walked over to the desk, shot your cop, then held the gun to the desk man’s head and forced him to call up here and ask Sarah to come downstairs. I went instead and found the two men dead behind the desk. The doorman says that Anderson and Kelly pursued the perp into the park. I called for backup. That’s it.”
“You think he knew we were watching the place?” Dino asked.
“My guess is no. I think he shot the cop just to get the desk man’s attention. I don’t know where Anderson was when he came in; the elevator was locked.”
“That’s pretty fucking ruthless,” Dino said. “Our man has moved up from knives to guns, and he’s getting more dangerous.”
“Looks that way.”
Dino looked up at the staircase, causing Stone to turn around. Sarah was coming down the stairs.
“Sarah, you remember Dino Bacchetti,” Stone said.
“Of course,” she said, shaking Dino’s hand.
“And this is Sergeant McElhenny.”
“Sergeant,” she said. “Now will someone tell me what is going on?”
“It’s bad, I’m afraid,” Stone said. “The man I told you about has shot a police officer and your desk man, Dan, downstairs. The police are searching the park for him now.”
“Dan? That sweet man?”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
Sarah’s knees seemed to go weak, and she collapsed onto a sofa. Stone sat beside her. “Listen to me,” he said. “We’ve got to get you out of here right now. I want you to pack your bags as quickly as possible, and we’ll get Dino to drive us to my house.”
“But why do I have to leave here?” she asked. “Surely I’m not in any danger.”
“This is all my fault, and I apologize. I told you that this man is hurting people close to Dino and me. I’m afraid you’re at risk, now; he knows where you live.”
Dino spoke up. “Stone is right, Sarah; we’ve got to get you out of here. Is there a garage in this building?”
“Yes,” she said. “The entrance is around the corner.” She pointed downtown.
“I’ll pull my car in there and pick up you and Stone.”
“Ask the doorman for a card that opens the garage door,” she said. She seemed quite calm.
“I’ll be down there in ten minutes,” Dino said. “I just want to make sure everything’s being handled in the lobby. McElhenny, you and your man stick with them until I can get them in the car.”
“Yessir, Lieutenant,” the sergeant replied.
Sarah stood up. “I’ll get packed,” she said, then went back upstairs.
Stone went up to help her with her bags.
“I’ll just take a few things,” Sarah said, throwing clothes into a bag. “I can come back for the rest later.”
“I don’t want you to come back here until this guy has been caught,” Stone said. “Bring everything.”
Ten minutes later, they were stepping out of the elevator into the garage, the uniforms ahead of them, weapons drawn. Dino stood by his car, the trunk open. They stowed Sarah’s luggage, and a moment later were headed down to Turtle Bay.
“At least we know he’s not watching the house now,” Dino said. “He’ll still be in the park, if they haven’t already caught him.”
“I hope you’re right,” Stone said.
15
THEY FELL EXHAUSTED INTO BED AND went immediately to sleep. Stone hadn’t felt terribly affectionate after the events of the evening, and he assumed Sarah hadn’t either. Then, sometime before dawn, he began having an erotic dream about Sarah. He was very nearly at climax when he realized that he wasn’t asleep, and that it wasn’t a dream. He opened his eyes. Sarah’s honey brown hair spilled over his belly; he was in her mouth, and his hand was stroking her buttocks.
“No, not yet,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “There’ll be nothing left for you.”
“I want a lot left for me,” she whispered, kissing him and pulling him on top of her. Stone tried to restore some calm to his body while kissing her breasts, but soon it was obvious that he could wait no longer. They came together, noisily, in less than a minute, then collapsed facing each other. She snuggled into his arms, mixing her sweat with his.
“You are
“How so?”
“You’re noisy, like me. Englishmen never talk in bed, never say anything sexy.”
“Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am?”
“Just wham, bam.”
Stone laughed. “What about Italian men?”
“Very automotive,” she said. “There’s an old joke that an Italian man uses a sports car as an extension of his penis, whereas an Englishman uses it as a substitute.”
“It sounds as though your best interests lie in the United States,” he said. “I don’t even own a car.”
“That explains a lot.” She laughed.
“Though I’ve been meaning to buy one. I do have a garage, after all.”
“It would be a pity to have an empty garage,” she said. She took him in her hand and began kneading gently. “Perhaps I’d better have one last go at you before you start dissipating your energies in fast driving.”
“I’m older than I used to be, you know. It might not work again quite so quickly.”
“Oh, I think it will.” She squeezed. “See? It’s responding very nicely.”
“I believe you’re right,” Stone said, breathing harder.
She rolled on top of him. “I’ll drive,” she said.
Stone regained consciousness with the doorbell ringing in his ears. He rolled over and glanced at the bedside clock: 7:15. He punched the intercom button on the phone. “Yes?” he grumbled.
“This is Detective Thomas Deacon of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office,” a deep voice said.
That had a familiar ring, Stone thought. It took him a moment to remember that Dino had pointed the man out at the party at Martin Brougham’s house. He’d disliked him on sight.
“I want to talk to you,” Deacon said.
“Did you ever hear of business hours?” Stone asked.
“Most people are up by this time.”
“Come back after nine o’clock,” Stone said. He looked over at the sleeping Sarah, lying naked, her breasts exposed. “Make that after ten o’clock.” He punched off the intercom.
The doorbell sounded again.
“
“I want to talk to you right now, Barrington.”
“Go fuck yourself,” Stone said, switching off the intercom. He rolled over, gathered Sarah in his arms, and fell asleep again.
Next, it was the phone, and this time it was after nine.
“Hello?”
“It’s Dino.”
“Hi. Any luck catching our perp last night?”
“None,” Dino said. “My people scoured the park half the night; he must have found some hole to crawl into. They’re still watching all the exits; he might try to walk out this morning.”
“Did you find out what happened to Andy Anderson last night?”
“He had locked the elevator and gone to the staff john. When he heard the shots he got himself together as
