Free Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 21 by Son of Stone Page A

that.”
    Peter smiled. “I have no problem talking with you, Dad.”
    “Good. Now that we’ve made you into the perfect son, you get on with your day, and I’ll work on becoming the perfect father.”
    Peter ran back to his room, and Stone heaved a huge sigh of relief.
    “I heard all that,” Joan said from the door.
    “Eavesdropper!” Stone said.
    “You should take your advice,” she said.

16
    S tone pressed the button for Joan’s extension. “Joan, please find a Timothy Rutledge at the University of Virginia and get him on the phone for me. If he’s not there, see if information has a number for him.”
    “Hang on, boss,” Joan said. Thirty seconds later she buzzed him. “Line one.”
    Stone picked up the phone. “Mr. Rutledge?”
    “It’s Dr. Rutledge, thank you. Who is this?”
    “My name is Stone Barrington. I think you know who I am.”
    “Not necessarily,” Rutledge replied.
    “Arrington Calder is visiting me in New York. Does that ring a bell?”
    “Maybe.”
    “All you need to know is that I am an attorney and that I represent Mrs. Calder.”
    “What do you want?”
    “Mrs. Calder has asked me to request of you that you do not attempt to see her or speak to her, except for business purposes—that is, on matters pertaining to the completion of her house in Virginia.”
    “Why doesn’t she say that to me herself?”
    “Mrs. Calder informs me that she has already done so, and in no uncertain terms.”
    “What is this about?”
    “I will be happy to put it in writing for you and include a restraining order against you, requiring you not to see or communicate with her, except under the circumstances I have already outlined. I’m told that you are acquainted with restraining orders.”
    There was a long silence.
    “Is there anything you don’t understand about Mrs. Calder’s request?” Stone asked.
    “Yes, I don’t understand why.”
    “She no longer wishes to hear from you, except on business. That is all you need to know. It is also all a judge needs to know. You should be aware that a restraining order is a public document and therefore can be seen by anyone who takes the trouble, and there are media people who take the trouble every day. Do you understand that?”
    “Go fuck yourself,” Rutledge said.
    “Did I mention that this conversation is being recorded?” Stone asked.
    Rutledge hung up.
    Stone looked up to see Arrington standing in the doorway.
    “That was very good,” she said. “Very professional. Were you really recording him?”
    “Yes,” Stone said.
    “Was he angry?”
    “Yes. He kept saying he didn’t understand why you wouldn’t see him.”
    She nodded. “It figures. He was a perfectly nice person, until he heard your name.”
    “From whom did he hear it?”
    “From me. I told him that Peter and I were spending Christmas with you. He demanded to know who you were, and I told him you are an old friend. That didn’t help. He started asking questions about you, and I cut him off.”
    “How long had you been seeing him?” Stone asked.
    “Since shortly after construction started on the house. It was foolish of me, I guess, to become involved with someone who worked for me, but you weren’t around, and I was lonely.”
    “Does Peter know him?”
    “They’ve met once. I’ve kept him away from Tim.”
    “Well, let’s let sleeping dogs lie,” Stone said. “He’s been warned.”

17
    P eter put on his overcoat and gloves, tucked his leather envelope under his arm, left the house, first making sure his key was in his pocket, walked up to Third Avenue, and hailed a cab. “Two-oh-five West Fifty-seventh Street,” he said to the driver, looking at the address written on the back of his father’s card.
    The driver said nothing to him but talked rapidly into his cell phone in a language that Peter thought was Arabic or Urdu. The man drove as quickly as possible in the traffic, and arrived at the building in ten minutes. Peter paid and tipped the