Shoot First (A Stone Barrington Novel, Band 45) - Softcover

Buch 45 von 67: Stone Barrington

Woods, Stuart

 
9780735217218: Shoot First (A Stone Barrington Novel, Band 45)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0735217211 ISBN 13: 9780735217218
Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group, 2018

Inhaltsangabe

In the latest nonstop adventure from #1 New York Times-bestselling author Stuart Woods, Stone Barrington must defend a woman whose business--and life--are under threat.

Stone Barrington is enjoying a round of golf in Key West when the game is violently interrupted--and it seems as if the target of the disturbance may have been one of his playing companions, the brilliant businesswoman behind a software startup on the cutting edge of technology. Soon it becomes clear that this incident is only the first thrust in a deadly scheme to push the beautiful young woman out of the way and put her company's valuable secrets up for grabs.

From the sun-soaked Florida shores to an idyllic English country retreat, Stone embarks on a quest to protect his lovely new companion while searching for the mastermind behind the plot against her. But he may find that her enemy is far more resourceful--and dangerous--than he could have anticipated.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

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.

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1

Stone Barrington and his friends Dino and Vivian Bacchetti had just finished a dinner of Caesar salad and Dover sole at Patroon, a favorite restaurant of theirs in the East Forties of New York.

"Oh, by the way," Stone said, "there's a Steele Group board meeting this weekend, and I wondered if you two would like to come?"

"Let me get this straight," Dino said. "You want us to come to a corporate board meeting?"

"Did I mention that it's in Key West?" Stone asked.

"Love to," Dino said.

"Same here," Viv echoed.

"Joan has found a rental house for me, and I'm told it's comfortable, and she's stocked it with food and drink. Why don't we all stay a few days?"

"I can get some time off," Viv said.

"I'll ask my boss," Dino said. Dino was the police commissioner of New York City.

"The mayor?"

"No, me. I asked, and I said, 'Sure, it's okay, stay as long as you like.'"

"You're a very generous boss," Stone said.

"Thank you. I try to cultivate good employee relations."

"I can back him up on that," Viv said. "When I was his employee, he cultivated relations with me."

"I hope he's not that generous with all his employees," Stone said.

"I hope so, too," Viv replied.

"You can both hope," Dino said. "When do we leap off?"

"Saturday morning. Pick me up at ten. We'll be in Key West by four. The board meeting isn't until Friday, but most of us will be playing in a golf tournament on Sunday and Monday."

"Arthur Steele is getting very generous with his directors, isn't he?"

"Oh, once in a while he'll spring for a jaunt. They're all staying at the Casa Marina, the old hotel built by Henry Flagler, the railroad guy who built the Breakers in Palm Beach and others in the early part of the last century."

"So why aren't we staying there?" Dino asked.

"You want to rub elbows with a lot of suits this weekend?"

"We'll stay with you," Dino said. "Should I go armed?"

"I'm not anticipating bandits in the Keys, but suit yourself." Dino always went armed.

They were wheels-up before noon on Saturday, and StoneÕs Citation 3 Plus made the flight easily in one leg, no refueling along the way.

At Key West International there was an envelope waiting for Stone at the FBO's front desk, containing house keys and a car key and instructions for operating the house, as well as some history of it. The car turned out to be a metallic white Mercedes S-Class convertible with twenty-eight miles on the odometer. They stowed their luggage in the trunk, and Stone put the top down.

"I hope you like freckles on a girl," Viv said. She was a redhead. "Dino will turn the color of mahogany in about an hour, and I try to keep up."

Stone followed the directions in the envelope; their landmark was a strip club called Bare Assets.

"Sounds like a nice neighborhood," Viv said.

"Can we have drinks there tonight?" Dino asked.

"If we do, it will be the only sex you'll get on this trip," Viv replied.

"They don't have sex there, just looking," Dino protested.

