he thought to himself. "Let's order." They chatted idly until their food came, and ate mostly in silence. She was waiting for him to make the first move, he reckoned. Then,

as they ate, another couple was shown to a table a few yards away.

Stone looked up and gulped.

Libby leaned forward. "Who is that extraordinary looking black fella?"

she asked.

"His name is Sir Winston Sutherland," Stone replied, keeping his voice down, "and he is the worst nightmare of any white woman traveling alone in this country."

Her eyes widened. "How do you mean?"

"His greatest pleasure seems to be finding innocent American girls, charging them with capital crimes, and hanging them without much of a trial. Allison is his most recent victim."

"He's the one who's prosecuting her?"

Stone nodded. "Take my advice, Libby; avoid him at all costs, and whatever you do, don't let him fred out who you are."

Libby downed the rest of her martini and started on the wine. "Why should I be afraid of him?"

"Well, another rich American widow might be a tempting target."

"Rich? Me?"

"Well, Paul was fairly rich, wasn't he? Sir Winston knows all about that."

"Jesus, Paul was only sending me ten thousand dollars a month."

"Three thousand," Stone said, sipping his wine.

"Well, I'm sure he must have provided for me in his will."

Stone took the document from his envelope and handed it to her. "I think you'd better read his will."

She dug some glasses out of her handbag and read quickly. "That shit,"

she said under her breath. "That utter and complete shit. I'll get a lawyer and sue his estate."

"On what grounds?" Stone asked.

"Oh, a lawyer will come up with something." "Libby, the kind of lawyer who would take your case would bleed you dry before the court even ruled, and then you'd get nothing."

"I'd still get my alimony," she said.

"Maybe. I won't know that until I see your divorce

A copy is being faxed to me from Miami tom or-morning."

She blinked rapidly, but said nothing.

"Libby, if you should sue the estate, it will upset Allison very badly, and right now, she holds the purse strings. She'll stop paying your alimony until a court otherwise, and that could take a long time. Are prepared to get by on the salary from your new spa-column in Palm Beach until it all gets sorted out? It take years."

"Oh, I'll get by all right; don't you worry," she said, smiling, but she was still blinking rapidly.

Let me make a suggestion," Stone said.

"Go right ahead."

"Suppose Allison gave you, say, ten years of alimony, all at once. That would be three hundred and sixty thousand dollars in your bank account, right now." "Right now?"

"The minute the check clears."

Libby stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "No, sir; I want a million dollars."

"Allison has authorized me to offer you four hundred thousand dollars,"

Stone said, "and not a cent more." He took the check out of his pocket, filled in her name and the amount, and handed it to her.

Libby put on her glasses again and looked at the check. "Yeah," she said, "aad as soon as I'm out of here she'll stop payment."

"No, she won't do that," Stone 'replied, handing her the document he had written a few minutes before.

She. began reading.

"You see, it says that if she stops payment, you can sue her. And four hundred thousand dollars, wisely invested, should give you an annual income that represents a substantial raise over what you're getting now. And you'd always have that nest egg to fall back on." He took the document, filled in the amount, and handed it to her. "Allison's signature is already at the bottom, and her signature is on the check."

She looked up at him, obviously tempted.

"If you demand more, Allison will fight you, and she's the one with all the money. All you have to do is sign both copies of that document, have Thomas witness it, then go upstairs, get a good night's sleep, and take the first plane back to Miami tomorrow morning. The reservation has already been made."

Still, she hesitated.

"The money can be in your bank account within three business days, if you ask your bank to rush it."

"Suppose Allison gets hanged next week? What then?"

"The money's still yours. But if she hangs and you sue her estate, then you'll have to fight Allison's heirs, and they're going to care even less about you than she does. At least she's trying to do the right thing, even though she doesn't have to."

Libby Manning stood up and walked over to the bar, clutching the documents, with Stone right behind her. "Thomas," she said, "will you witness my signature, please?"

"Of course," Thomas said, watching her sign the documents, then signing them himself.

She handed Stone his copy and tucked her copy and check into her handbag. "What time is the first flight tomorrow morning?" she asked him.

"Chester flies at eight o'clock sharp. Would you like to drive you to the airport?"

"Thank you, yes," she said. She held out her hand to and shook his.

"Thank you for your assistance, Barrington," she said, then she turned and marched

Thomas looked at Stone. "I take it the matter is set "It is. Call Chester and get her on that plane, no he has to throw off."

"Right."