker Novel

  †A Stone Barrington Novel

  ‡A Will Lee Novel

  §An Ed Eagle Novel

  **A Teddy Fay Novel

  ††A Herbie Fisher Novel

  G. P. Putnam’s Sons

  Publishers Since 1838

  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  penguinrandomhouse.com

  Copyright © 2019 by Stuart Woods

  Excerpt from Skin Game copyright © 2019 by Stuart Woods

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

  Names: Woods, Stuart, author.

  Title: Wild card / Stuart Woods.

  Description: New York : G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2019.| Series: A Stone Barrington novel ; 49

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018057955 | ISBN 9780735219281 (hardback) | ISBN 9780735219304 (epub)

  Subjects: LCSH: Barrington, Stone (Fictitious character)—Fiction. | Private investigators—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Action & Adventure. | FICTION / Suspense. | FICTION / Thrillers. | GSAFD: Suspense fiction. | Adventure fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3573.O642 W55 2019 | DDC 813/.54—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018057955

  p. cm.

  Title page photograph by dibrova/Shutterstock.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Version_1

  CONTENTS

  Books by Stuart Woods

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Author’s Note

  Excerpt from Skin Game

  About the Author

  1

  Stone Barrington and Jamie Cox had spent an idyllic month at Stone’s estate, Windward Hall, in the south of England, on the banks of the Beaulieu River (pronounced Bewley, if you’re British). The weather had been surprisingly un-English, with only occasional showers. They woke early each morning, made love, and then, after breakfast, took hor
ses from the stables and galloped across Stone’s acreage.

  After that, Jamie went to work on her book, based on her New York Times story, in which she and her team had investigated a family-owned investment bank called H. Thomas & Son, exposing deep roots of organized crime going back generations. They had also investigated hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal wire transfers, money stolen from the international banking community by the Thomases. She was nearing the end of her final draft of the book.

  Then, in the late afternoon, Stone’s friend Dino Bacchetti telephoned, and everything went to hell.

  “What are you telling me?” Stone asked, trying to slow down his friend, who was the police commissioner of the City of New York.

  “I’m telling you, the FBI has closed its investigation of the Thomases’ computer crimes. The explosion and resulting fire in their computer control center destroyed everything and melted fifty interlinked computers into a solid lump of metal and silicon.”

  “They’re not prosecuting that guy, Rance Damien, who constructed the whole thing?”

  “If you remember, their software used in the wire transfers erased all trace of itself when they were done. And that software was destroyed with the computers. Which means the FBI has zero evidence against them.”

  “What about the copies of their software that Huey Horowitz, the Times’s computer whiz, downloaded onto computers in my upstairs guest room?”

  “That was erased, too. All Huey had left was a blank hard drive.”

  “Jesus,” Stone said, “can this get any worse?”

  “It can,” Dino replied, “and it has. Rance Damien was one of the two survivors of the fire—the building was empty except for three people, and one of them died later in the hospital. We were hoping Damien had burned to a crisp. But not only is he alive, he was discharged this morning from a private clinic, after extensive work on his face. Oh, did I mention that he is very, very angry with you?”

  “At me? I didn’t set the guy on fire.”

  “Sources at the FBI tell me that Damien remains unconvinced of that. While he doesn’t think you set and pushed the plunger on the explosives, he does think that whoever did it works for you. Am I getting through to you?”

  Stone was alarmed that Rance Damien believed this—because it was true. At least, the part about the bomber, Bob Cantor, working for him was true. However, Stone had neither ordered up the explosion nor known anything about Bob’s actions, until he saw the results on TV.

  “Okay, I read you,” Stone said. “What do you propose I do about it?”

  “I propose that you keep your ass out of New York,” Dino said. “That shouldn’t be too hard because, having visited your property there, I know that you are as happy as a pig in shit—and getting laid regularly.”

  “I cannot deny either of those contentions,” Stone said. “So I’ll stay longer than I had planned.”

  “I am relieved to hear it,” Dino said.

  “But only if you and Viv get on an airplane and come visit me. Otherwise, I’m leaving for New York tomorrow.”

  “Okay, you’ve convinced me,” Dino said. “Viv is due back tonight from Hong Kong, or somewhere, and I’ll run it by her.” Vivian Bacchetti was chief operating officer for the world’s second-largest private security company, Strategic Services, and traveled widely for her work.

  “I want a confirmation tomorrow,” Stone said.

  “Okay,” Dino replied. “But watch your ass until I can get there to watch it for you. Rance Damien knows how airplanes work, and the FBI tells me he has a passport.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Stone said.

  “Where is your airplane at the moment?” Dino asked.

  “It’s over here,” Stone said. “Faith and her copilot are ensconced in one of the cottages on the estate.”

  “Maybe we can hitch a ride on a Strategic Services flight.”

  “Free is always the best choice,” Stone replied. “Call me.” He hung up.

  * * *

  • • •

  When Jamie finished work in the little basement office Stone had arranged for her, they met in the paneled library for drinks, where her vodka and his bourbon were kept in stock. He told her the news.

  Jamie was appalled. “Oh, God, just when I thought this was all over, Rance Damien rises from the dead? Did somebody forget to drive a stake through his heart?”

