WE HAD PANCAKES for breakfast and walked down through Central park to Bergdorf and Barneys, where Susan shopped and I trailed along to watch her hold stuff up, and admire her and, occasionally, some of the other female shoppers. In the next couple of days, we strolled through the little zoo in Central Park. We had dinner at the Four Seasons and walked through Rockefeller Center and Grand Central Station, which I always liked to do in New York. We experienced life’s essence several times before we went home.
Life’s essence never disappoints.
It was a Wednesday morning when I got back to my office. There was a call on my answering machine from Vinnie.
“Call me,” he said. “I might have something.”
I called him on his cell phone.
“Where are you?” I said.
“In the Public Garden,” he said, “watching her house.”
“What’s up?” I said.
“Nothing at the moment, but Monday she had a, like, a incident with a guy.”
“Tell me,” I said.
“Guy’s waiting outside her house when she comes back from her health club. I’m trailing along behind, looking at her ass, and he, like, stops her as she starts up her steps. Puts his hand on her arm. She slaps it away. He says something. She says something. He puts his hand on her arm again. She shoves him away and runs up the steps into her house. He stands down at the foot of the stairs for a long time and looks at her front door. I’m up the street thinking if he tries to go in after her do I shoot him. But he didn’t. After a while he walked away.”
“It wasn’t a friendly exchange,” I said.
“No.”
“You recognize the guy?”
“No, but he wasn’t her type, that’s for sure.”
“What’d he look like?” I said.
“Big guy, ’bout your size, but, you know, he was walking on his heels.”
“Like punch-drunk?” I said. “Like a punch-drunk ex-fighter?”
“Be my guess,” Vinnie said. “Looked like a pug, nose was flat, and, you know, thick around the eyes.”
“Anybody with him?” I said.
“Nope.”
“Where’d he go after she went in and he stared at the door?”
“Walked down Arlington Street. I figured he was heading for the subway.”
“You didn’t follow him?”
“Nope. You just tole me to watch the broad.”
“I did,” I said. “Anything else happen?”
“Nope. She stayed in all the rest of the day.”
“No sign that she called the cops?” I said.
“None showed up,” he said. “This guy shows up again, you want me to shoot him or anything?”
“Only if you have to,” I said.
“Okay,” Vinnie said.
“I may stop around later and visit Beth,” I said.
“Okay,” Vinnie said.
“Don’t shoot me.”
“Okay,” Vinnie said.
He sounded disappointed.