“Eduardo and I have remained friends, lunching together several times a year at his home. Recently, Dolce showed improvement, and Eduardo allowed her to be escorted to the city on shopping trips. A few days ago, she knifed her escort and disappeared. She has been seen outside my house several times since then.”
“And she still wants to kill you?” Felicity asked.
“I don’t know what she wants,” Stone said, “but I think it’s wise to assume the worst. That’s why I had a man in the house, and he’s looking for her now. He will have called others to help.”
“Do you think we’re safe here?” Felicity asked.
“Yes, or I would have sent you away by now.”
“That’s good enough for me,” she said, tossing away the last of her clothes and pressing her naked body against his.
They stood there for some time, savoring each other and becoming more and more aroused. Finally, she climbed him like a tree, wrapped her legs around his body and took him inside her.
Stone supported her weight with his shoulders and his hands under her buttocks for as long as he could, and then he lowered her to the bed and began all over again.
They were both in the throes of orgasm when the phone rang. Stone let the voicemail pick it up, but then it began ringing again.
“Perhaps you’d better answer it,” Felicity said.
Stone rolled over and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
“It’s Cantor. Peter and I are on the street, looking for the woman.”
“Any luck?”
“We found Willie.”
“Is he all right?”
“He’s unconscious, but he doesn’t seem to have any wounds, knife or gunshot. An ambulance is on the way; we’ll be at Lenox Hill.”
“See you there.” Stone hung up and began rounding up his clothes. “The man who was watching the house went after Dolce, and he has been found unconscious. I’m going to have to go to the hospital.”
“Do you want me to come?”
“No, I think you’re safer here. Are you armed?”
“There’s a gun in my handbag,” she said.
He picked up the purse from the floor and handed it to her. “Keep it in your hand until I get home,” he said. “I’ll ring the phone once, then hang up to let you know, so you won’t shoot me.”
15
Stone found Bob Cantor and Peter Leahy seated in the waiting area of the Lenox Hill emergency room. Cantor moved his jacket and made room for Stone between them.
“How is he?”
“Awake but with a concussion. They’re admitting him for observation.”
“What happened to him?”
“A blow to the head with something like one of those flat black-jacks that detectives used to carry.”
“That’s enough to concuss an ox,” Stone said. “Were you able to talk to him?”
“A little. He was confused, and he couldn’t remember being hit.”
“Just as well,” Stone said. “At least she didn’t knife him.”
“Yeah, I was worried about that until we couldn’t find a wound. A nurse found a big bruise under his hair. Where’s your houseguest?”
“Locked in with a gun in her hand,” Stone said. “Don’t worry; she’s a very capable lady.”
“Isn’t she the British spook I heard about a few years back?”
“Yes, but I didn’t tell you that.”
“Of course not. She’s your client, isn’t she?”
“I didn’t tell you that, either.”
“Tell me the truth about this Whitestone guy.”
“It’s Whitestone like the bridge. You know everything I know. Dino ran the photo through the FBI facial comparison computer program and came up with a surveillance photo from a bank on Park Avenue, near the Seagram Building, but it wasn’t as good as what you got.”
“If he’s going into a bank on Park, maybe he works around there, maybe even in the Seagram Building.”
Stone nodded. “Or maybe he lives in the neighborhood.”
“That’s not a residential part of Park. You don’t find apartment buildings until uptown of Fifty-seventh Street.”
“Good point,” Stone agreed. “Can you round up some more help?”
“Sure. How many you want?”
“I want a man in the plaza in front of the Seagram Building, watching who comes and goes, and I want somebody near that bank, doing the same thing. I want cameras and long lenses, and I want to see the guy’s face, preferably without the hat.”
“I’m on it as soon as I pay Willie’s bill,” Cantor said, “which I’ll forward to you.”
“Right,” Stone said.
“There’s Willie,” Cantor said, rising. Willie was on a gurney, being wheeled toward the elevator. Stone, Cantor and Peter intercepted him.
“How you doing?” Stone asked.
“I’ve got a headache,” Willie replied, “but they gave me something for it. I’m sorry, Stone. I never saw this coming. Last thing I remember was sitting in your kitchen. Did she come into the house?”
“No. I called you, and you were following her.”
“I don’t know how she got behind me, then,” Willie said.
“You get some rest, and we’ll bail you out of here tomorrow.”
Stone and Cantor left Peter with his brother and walked outside, where Stone hailed a cab. “You beginning to see what we’re up against with Dolce?” he asked Cantor.
“I got the picture,” Cantor replied. “I’ll put Peter and another guy in the house; next time, we’ll double-team her.”
Stone nodded, got in the cab and drove away. He took the elevator upstairs and stepped out into the master suite. As he did, he heard a pffft! noise, and he was showered with plaster fragments.
“Hey, it’s Stone!” he yelled, flattening himself against the wall.
“Let me see you!” Felicity shouted.
“Okay, I’m coming in-don’t shoot.” He walked into the bedroom and found Felicity sitting up in bed, bare breasted, holding a small semiautomatic pistol equipped with a silencer.
“You were supposed to call,” she said, reprovingly.
“I’m sorry. I forgot,” Stone said, sitting down on the bed next to her.
“Is your man all right?”
“Concussion, held overnight for observation. He was black-jacked.”
“I could use a woman like that,” Felicity said. “You think she’s job hunting?”
“Go back to sleep,” Stone said. “It’s three in the morning.” He took the gun from her, made sure the safety was on and put it on her bedside table.
Felicity fell back onto the pillow, and Stone tucked her in. “Don’t forget our appointment tomorrow morning,” she said, closing her eyes.
Stone got undressed and joined her in bed, but he had a hard time getting to sleep. He had a feeling Dolce was going to change her tactics now, and he couldn’t fathom what she might do next.