  “I would have done it myself, if I had thought of it,” Stone replied.

  “I finished the book about twenty minutes ago,” she said. “I was looking forward to getting you drunk and taking advantage of you.”

  “You needn’t let bad news deprive you of either of those pleasures,” Stone said.

  The phone rang, and Stone picked it up. “Yes?”

  “Mr. Barrington,” Kevin, the butler, said, “Dame Felicity Devonshire is calling for you. Shall I put her through?”

  “Yes, thank you,” Stone said, then waited for the click. “Felicity?”

  “Yes, Stone,” she replied. “How are you?”

  “I’m very well, thanks. Where are you?”

  “I’ve just arrived at my house, back from dealing with the Muddle East”—which was what Felicity called any place east of the Mediterranean—“and my housekeeper told me there was a rumor that you were in residence, but keeping to yourself.”

  “I am in residence,” Stone said. “My lady friend has been working feverishly on a book, but she’s just finished it, so why don’t you come for dinner?”

  “I was hoping you’d ask,” Felicity said, “and I accept. I’ve been gone five weeks, and there isn’t anything in the house that’s thawed.”

  “Drinks at seven?”

  “Perfect, and who, may I ask, is this one?”

  “Jamie Cox—I’ll introduce you.”

  “I shall look forward to meeting her,” Felicity said. “May I bring someone? He owns a dinner jacket.”

  “Of course. See you at the dock.” Stone hung up.

  “Are we having a guest for dinner?” Jamie asked.

  “Yes, does the name Dame Felicity Devonshire ring a distant bell?”

  Jamie cupped a hand to her ear. “I believe I hear something. Intelligence, is it?”

  “She’s director of MI6, the British foreign intelligence service.”

  “Ah, yes, and how did you come to know her?”

  “That memory is lost in the mists of time, but she’s my neighbor across the river. She’s bringing someone, but I forgot to ask who.”

  “I love a surprise.”

  “We’ll see about that. He’s probably one of her father’s contemporaries and will harrumph and bah a lot.”

  “Oh, swell.”

  “On the other hand, it’s black tie, and we can rely on Felicity to dress to kill, so you can have a shot at that, too.”

  “I knew there was a reason I brought those dresses.”

  2

  Stone and Jamie met Felicity at the dock and took her lines. Her companion looked familiar, Stone thought. Jamie actually gasped when she saw him. He was a little taller and a little slimmer than Stone, and movie-star handsome. Stone hoped he wasn’t a little smarter, too. He introduced Jamie.

  “Stone, Jamie, this is Craig Calvert,” Felicity said, with just a tiny note of pride in her voice.

  Calvert was, of course, a British movie star, though Stone hadn’t seen him in anything. Calvert revealed spectacular dental work as he shook their hands, and his voice was a little deeper than Stone’s.

  “How do you do?” Calvert said, rather formally, but he looked only at Jamie.

  “We do very well, thank you,” Stone said, choosing his pronoun carefully as a small shot across his bow.

  Felicity enveloped Stone in her buxom embrace, reinforced with a tiny pelvic thrust—to make sure he was paying attention. �
��How wonderful to see you,” she said, clinging for a moment.

  Stone got everybody into the Range Rover, then drove the ninety seconds to the house, where the butler, Kevin, awaited them on the steps with the front door open. Half a minute later, Stone was playing bartender, pouring martinis for everyone but himself. He kept martinis and vodka gimlets premixed and in the freezer. And when he had poured himself a Knob Creek, he sat down and let Felicity take over the conversation, since not doing so would have been fruitless.

  “Craig is about to begin shooting a grand new film at Pinewood,” she said. “He has been our guest at the office for a couple of days to soak up a little intelligence atmosphere.”

  “I’ll bet Felicity made you sign the Official Secrets Act,” Stone said, mentioning the draconian document that hijacked the right of free speech on anything to do with intelligence.

  “She did,” Calvert replied, “so I can’t even tell you where the men’s room is at MI6 without being jailed.”

  “Fortunately, I know where the men’s room is,” Stone replied, in an attempt to restore a level playing field. “What’s your new film about?”

  “A spy thriller, of course.”

  “Are you playing the role of spy or spy catcher?”

  “Both, as it happens. I should get paid twice.”

  “I’m sure you’re worth every shilling,” Stone said.

  “Stone,” Felicity interjected, unable to contain herself. “I understand that you and Jamie have been involved in a very big story in the States.”

  “Jamie has been,” Stone said. “I’m just a bystander.”

  “Not an innocent one, though,” Jamie added. “I just finished my book on the subject this afternoon and delivered the manuscript via e-mail.”

  “Then congratulations,” Felicity said.

  “I suppose you’ll have some time on your hands now. You should come up to Pinewood and see the fabulous sets that have been built there,” Calvert offered.

  “I’d love to,” Jamie replied, with a little more enthusiasm than Stone would have liked.

  “So would I,” Stone said. “May I come, too?”

  “Of course,” Calvert said, with a little less enthusiasm than Stone would have liked. “We start principal photography a week from Monday, so any time before then, unless you’d like to be bored rigid by watching actors speak the same lines over and over.”