Dirt

Chapter 46

By the time they got out of the cab it had started raining, and the two women ran into the theater lobby. Dino turned up his collar. “This is just great,” he said. “I might as well be back on the beat.”

“A little beat work will do you good,” Stone said. The four of them huddled in the lobby until Stone could find an usher.

“Should be over any minute now,” the man said.

“You planning to do this on foot?” Dino asked Stone.

“Ah, maybe not. You want to get us a cab?”

“We just gave up a cab, and it’s raining. It’s a known fact that all New York City cabs go off duty the minute it starts to rain, and on top of that, a couple of thousand people are going to come pouring out of this theater in a minute, and they’re all going to be trying to hail the same cab.”

Arrington spoke up. “There are two entrances to this theater,” she said. “This one and one in Shubert Alley. We’d better cover both, don’t you think?”

“I don’t want Dryer to see you,” Stone said. “Do you think you could try hailing a cab for us and just wait in it until we come out?”

“You’re sweet.”

“Here, take my hat.” He placed his fedora on her head; it came down over her ears. “Best get one going east on Forty-fourth.”

Arrington took a deep breath and ran into the street, waving her arms. Mary Ann stood her ground. “This guy doesn’t know me; I’m staying right here.”

“Could you keep an eye on Arrington, so we’ll know where she is if we have to move in a hurry?”

“That I can do.”

“I’ll take the alley,” Stone said. “Holler if you see him.”

“Right,” Dino said. “I hope he looks like his picture.”

“Me, too.” Stone left the lobby and walked up Shubert Alley, which ran between 44th and 45th Streets. The alley offered no shelter, and he stood there, getting wet. Shortly, a door opened and a trickle of people began leaving the theater, followed by a flood. Stone tried to search the faces without turning head on to them. After all, Dryer knew what he looked like. The theater was half empty when he heard Dino’s voice.

“Stone!”

He looked toward the corner of 45th and saw Dino waving for him. He hurried toward him.

“He just got into a limo with some other people,” Dino said, pointing at a line of limousines lining the curb.

“Where’s Arrington? Did she find a cab?”

“I don’t know; she went off toward Eighth Avenue.”

The line of limos started to move.

“Shit,” Dino said. “Where is she?”

“I’m getting wet,” Mary Ann said.

“Don’t melt,” Dino replied.

“There!” Stone pointed. Arrington was waving at them from the window of a cab. They all ran for it, and as they did, the limos began picking up speed. “Which car is he in?”

“That one,” Dino said nodding.

Stone tried to see inside, but the windows were tinted too darkly. Then he wondered if Dryer could be looking back at him through the opaque windows.

They piled into the cab with Arrington; Stone took the front seat. “Follow the third limo ahead,” he said to the driver.

“Oh, great,” the driver muttered. “How far we going? Queens? Montauk?”

“Shut up and drive,” Dino said, shoving his badge under the driver’s nose.

“Awright, awright,” the driver moaned.

“He’s crossing Seventh Avenue,” Dino said. “Keep up, and don’t let any more traffic get between him and us.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the driver said.

They moved slowly toward 6th Avenue; then, as they approached the comer, the light turned red, trapping them while Dryer’s limo turned left.

“Shit,” Stone said.

“Look, what can I do?” the driver whined. “There’s two cars in front of me. You want me to drive over them?”

“He’s stopped at the next corner; we can still catch up.”

A raft of traffic moved past them on 6th Avenue. Now they were ten or twelve cars back. Finally the light changed and they were able to turn left, but the light at the next corner changed and they were stopped again.

“Have you got him in sight?” Dino asked.

“I think so.”

They struggled up 6th Avenue in heavy traffic, getting no closer to the limo, then they were stopped again.

“Uh-oh,” Dino said, pointing. A hundred yards ahead of them, Dryer was getting out of the limo.

“He’s heading for the subway,” Dino said.

Stone turned to Dino. “I’m going after him; you pull up at the subway entrance. If I’m not back in five minutes, will you take Arrington to my house?”

“Sure; you better get going.”

Stone got out of the cab and ran toward the subway entrance. The rain was pounding down now, and the steps were slippery as he clambered down them. As he descended into the station he saw Dryer going through the turnstiles, and at the same moment, he remembered that he had no tokens; he rarely took the subway. He hurried down the stairs, and he could hear a train coming into the station.

“The hell with the token,” he said to himself. He ran at the turnstile, planted a hand on it, and vaulted over. As he did, his raincoat caught on something, and he was jerked to a halt.

“Hold it right there!” somebody yelled, and before he could get his coat untangled a cop had him by the elbow.

“I’m on the job,” Stone lied.

“Yeah? Let’s see some ID, pal.”

Stone groped for his wallet, flashed the badge, and tried to go after Dryer, who was getting onto the subway train three cars from where he stood.

“Let’s see that,” the cop said, grabbing the wallet. “Retired, huh? What’s going on, fella?”

“I’ve got to catch up with a guy,” Stone said.

“Okay, but start buying tokens, okay?” He let go of Stone’s arm.

Stone sprinted up the platform toward an open car door and hurled himself at it. The doors closed on him. He struggled, pushed on the doors, and fell into the car, banging a knee. He got to his feet in time to look out the window and see Dryer standing on the platform, looking at him as the train pulled out. Dryer gave him a little smile.

Stone watched him for as long as he could; then the train was in the tunnel. He sat down, hoping to God that Dryer would go back up to 6th Avenue and be spotted by Dino. His raincoat, a new one, was torn from his leap over the turnstile, and there was a hole in his trousers’ knee where he had fallen. It was one hell of an expensive subway ride, he thought.

He got off the train at the next stop; then, unable to find a cab, he limped home.