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  BOOKS BY STUART WOODS

  FICTION

  Hush-Hush*

  Shakeup*

  Choppy Water*

  Hit List*

  Treason*

  Stealth*

  Contraband*

  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

  Bombshell** (with Parnell Hall)

  Skin Game** (with Parnell Hall)

  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 Stone Barrington Novel

  †An Ed Eagle Novel

  ‡A Holly Barker Novel

  §A Will Lee 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 © 2020 by Stuart Woods

  Excerpt from Double Jeopardy copyright © 2021 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: Hush-hush / Stuart Woods.

  Description: New York : G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2020. | Series: A Stone Barrington novel

  Identifiers: LCCN 2020048298 (print) | LCCN 2020048299 (ebook) | ISBN 9780593188354 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780593188378 (ebook)

  Subjects: GSAFD: Suspense fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3573.O642 H87 2021 (print) | LCC PS3573.O642 (ebook) | DDC 813/.54—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020048298

  LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020048299

  p. cm.

  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.

  Cover illustration: Mike Heath

  Cover image: (island) Mihai Andritoiu / Shutterstock

  pid_prh_5.6.1_c0_r0

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  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 Double Jeopardy

  About the Author

  1

  Stone Barrington awoke slowly on a Sunday morning. The evening before had been spent with his good friend Dino Bacchetti, and had involved good beef, good wine, and various spirits before and after dinner. Stone was alone in his bed, which was not his preference.

  He was alone in his house, too, he recalled, since he had given his cook and housekeeper, Helene, and her husband, Fred Flicker, the weekend off. There was, he remembered, a
housemaid stationed in the kitchen to meet his culinary needs. He picked up the phone and dialed an extension.

  “Yes, sir?” an accented voice responded. “This is Gilia.”

  Gilia was Greek, being one of a number of Helene’s nieces who occasionally landed in his employ.

  “Breakfast,” he said huskily.

  “Your usual, sir?” she asked.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Only a little minutes,” she replied.

  “Good.” He hung up.

  * * *

  —

  Gilia had been taught well. The eggs were soft and creamy and properly salted, the sausages were tender and juicy, and his Wolferman’s English muffin was perfectly toasted and buttered. By the time he had wolfed it all down, he felt restored. He was searching for an old movie to watch on TV and had just selected a John Wayne western, John Ford’s Rio Grande, when his cell phone rang—the secure one. He picked it up. “Speak,” he said. It was likely to be one of two people on the line; he hoped it was the tender gender one.

  “What kind of greeting is that?” she asked.

  “A cautious one,” Stone replied. “I was hoping it was you and not Lance.” Lance Cabot was the director of Central Intelligence, for whom Stone served as a special adviser. The woman on the line was the President of the United States, Holly Barker, with whom Stone had had an affectionate relationship for many years, off and on.

  “I was thinking of coming to New York,” she said. “When would be convenient for you?”

  “How about right this minute?”

  “You understand there are arrangements to be made.”

  “I thought we had that all ironed out and given a code name, ‘Turtle Bay.’” That was the name of the neighborhood surrounding a private garden on which his house was located. “All you have to do is dial a number, speak those words, and you’ll be here in time for lunch.”

  “I know that’s supposed to be how it works,” she said, “but I’ve never actually used it. And things have a way of going awry when their operation depends on the workings of the federal government.”

  “Oh, ye of little faith,” Stone said, reprovingly.

  “My faith in my government, or lack of same, is based on long experience.”

  “But your experience at the top of it is brief,” he replied. “Try it and see.”

  “Hang,” she said, picking up another phone and dialing an extension. She held the other phone so he could hear the conversation.

  “Yes, Madam President,” a male voice said after a single ring.

  “Execute Turtle Bay,” she said.

  “Your helicopter will arrive in thirty minutes,” he replied. “ETA, East Side Heliport in one hour and forty-two minutes. Weather is favorable all the way. A three-car SUV group will greet and transport you to your destination.”

  “Excellent,” she said, and hung up. “You get that?”

  “I did. Sounds as if it should work as planned,” he said. “Do you want to go out for dinner?”

  “You know we can’t appear in a New York restaurant without causing a press riot.”

  “Then I’ll have you all to myself.”

  “You could invite the Bacchettis,” she replied.

  “Done.”

  “I’ll look forward to that. Tell Viv I’m dressing to kill. See you soon.”

  Stone looked forward to it as well. He called another number.

  “Bacchetti,” a gruff voice replied.

  “Which one?”

  “The one who didn’t have to go through menopause.”

  “Holly’s on her way. Dinner here this evening?”

  “Viv will want to know what we’re wearing.”

  “You and I are wearing tuxedos. Tell Viv to let her imagination run wild.”

  “I can’t do that. It would mean an all-afternoon shopping trip and a big dent in her credit card.”

  “C’est la guerre, pal. Six-thirty for drinks.” He hung up. Then, as he did, he remembered that Helene was away for the weekend, and he was not cooking in a tuxedo, or out of one, for that matter. He called Fred’s cell phone.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, Fred,” Stone said, “but our friend Holly is coming to dinner, as well as the Bacchettis, and I don’t know if Gilia can handle that.”

