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Product Description Stone Barrington gets involved in some dangerous business in this outstanding thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Stuart Woods. Stone Barrington isn’t one to turn away in the face of danger, so when he witnesses a tricky situation, he jumps in to lend a hand. He never expected his involvement would lead to a mutually beneficial business deal with a prominent gentleman who requires the ever-discreet services of Woodman & Weld. But in the ruthless corporate world no good deed goes unpunished, and Stone soon finds himself the target of a ragtag group of criminal toughs who don’t appreciate his interference in their dealings. From the isolated landscape of Maine to the white sand beaches of Key West, the trail of deception, theft, and murder will lead to a perilous confrontation. Review Praise for Stuart Woods “Stuart Woods is a no-nonsense, slam-bang storyteller.”— Chicago Tribune “A world-class mystery writer...I try to put Woods’s books down and I can’t.”— Houston Chronicle “Mr. Woods, like his characters, has an appealing way of making things nice and clear.”— The New York Times “Woods certainly knows how to keep the pages turning.”— Booklist“Since 1981, readers have not been able to get their fill of Stuart Woods’ New York Times bestselling novels of suspense.”— Orlando Sentinel “Woods’s Stone Barrington is a guilty pleasure...he’s also an addiction that’s harder to kick than heroin.”— Contra Costa Times (California) About the Author Stuart Woods is the author of more than eighty-five novels, including the #1 New York Times-bestselling Stone Barrington series. He is a native of Georgia and began his writing career in the advertising industry. Chiefs, his debut in 1981, won the Edgar Award. An avid sailor and pilot, Woods lives in Florida, Maine, and Connecticut. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1Stone Barrington and Dina Bacchetti were having dinner at Patroon, a favorite restaurant. Dino's wife, Viv, was out of town on business-she was an executive at the world's second-largest security company, Strategic Services, and had to travel a lot, so Stone and Dino were having, perhaps, their thousandth dinner together, just the two of them. The owner, Ken Aretzky, stopped by and bought them a drink, then continued on his rounds. They ordered the Caesar salad, a house specialty prepared at the table, and the chateaubri and, medium rare, and Stone ordered a bottle of the Laughing Hare Cabernet. "Laughing Hare?" Dino asked. "A Cabernet you never heard of," Stone said. "Honest public servants can't afford it." Dino was New York City's commissioner of police, but the two men had been partners as homicide detec tives many years before. "That's why I'm buying." The waiter brought the bottle and poured them a taste. Dino sampled it. "So I should consider this a bribe?" "Let's call it a bribe in the bank, since there's nothing in par ticular I want from you at the moment." "That makes a nice change," Dino said, and took a larger swig of the wine. "Not bad." "You are given to understatement," Stone said. "Okay, it's pretty damn good." Stone took a swig himself. "Better than that." "So how come you're alone tonight? Where's Pat Frank?" "Who knows?" Stone said. "She has let it be known that she'd rather be alone than with me." "What did you do?" "It's what you did," Stone said. "You arrested her boyfriend on a double murder charge and her old friend as an accessory after the fact." "And she blames you?" "I tried blaming you-it didn't work." "So she pulled the plug?" "Not exactly, she just got really busy." "She just started a new business, maybe she is really just very busy." "When I hear that excuse twice, I usually pull the plug myself. But the second time I was understanding, then I heard it a third time, and I got the message." "I'm sure it's you, not her." "Isn't that line supposed to be the other way ar