Reckless Abandon

13

STONE WOKE WITH a crick in his neck, the result of napping most of the afternoon with Holly’s head on his shoulder. That was all they had done, nap, and he wasn’t too happy about that, but somehow, he hadn’t felt it was the right time to go further.

The sound of his hairdryer was coming from the bathroom, then it stopped, and Holly emerged, stark naked, her underwear in her hands. “I’m going to take Daisy for a nice long walk,” she said. “I’ll be back in time for dinner.”

“Wear something,” he called after her, while appreciating the sight of her departure. “I wouldn’t want you to get arrested.”

She laughed and disappeared upstairs.

Stone got up, still groggy, and got into a shower. He emerged feeling brighter. The phone rang.

“Hello?”

“It’s Dino. Dinner?”

“Sure, meet me at Elaine’s. Lance Cabot will be there.”

“No shit? The CIA guy?”

“One and the same.”

“How’d Herbie’s courtroom appearance go?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Tell me anyway.”

Stone told him.

“I don’t believe it.”

“See?”

“Goldstein did that? I thought he was Mr. Ironass.”

“Lance says he’s a patriot.”

“He’s lucky Goldstein didn’t have him arrested on the spot. I wouldn’t mess with that guy on a bet, especially about a DUI.”

“A DUI that included violence upon the crotch of a police officer. Turns out the cop was Dierdre Monahan’s little brother, and she caught the case.”

“You’re lucky Lance showed up.”

“Herbie was lucky. I had negotiated thirty days in Rikers for him, and he got off with a suspended sentence because of whatever Lance said to Goldstein.”

“Go figure.”

“Yeah. Eight-thirty?”

“See ya.” Dino hung up.

Holly came back into the room, this time, to Stone’s disappointment, fully dressed. “Is there some sort of park that’s closer to your house than Central Park?” she asked.

“Not so’s you’d notice it,” Stone said. “In Manhattan, a park is often the space where a building used to be. By the way, did I mention the leash law?”

“No, but I figured. Not in the park, of course.”

“Especially in the park. It’s a hundred-buck fine.”

“That’s cruel to dogs.”

“And to dog owners.”

“You’re perfectly serious about this?”

“You didn’t believe me about picking up the dog poop, either, did you? We do things differently in New York.”

“This is taking some getting used to.”

“Daisy seems to be managing.”

“She’s very adaptable, like me.”

“You’re adaptable?”

“Of course. Have you heard any complaints from me? I mean, any at all?”

“Only about having to pick up dog poop.”

“That’s about Daisy, not about me.”

“You’re the one picking it up. Daisy is just doing what comes naturally.”

“All right. Have you heard any complaints from me, except about Daisy?”

“Not so far.”

“That sounds as though you’re expecting some.”

“I hope not.”

She came over, grabbed him by the front of his robe, and kissed him. “Don’t worry about it.” She turned and walked down the stairs, followed closely by Daisy.

They got a cab to Elaine’s. As they approached the restaurant, Stone noticed a man standing out front, just uptown from the yellow awning, holding a briefcase. He looked out of place somehow. Stone wasn’t sure how. “Driver, stop here,” he said. The cab halted a couple of doors up, and Stone looked hard at the man. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and switched hands with the briefcase. Stone noted a Cadillac double-parked just downtown from the entrance.

“That’s seven-fifty,” the cabbie said.

“Drive around the block,” Stone said.

“Huh?”

“Start the meter again and drive around the block to your right, slowly.”

“Whatever you say, mister.” He pulled away from the curb.

Stone got out his cell phone.

“Are we early?” Holly asked. “Do you have a thing about being early?”

“Shhh,” Stone said. “Dino?”

“Yeah, I’m on my way.”

“Listen, do you remember a few years back we had that weapons guy come into the precinct and show us a lot of stuff?”

“Vaguely,” Dino said. “What about it?”

“Do you remember that Heckler amp; Koch thing he showed us with the H amp;K machine gun in the briefcase? There was a hole in one end that took the barrel, and the shell casings were routed to the bottom of the case when the thing was fired?”

“Yeah, I think I do.”

“Well, there’s a suspicious character standing outside Elaine’s holding a briefcase that looks just like the H amp;K one, and it has a hole in it.”

“Where are you?” Dino asked.

“Driving around the block, slowly,” Stone replied.

“Keep doing that until you hear from me,” Dino said. “I’m on it.”

Stone closed his cell phone.

“What’s going on?” Holly asked.

“This afternoon, you said you were following Trini in a Cadillac?”

“Yes.” She put a hand to her mouth. “And there was a Cadillac double-parked outside Elaine’s. It was black, too, just like the one I followed.”

“Yeah. I didn’t ask you what happened with your pursuit.”

“I lost him in Brooklyn. I think it was Brooklyn, anyway. I followed him across a bridge.”

“Any chance the Cadillac could have followed you back to my house?”

Holly sank down in her seat. “Oh, my God. You were right. New York is not like Orchid Beach.”