"Your health," Stone said, sipping the wine. It was perfectly chilled. He looked out at the vista, which was the better part of the town, with green hills beyond and the sea shining in the distance. "Lovely," he said.

Sir Winston sat down opposite him. "Yes, we are fortunate on our island," he said. "God has given us at beauty on all sides."

Perhaps not on the side of town harboring the slums, he thought. "Oh, yes," he said. The champagne was absolutely perfect.

"Bad crash-Chester's airplane," Stone said.

"Yes, a terrible thing," Sir Winston said, not sounding too sad. "I suppose we'll have to find someone else start a ferry service to Antigua."

"I suppose," Stone said. "Have the police found any reason for the crash?"

"They'relooking into it," Sir Winston said. "I trust you are enjoying your stay with us?"

"I would be enjoying it a great deal more if my original plan of cruising could have been implemented," Stone said.

"Ah, yes, and perhaps the company of the young lady who was to have joined you."

"Quite," Stone replied, beginning to feel slightly British, or at least colonial, in the surroundings.

"I understand she was detained in New York by the unfortunate weather," Sir Winston said sympathetically.

"That is correct," Stone replied, "and then she had to go to Los Angeles on business."

"Leaving you alone to deal with Mrs.Manning's problems."

"As it turned out."

"Tell me, did you know Mrs.Manning prior to coming here?"

"Or her late husband?"

"No. I'd heard of him, though; he was quite a well-known author."

"Did she seek you out while at sea, then?"

"She didn't seek me out at all," Stone replied, sipping more champagne. "I had scheduled my cruise some weeks before the Mannings set sail from the Canaries. And I didn't know them."

"No professional connection? No mutual friends who might have referred you to Mrs.Manning?"

"None. I was just sitting on my chartered boat when she sailed in. At that time there was still some hope of my companion joining me."

"And how did you happen to appear at the coroner's inquest?"

"I had nothing else to do," Stone said. "It was the only entertainment available."

Sir Winston smiled broadly. "Entertainment, eh? I like that: a coroner's inquest as entertainment."

"Tell me, Sir Winston, how did you happen to attend the inquest? Wasn't it perhaps overkill for the minister of justice to participate in such an event?"

"We are a small island, Mr.Barrington," Sir Winston replied smoothly. "But enough of this chat," he said, taking a slip of paper from his pocket and unfolding it. "Tell me-who, exactly, is, or perhaps I should say was, Elizabeth Allison Manning?"

Stone took a long swallow of his champagne. Oh, shit, he thought.

CHAPTER 33

Sir Winston stared across the table at Stone, waiting for an answer. Stone thought fast, but there was not much he could do in the way of obfuscation. Sir Winston had seen him at dinner with Libby Manning and had, no doubt, noticed the passing of documents between them. He decided to follow Mark Twain's advice: when in doubt, tell the truth.

"Elizabeth Manning was the first wife of Paul Manning," Stone said.

Sir Winston's eyebrows went up. "Ahhhh," he breathed. "Not a sister or a cousin, but an ex-wife?"

"Yes."

"Tell me, Mr.Barrington, how many ex-wives did Paul Manning have?"

"Just the one, to my knowledge."

"And what brought the first Mrs.Manning to our beautiful island?"

"Your beautiful island, I expect; and, perhaps, some curiosity about the death of Paul Manning. She'd read about it in the American papers, you see, and she wondered if she could be of any assistance."

"Ah, yes," Sir Winston said, an edge in his voice. "It seems a great many people read about Mr.Manning's death in the American papers. I have heard from a number of them, including Senators Dodd and Lieberman of Connecticut."

"Yes, I believe Mr.Manning was a very substantial contributor to the Democratic Party," he lied, "and a personal friend of the President and Mrs.Clinton." The champagne was taking effect now, and he had trouble keeping a straight face.

"Indeed?"

"Yes, I've heard that the president is an avid reader of Mr.Manning's books." He stopped himself from adding that Paul Manning was also an investor in the Whitewater real estate venture and a financial advisor to the First Lady.

Sir Winston cleared his throat loudly. "To return to the first Mrs.Manning, what business did you and she discuss during her visit?"

Stone wondered if, somehow, Libby's copy of the agreement had been found. "Sir Winston," he said, "I am sure you understand that I am bound by the confidentiality strictures of the attorney-client relationship, but I think it would not be untoward for me to tell you that Elizabeth Manning, who was not a wealthy woman, had some notion of participating in her former husband's estate. He had been paying alimony to her during the past ten years, a requirement of their divorce decree which had recently expired."

"And did she participate in Mr.Manning's estate?"

"Elizabeth Manning was disappointed to learn that had not been mentioned in Mr.Manning's will, and, requirement for alimony having expired, she was entitled to nothing further."

"So why were you and Mrs.Manning exchanging at dinner the other evening?"

"I can tell you only that the second Mrs.Manning, of a kind nature, felt moved to improve the circumstances of the first Mrs.Manning."

"Improve to what extent?"

"I'm afraid that client confidentiality prevents me saying more."

Sir Winston stared at him for a long moment, then nodded at the waiter, who disappeared and came back with two platters of lobster salad. Sir Winston ate his lobster, sipped his champagne, and stared out to sea.

Stone ate his lunch, too, grateful for the opportunity to collect his thoughts. Clearly, Sir Winston had believed that he might turn the presence, or perhaps even the death, of Elizabeth Manning to his advantage in court. Stone was happy to disappoint him.

Sir Winston finished his lobster and sat back in his chair. "What else do you know of Elizabeth Manning?" he asked. "There is the matter of notification of next of kin, you see, and lacking her passport or other documents, we are somewhat at a loss as to how to proceed."

"I know that Elizabeth Manning made her home in Palm Beach, Florida,…"

"But you said that she was not a wealthy woman," Sir Winston interrupted. "I should think that living in Palm Beach would be a very expensive matter. I have visited that city, you see."

Stone shrugged. "Every American city, even the wealthiest, has neighborhoods that house those who are employed by the wealthy. I do not have Mrs.Manning's address, but I am sure that she must have lived in such a neighborhood. She told me that she was employed by a small newspaper to write a column about Palm Beach society. It gave her a sort of entree to social events, but I imagine that her nose was very much pressed against the shop window of that society."

"Mmmm," Sir Winston mused.

"I should think her address would be on her hotel registration card," Stone said, "and that the nearest American consulate could be of assistance in tracing her next of kin."

"Of course," Sir Winston replied. "That is all being taken care of."

"If I can be of any further assistance in making inquiries, let me know."

"No, no; that won't be necessary."

Coffee and petit fours appeared on the table, and both men helped themselves.

"Tell me, Stone, if I may call you that?"

"Please do."

He smiled broadly. "And you may call me Winston, of course. Tell me, just what is in all this for you?"