Hit List

44

Stone stood at the foot of an examination table in the Lenox Hill ER and watched as the resident on duty cut away Ed Eagle’s shirtsleeve at the shoulder seam.

“Fucking Turnbull & Asser shirt,” Ed grumbled.

“Send it back to them, and they’ll make a new sleeve for you,” Stone said.

Eagle winced as the doctor probed.

“Not too bad,” the young man said.

“For you,” Ed replied sulkily.

Stone thought the doctor looked like a college freshman, but his ID read “MD.”

“Let’s get some lidocaine in there,” the doctor said to the nurse on duty.

“What dosage?” she asked.

“Whatever you think best,” he replied. “There are three wounds.”

She handed him a syringe, half full, and he injected each wound twice. “It’ll stop hurting in a minute,” he said.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Eagle replied.

The doctor used a probe to examine each wound. “Not in very deep,” he said. “Your coat and shirtsleeve probably absorbed some of the velocity.”

“Shit, I forgot about my coat sleeve,” Eagle said.

“I know a good reweaver,” Stone said. “The repair will be invisible.”

“It’s stopped hurting,” Eagle said, heaving a deep sigh.

“Good,” the doctor said. He selected a tool from a tray and went to work. Shortly, the clink of pellet on metal tray was heard three times. “There we go. Now I’ll clean and suture, and you’ll live to fight another day.”

“Great,” Eagle said.

The resident went to work, cleansing and closing the wounds and suturing them, then the nurse stepped in, cleaning the area and applying a bandage. “We’ll give you some extra bandages, so you can apply a fresh one every day.”

Eagle took Stone’s outstretched hand with his own good one and pulled himself into a sitting position.

“Do you want a sling?” the nurse asked.

For a second, Eagle smiled. “Oh, I thought you said ‘fling.’ I think it will be okay as is.”

“Not when the lidocaine wears off,” she said, tucking a sling into the bag with the bandages. “There’s a prescription for a painkiller, too.”

“You have a point,” Eagle said.

Stone helped Ed’s right arm into his jacket, but left the other arm unsleeved and a bit bloody.

They made Ed get into a wheelchair.

“I’ll push him,” Stone said. He took hold of the chair and rolled it down the hall to the outside doors. Dino’s car awaited them, and Dino was inside.

“How you doing, Ed?” he asked.

“Just great,” Eagle said, “until the lidocaine wears off.”

“Let’s stop at a drugstore and fill his prescription,” Stone said. “I don’t want to listen to more pissing and moaning.”

Back at Stone’s house they returned to the study, where Susannah awaited. She inspected Eagle: “What’s this?”

“Three shotgun pellets removed. I was lucky.” He was looking for sympathy, and he had found it.

They took up were they had left off with brandy. Eagle washed down one of his painkillers.

“What did you find in the apartment?” Stone asked Dino.

“His two minions were occupying the guest room, each in his bed, each with two bullets to the back of each head. They could have been staying there all along. My other theory is that Larkin had left something there that was incriminating, or just something he needed, like money. If that’s so, he took it with him. I expect he had a car parked on Sixty-fifth Street, so he’s in the wind.”

“I’ll bet he got a ticket in that block,” Stone said.

“Good point. I’ll have it checked.” He got on his phone, asked some questions, then hung up. “Nine tickets were issued in that block during the relevant time frame, none of them registered to Larkin or Frances, but two of them are rentals. We’re checking those out.”

“It might be a starting place.”

“Stone,” Dino said. “I was thinking I might announce your death at the scene. It might give you some breathing room.”

“No,” Stone said emphatically. “He’ll just go on to the next name on the hit list, and I don’t want that on my conscience. Anyway, I’d like him to try again. Next time, I might get a shot at him.”

“Then he will be free from harm,” Dino said to the others. “Stone is a lousy shot.”

“I don’t get your range time,” Stone said defensively.

“He’s got a nice little range downstairs in his basement, and there’s no waiting. He’s just lazy.”

“I’ll cop to lazy,” Stone said.

“I guess that’s better than just being a lousy shot.”

Susannah spoke up. “I think my fella needs some sleep,” she said, “or he’ll fall off his chair.” She got Eagle to his feet and walked him to the elevator.

“I’ll change his bandage tomorrow,” Jenna said.

“I’d better get home,” Dino said, rising. “Viv is due in from Berlin.” He left the house.

“That leaves just us,” Jenna said to Stone. “Whatever will we do with ourselves?”