"I'm aware of that, and it's all you'll get. How many bedrooms are there, Stone?"

"Four, I'm told."

"Then you'll have two to choose from, Dino."

"Here's a thought," Dino said, "let's stay home and grill some steaks."

"Good idea," Viv replied.

The house was on a narrow lane between Truman Avenue and the island's cemetery. It had a bricked driveway and a garage and a carport, housing a golf cart, and Stone pulled into the garage. They got out and toured the house.

There was a book-lined study, next to an outdoor courtyard, followed by a dining room, a living room, and another, larger courtyard bordered by a koi pond, and beyond that there was a spa and a sunken swimming pool, all of it surrounded by jungle-like vegetation and flowers.

"Stone," Viv said, "this is spectacular!"

"We haven't seen the guest rooms and the kitchen," Stone said, consulting the note, "and there's a bar/video room. Oh, and that little house over there is the master suite, and we have an outdoor kitchen, bar, dining room, and living room, as well as the indoor ones." He pointed out everything. "From what it says here, I think you two will want the first guest room." They looked at it and approved. The kitchen was next. "Laundry room off the kitchen, in case Dino wants to rinse out his underthings." The next room contained a fully stocked bar and a very large flat-screen TV. They went back to the car, got their luggage, and settled in. "Drinks in half an hour," Stone said. "Outdoor bar."

Stone checked out the master suite and found a bedroom, dressing room, and a bath with a large tub. He found a TV remote control on the bedside table, but no set. He pressed the on button and a flat-screen TV rose from a cabinet and filled the wall at the foot of the bed. He could watch the Sunday political shows from there.

Everybody met in the outdoor living room, which was covered with an awning, in case of showers. There was no rain, and Stone tended bar, also making a couple of bottles of vodka gimlets and putting them in the freezer. In the process he found steaks and groceries in the outdoor kitchen fridge.

"I could live here," Viv said, settling into a sofa with a gimlet.

"If only it were in New York City," Dino responded, "on top of a tall building, maybe."

"Oh," Stone said, "there's a little house next to the back door that used to be free-standing, but a previous owner moved it over, bolted it to the main house, and made room for the driveway. A caretaker lives there. He keeps the place running and feeds the koi."

As if on cue a large, well-built man appeared and introduced himself as George. "Let me know if you need help with the electronics or anything else," he said, then he declined a drink, excused himself, and returned to his little house.

"There'll be a housekeeper, too, tomorrow morning." Stone looked at another sheet of paper. "The property was originally three small houses on three lots. Somebody bought them all and made them into the property you see now."

"Smart move," Dino said. "And you're playing golf tomorrow?"

"Arthur hustled me into playing in his tournament, and I haven't touched a club for more than a year."

"Then you'll lose," Dino pointed out.

"I think that's what Arthur has in mind," Stone replied.

"Oh," Viv said suddenly, putting a hand to a cheek.

"What?" Stone asked.

"I just had a premonition."

"A premonition of what?"

"I don't know, but something bad."

Dino waved an arm. "Bad? What bad could happen here?"

"As Fats Waller used to say, 'One never knows, do one?'"

2

Stone was up early and found a housekeeper cleaning up their dishes and the grill from the night before. She introduced herself as Anna, then went back to work.

When she was done with the kitchen, Stone scrambled himself some eggs, microwaved some bacon, and toasted a Wolferman's English muffin, the sourdough flavor he liked. Joan, his secretary, had briefed somebody well.

He left Dino and Viv to sleep as late as they liked, then he recorded the Sunday political shows on the DVR, got the golf invitation from his briefcase, and followed the directions to the golf club. Somebody took his clubs from the trunk and carried them to the...

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Verlag
Penguin Publishing Group
Erscheinungsdatum
2018
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0735217211
ISBN 13 
9780735217218
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
336
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
gpsr@libri.de
gpsr@libri.de

Friedensallee 273
Hamburg
22763
Deutschland

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