Stone buzzed Joan. “That meeting I have today, what time is it at? And with who?”
“Four p.m. With Charley Fox.”
“Here or at his office?”
“His office.”
“Thank you, Joan. I’ll be out the rest of the day and will go directly to Triangle Investments. Call if you need me.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
He rolled his eyes as he hung up, then smiled at the commander. “I have to be somewhere at four, but until then, I’m all yours.”
Stone and Choi’s first stopwas in Queens, at the home of Deirdre Lyne, one of theAmanda Jae’s stewards.
After Choi pushed the doorbell, a female voice came through the built-in intercom. “Can I help you?”
“Deirdra Lyne?” Choi asked.
“Who’s asking?”
“I’m Commander Choi with the U.S. Coast Guard. I’m investigating theAmanda Jae—”
“I’m sorry. I’m busy.”
“We just need a few minutes of your time.”
There was no response.
“Ms. Lyne?”
The intercom remained silent.
Choi pushed the doorbell again, but this time no one answered.
“I get the impression she doesn’t want to talk to you,” Stone said.
The commander frowned. “You and me both.”
After trying the bell a few more times with the same lack of success, they decided to move on to the second person on their list.
Gerry Villarosa lived in a brick apartment building not too far from JFK airport. He had been a member of theAmanda Jae’s deck crew. But he was either not home or also ignoring them, as Choi’s knocks went unanswered.
The third survivor was Stella Monroe, theAmanda Jae’s assistant chef. She lived in an apartment in Brooklyn.
This time someone actually answered the door. The unsmiling man looked Stone and Choi up and down, then said, “Yeah?”
“Good morning. I’m Commander Choi of the U.S. Coast Guard. Is Stella Monroe home?”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“I’m investigating theAmanda Jaeincident and have a few questions I’d like to ask her.”
“If this is about the lawsuit, our lawyers told us not to talk to anyone.”
From behind him, a woman’s voice said, “Barry, who is it?”
“Don’t worry about it,” the man said.