  “One moment, sir.” He came back a moment later. “Helene says Gilia can manage with what’s in the fridge and the pantry. She’ll call her with instructions. Not to worry.”

  “Thank you, Fred,” Stone said and hung up, feeling relieved.

  * * *

  —

  Holly arrived with four pieces of luggage and one Secret Service agent, a woman named Midge. The other agents had to loiter in the garage or around the neighborhood.

  She flung herself into his arms. “I want you,” she said, “but I need a nap.”

  “You know where the bed is,” he said, leaving Midge to get Holly’s luggage aboard the elevator. Stone looked in his study for a book he had been reading but didn’t find it; so he went downstairs to his law office and did. He was about to leave the room when there was a trumpet fanfare, and a message appeared on his desktop computer screen. Stone walked over, sat down, and read it.

  Dear Sir,

  Your computer, its hard disk, and all your programs and files are now frozen. Please understand that I have been reading them for weeks and, as a result, I know everything there is to know about you—your address and phone numbers, your social security number, your tax returns, and all your financial information are at my fingertips. I can dump your stock portfolio and deposit the funds in any bank account, anywhere. I can publish your tax returns in your local newspaper. I can print and distribute all the deeply personal e-mails you have sent to women over the years, some of them well-known to the public. In short, I can make your life a permanent hell.

  But I am a reasonable person, and I will provide you with a means of avoiding these disclosures. All you have to do is to purchase one million dollars’ worth of Bitcoin on the Internet and transfer them to an account that I will provide details for later. Upon receipt, your files will be restored, your computer unlocked, and it will be as if you never had the pleasure of meeting me. You have until noon Friday next to accomplish this: if you should fail to meet that deadline, your life will lie in ruins.

  There is a window at the bottom of your screen where you may send me an e-mail, should you wish.

  Regards,

  Dodger

  Stone read it again, then pressed the Print Screen button and waited for the printer to spit out the copy. When it had done so, he typed GO FUCK YOURSELF into the e-mail window. Then he took his book upstairs and settled in to read.

  2

  It was the best kind of dinner: old friends, a comfortable atmosphere with a cheerful fire burning in the grate, and a dinner that was nearly as good as Helene’s would have been. Afterward, the ladies excused themselves for a trip to the powder room. They might as well have been in London, Stone thought.

  “What’s new?” Dino asked.

  Stone took a folded sheet of paper from an inside pocket and handed it to him. “This is new,” he said.

  Dino read it, twice. “Are your computers blocked?”

  “Mine is. I didn’t try Joan’s.”

  “Are you going to pay the million bucks?”

  “Of course not!” Stone said, with as much restraint as he could muster.

  “You’re pretty hot about this, then,” Dino said, leaning back in his chair and sipping his cognac.

  “Wouldn’t you be?”

  “Me? I would have already turned this over to our tech guys and forgotten about it.”

  “I don’t have a tech staff on call,” Stone said.

  “Don’t you? There’s Bob Cantor; there’s that kid, H
uey, that you worked with on the New York Times thing. And of course, there’s Lance Cabot, who has the tech world at his fingertips.”

  “Oh, them. Well, I guess I could call one of them.”

  “Call all of them,” Dino advised. “Otherwise, you’re going to find yourself with thousands of dollars’ worth of useless computers. Oh, and then there’s the scandal, if your attacker stumbles into your e-mails from Lance.”

  Stone took a big gulp of his cognac and swirled it around in his mouth before swallowing. “It’s embarrassing,” he said.

  “I think Lance is going to find it more than embarrassing,” Dino said. “He’s been sending us all those reports from the field, along with the analyses.”

  Stone winced. “You’re right. I’m going to have to call him.”

  “And then . . .” Dino said slowly, “there’s Holly. I expect you have quite a few e-mails from her in an encrypted file.”

  Stone sucked his teeth and bathed them in brandy. “Thank God they’re encrypted,” he said.

  “Your computer was encrypted, too,” Dino pointed out. “And yet . . .”

  The women returned in time to keep Stone from exploding.

  “What’s wrong?” Holly asked Stone.

  “Wrong? Not a thing.”

  “I’m not buying that.”

  “And look at Dino,” Viv said. “He’s just scored some big point. So Stone’s ox has probably been gored.”

  “We’re not talking,” Dino said smugly.

  “Stone?” Holly said.

  “Dino’s not talking.”

  “Dino,” Viv said, “you’re going to tell me.”

  “If I feel like it,” Dino replied airily.

  “You may want to reconsider your position.”

  “It’s Stone’s problem. He can tell you, if he wants.”

  “It’s something I’d rather keep to myself,” Stone said firmly. “For the moment.”

  * * *

  —

  Later, Holly crawled into bed with Stone and slung a leg over his. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me?”

  “I’ll handle it myself,” Stone replied, giving her a long kiss.

  “You’re trying to distract me from the subject?” she said.

  Stone kissed her again and threw in a caress to a place she loved. “Is it working?”

  It was working.

  * * *