Class Act

56

Dino’s driver parked near the Carlyle’s Seventy-Sixth Street entrance. Stone led the way inside, to an elevator without an operator. He took a plastic card from his jacket pocket, inserted it into a slot, then tapped in the number of the floor, two below their destination. Once there, they walked up two flights of stairs, and Stone used the card to let them into Hilda’s suite.

“Where’d you get the key card?” Dino asked.

“I stole it when I was here last night.” He led the way into the bedroom and opened a closet door, revealing a safe on an upper shelf.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Dino said. “Do you know how hard it is to get into a hotel safe without the code? You gotta get a guy up here with a drill, and they end up having to replace the door. We don’t need the attention.”

Stone reached up, tapped in a code, and the safe opened.

“How’d you do that?” Dino asked.

“I watched her open it last night.” He opened the door wide, and it was filled with stacks of bank notes. He found a briefcase, put it on the bed, opened it, and examined the contents. “Nothing of any consequence,” he said, emptying the case into a bedside trash basket, then he began removing stacks from the safe and packing them into the briefcase. “Just big enough,” he said, closing the case and snapping it shut.

“How much is in there?” Dino asked.

“Seventy-five thousand, give or take.”

“Why do you want it?”

“It’s mine. And my fingerprints and Joan’s are all over it.”

They were both frozen in their tracks when a deep voice behind them said, “What the hell are you doing?”

They turned to find a large man standing in the doorway, lit from behind by the living room lights.

Stone let out his breath. “I’m stealing back my money, Jack,” he said. “Now what the hell are you doing here?”

“I wanted to go through the place and be sure there’s nothing here to incriminate you.”

“Trust me, there isn’t.”

“I know what’s happened,” Jack said.

“Okay,” Dino said. “What’s happened, and how do you know about it?”

“Sal and Hilda are both dead, each by the other’s hand, it seems.”

“Keep going,” Dino said.

“Very unusual for two people to off each other simultaneously, but that’s what appears to have happened.”

“I’ll let you know the official position on that after I’ve heard from the ME,” Dino said.

“I’d appreciate that. I’m curious to know.”

“How did you get in here?” Stone asked.

“Ancient burglary skills. Thank you for getting the safe open. I don’t have that skill, and I was about to call a safecracker.”

“Don’t mention it,” Stone said. “And I mean that. Not to anybody.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Did you find anything incriminating here?” Stone asked.

“No, but I’d wipe the doorknob on your way out.”

“Are you staying, Jack?”

“Just for a short time. I’ll wipe down any prints I see that are larger than a woman’s.”

Stone took out his pocket square and wiped down the safe. “Save you the trouble,” he said.

“Ready, Dino?”

“There’s nothing for me here.”

“Then let’s go.” They left, and Stone wiped down the doorknob. They walked down two flights, then took the elevator to the lobby and walked back to Dino’s cruiser.

“Barrington’s house,” Dino said to his driver, then rolled up the partition between them. Shortly, they pulled up in front of Stone’s house.

“How about a nightcap?” Stone said.

“You talked me into it,” Dino replied.

They went into Stone’s study, where Stone set the briefcase on the coffee table and then poured them both a cognac.

As they sat down, Fred rapped on the doorjamb. “Excuse me, sir.”

“Come in, Fred.”

“May I speak to you alone, sir?”

“It’s okay. The commissioner is bought and paid for.”

“I just wanted to tell you what happened.”

“All right.”

“I was parked half a block away, and at about eight-fifteen, a Domino’s delivery vehicle pulled up, and the driver got out and rang the bell. A man came to the door and the pizza and some money changed hands, then the driver left.”

“And then?”

“Nothing. That was it.”

“Hear anything?”

“No, sir. Sitting in the Bentley with the motor running, it was pretty quiet.”

“Right. That will be all, Fred. Good night.”

“Good night, sir,” Fred replied, then disappeared.

When he had gone, Dino said. “It’s an expensive briefcase. What are you going to do with it?”

“Yes, it’s from Hermès, handmade, probably cost eight or ten thousand dollars.”

“It would attract too much attention, if you tossed it into a dumpster.”

“Good point. Do you want it?”

“I’d like Viv to think that I spent that much money on a birthday gift for her. It’s next week.”

Stone opened the briefcase, stacked the money inside his concealed safe, then handed the briefcase to Dino. “There you go. Wish her a happy birthday from me.”

“Not from you, from me,” Dino said, examining the case closely. “Not a mark on it.”

“I’d wipe it down with a little saddle soap, inside and out. Can you steal an Hermès box from somewhere?”

“I was counting on you for that.”

“I’ll have Joan look around. She saves things like that.”

“Good idea.”

“Anyway, now your lips are sealed.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Now, you’re officially an accomplice.”

“To what?”

“To anything I might be charged with,” Stone said.