Sex, Lies & Serious Money

50

Mike Freeman came over to where Stone and Dino stood. “You two look a little tense,” he said.

“We’ve had a pair of intruders at my house,” Stone replied. “They were after pictures, but Fred Flicker disturbed them and put a bullet into one of them before they made their escape into the back garden.”

Dino’s cell rang. “Bacchetti. Yeah, well, alert all the emergency rooms on the East Side. If a man comes in with a bullet wound, tell ’em to call us.” He hung up. “My people are at your place, listening to Fred’s story. They appear to like it.”

“Well, then,” Mike said, “you can both return to being guests, instead of looking like the Mod Squad.”

“Right,” Dino said. “We’re not going to hear anything more, unless some guy turns up in an ER with a gunshot wound. Excuse me, there’s somebody I want to talk to.” He went in search of the actress.

Sofia/Maria drove carefully. “All right, Irv, I’m dropping you at the ER entrance of Lenox Hill Hospital. In the meantime, try not to bleed on the seat. I’ll have to clean it up before I return the van.”

“You mean it’s not stolen?” Irv asked.

“Thank your lucky stars — it means the police aren’t looking for it.”

“I haven’t been paid,” Irv said.

“That’s because the alarm went off,” Curly pointed out. “It was your job to make that not happen, and you blew it.”

“Give me the money, Marv,” she said, stopping at a traffic light. She took the envelope, gave Irv a thousand for the hospital bill, and dropped the rest into her bag. “Irv, whatever you do, don’t let a doctor admit you. The police will get around to checking the hospitals, and you don’t want to be there when they arrive. Get some stitches, a bandage, and an antibiotic, and get the hell out of there.”

“Shit,” Irv said.

“Well, yeah,” Maria replied. She drew to a halt. “That’s the door, there, in the middle of the block. Tell the ER nurse that you were working late at a machine shop, and you fell onto a running drill.”

“Oh, yeah,” Irv said, “that’s plausible.”

“Then write your own script, but don’t let the words ‘gunshot wound’ pass your lips. Got it?”

Irv got out and slammed the door, then began limping toward the door. Maria put the van in gear and departed. She drove Curly back to his apartment and stopped out front. “Did you bring the cart with you?”

“No, but I wiped it clean before, so it won’t have any prints.”

“Where did you buy it?”

“At a hardware store uptown.”

“Get out of the car, Marv.”

“Yeah, see you later.”

Sofia drove away, “Sure, the hell you will.” Her packed bag was in the rear of the van. She drove the vehicle to New Jersey, out toward Newark Airport, and stopped at an all-night, self-service car wash, where she used the pressure washer where Irv had bled on the rear seat, then hosed down the rubber mats and the carpet. She drove to the airport, noted the mileage and time on the rental receipt, and handed it in to Hertz. “This wasn’t supposed to be a drop-off,” she told the man in charge. “It just worked out that way. Charge me, if you have to.” She paid him in cash, took the shuttle to the terminal, and looked for a Fort Lauderdale flight. She had to wait only forty minutes before it boarded.

“Well, fuck you permanently, Marv, for bungling the job,” she said aloud to herself. “At least I only lost a thousand bucks.”

Dino hung up his phone. “My detectives missed the guy by ten minutes at Lenox Hill. He’d been shot in the ass and told the ER nurse he fell onto a drill. Can you believe she bought that?”

“Yes,” Stone said. “She was probably at the end of her shift and didn’t want to do the paperwork for a gunshot wound.”

“You guys lead interesting lives,” the beautiful actress said. “Are you married?”

“He is,” Stone said, pointing at Dino. “And she’s standing over there by the piano. The redhead in the blue dress.”

She took Stone’s arm and pulled him toward the bar. “Let’s get another drink, then you can tell me about yourself.”

“Actually, I’m with the other redhead at the piano, the one Dino’s wife is talking to.”

She recovered her arm. “Big girl, isn’t she?”

“Yes, and tough, too.”

“Nice meeting you.” She wandered off into the crowd.

Holly came over. “Who just dismissed who in that conversation?”

“It was mutual,” Stone replied.

“I’m proud of you. What the hell is going on with you and Dino, anyway?”

“We had a break-in at the house. Fred winged one of them, but they got away. Dino’s people nearly caught him at the ER, but missed him by minutes.”

“Did you lose anything?”

“No. They wanted my mother’s pictures, can you imagine that?”

“Well, yes, they’re very fine pictures.”

“But how would a burglar know I had them and, moreover, what they’re worth? I find that extremely odd.”

“Google yourself, and I’ll bet you’ll find a mention of the pictures and their value.”

“God, it’s that easy to plan a crime these days?”

Laurence came over with Theresa and another young man. “Stone, you know Theresa.”

“Of course. Theresa, this is Holly Barker.”

“And this is my brother, Butch Crane,” Theresa said.

Stone shook the young man’s hand. “Butch, good to meet you.”

“Butch has pretty much replaced me at Ralph Lauren. He’s doing very well there.”

“Good for you, Butch.”

“Thanks very much.” Butch handed him a card. “Stop in and see me when you’re in the store. I’ll see you’re well taken care of.” He handed Holly a card, too. “And you, as well, Holly.”

“I’ll do that,” Holly said, tucking the card into her bra.

“You throw a good party, Laurence,” Stone said.

“No, Mike Freeman does. I only provided the stage for his performance.”

Mike came over. “I talked to my people. They’ve got videotape of your break-in. One of them was the same guy who did it before, one Marvin Jones. The other is a fresh face, fresh out of the joint, named Irving Schwartz. Dino’s people are looking for him.”

“Excuse me,” Butch said abruptly. “There’s somebody I want to speak to.” A moment later, he appeared beside the beautiful actress.