Criminal Mischief

15

Viv was traveling again, so Stone and Dino had dinner at Café Un Deux Trois, a brasserie on West Forty-Fourth Street, the sort of traditional French restaurant that specialized in Steak Frites, a steak with French fries. The best bottle of wine on the carte du vins wasn’t expensive, so they ordered that.

“What’s new on the Kitty front?” Dino asked.

“She has, amazingly, repaid her debt to me for the car.”

“How many rolls in the hay did that take?”

“You defame her. She repaid last night with a cashier’s check.”

“My apologies to the lady. You wouldn’t be walking and talking if she had worked it off.”

“Crudely put, but not inaccurate,” Stone said.

“What’s she like in the sack?” Dino asked. When Stone frowned and shook his head, Dino said, “After all, she told Viv what you are like.”

“That’s right, she did. Does that relieve me of confidentiality regarding her charms?”

“I think the bar association would buy that,” Dino said.

“All right, she is, in a word, spectacular.”

“I guess that about covers it.”

“I guess it does.”

“Where’d she get the money to repay you with a cashier’s check?”

“She forgot that her ex’s final payment on her divorce settlement was due, and he coughed up on schedule.”

“Coughed up how much?”

“Since she’s not my client, I guess I can tell you: upward of seven mil.”

“Wow!”

“I am reliably informed that ol’ Harry is worth north of sixty mil, so it wasn’t a strain for him.”

“How does an Englishman get to be worth sixty mil?” Dino asked.

“The old-fashioned way: he inherited it. I’m assuming that, since he has no visible means of support — certainly not from Kitty, who got scalped for more than three mil by Zanian.”

“Speaking of Zanian, I heard a rumor today.”

“Lay it on me.”

“I stress that it’s just a rumor. I have no evidence to back it up.”

“Tell me anyway, just for the fun of it.”

“There are those who say that our boy Viktor isn’t in Rio at all, that he never left the States.”

“And the film of him getting off the plane in Rio?”

“Staged.”

“How substantial a rumor is this?”

“On what scale?”

“Zero to ten — ten is irrefutable.”

“Maybe a four.”

“That substantial? Really?”

“The guy I heard it from is not usually given to fantasy.”

“And it’s on that basis alone that you rate the rumor a four?”

“If I didn’t think it could be true, I would have given it a zero, or maybe a one.”

“That’s interesting. Does the rumor contain a location?”

“He could still be in New York City.”

“And you find that plausible?”

“Wouldn’t you?” Dino asked. “If he were in Rio, this is the last place anybody would look for him.”

“Have you got people on this?”

“Nah, it’s a federal case. We couldn’t care less.”

“Except to start rumors. Is it a federal rumor or local?”

“It’s federal.”

“Do you give more weight to federal rumors than local ones?”

“Well, if it was local, I’d expect more backup.”

“I see. So, how would somebody fake the Rio film?”

“Are you kidding? Haven’t you seen any movies lately? They can make anything appear to be anything else. I saw one the other night that made the White House explode. They can do that, they can put Zanian in Rio, no problem.”

“You have a point,” Stone said.

“Of course, you no longer have an interest in Zanian, because you got your money back.”

“I didn’t get it back from Zanian, so he’s fair game. Is there a reward for the guy?”

“There’s a rumor that somebody has come up with ten million bucks for arrest and conviction, but it hasn’t been posted yet.”

“Maybe not,” Stone said, “but your rumors are getting more interesting.”

“I thought that, too. I’d rate this one as an eight.”

“Now that’s interesting.”

“To find out if it’s true, all you have to do is wait until tomorrow. That’s when they’re supposed to make the announcement.”

“I’ll try and be patient.”

“And, of course, you still have a personal interest in seeing Zanian caught.”

“Ah, yes,” Stone said. “Tink.”

“I take it she has not been visiting you since Zanian ran off with her money.”

“You take it correctly. She was even behaving as if it were my fault, even though I warned her off — even put it in writing.”

“Some people resent it when people who give them dire warnings turn out to be right.”

“They do, don’t they? You’d think they’d be more appreciative, wouldn’t you?”

“Nah, they resent being told, ‘I told you so.’ ”

“You’re rich enough to cover her loss,” Dino said. “That would secure you a warmer place in her, ah, heart.”

Stone shook his head. “No, it would be like paying for sex. I’d rather preserve my amateur standing.”

“You’ve never paid for sex?”

“Well, once, in college when it seemed to be the only way I’d ever get laid. Since then, my record is right up to Olympic standards.”

“Well, I hope, for your sake, that Tink gets her money back and gives you credit for it.”

“I don’t see that happening, do you?”

“Nah,” Dino said. “It’s not how women think.”

“That’s a sexist remark,” Stone said.

“I don’t care. My wife’s not listening.”