“Stone, I swear to God, I’m doing it. We already got the church booked. I bought her a ring, for Christ’s sake.”
“You stole it from the evidence room.”
Dino looked wounded. “I paid cash money. I know a guy in the Diamond District.”
“This means you can’t bring any more girls in here, Dino,” Elaine said.
“Don’t worry, Mary Ann would kill me in my sleep. She’s Sicilian.”
“You’re in a lot of trouble,” Stone said, “but sure, I’ll stand up for you.”
“It’s a week from Sunday,” Dino said.
“That’s moving pretty quick,” Elaine said.
Dino shrugged. “So, it’ll be a seven-month kid, so what? Happens all the time in my neighborhood.”
Elaine waved at a waiter. “Bring a bottle of champagne, the good stuff. Dino’s got a lot to celebrate, here.”
They celebrated.
Elaine looked at Stone closely. “You’re looking almost human these days,” she said. “A few weeks ago you looked like death.”
“Hard work on the house,” Stone said. “I’m getting used to it.”
“He’s getting over the broad,” Dino said.
“Ahhhh,” Elaine said.
“You’re right,” Stone agreed, “I am.” And he was, except for an occasional spear through the heart, when he thought about her. He had stopped thinking at all about Sasha Nijinsky and Hank Morgan.
On the Friday morning before Dino’s wedding, Stone received a letter. He recognized the handwriting immediately.
Dear Stone,
Please pardon the familiarity, but, although we’ve never met, our lives have been so intertwined that I feel you are a friend.
I’m sorry that my problems at least indirectly resulted in your leaving the police force, but I understand that you are now doing well. I saw your name in the
I think, perhaps, the time is coming when we should meet. Maybe you would come to dinner sometime soon? It would be so nice to meet you, at last.
I’ll be in touch.
Best,
S.
Chapter 40
They sat at a table in the little room in back of the bar at Clarke’s. The mirror behind the bar had been replaced; everybody seemed to want to forget the incident, and Dino was obviously welcome.
“You’re looking better,” Dino said. “You put the girl behind you for good?”
“What else can I do?”
“We’ve all been there, Stone, believe me. Thank God that’s all over for me.”
“I’d like to think so, Dino.”
“Believe me, it’s over. When you marry a Sicilian, it’s for life, and that can be short if you fool around.”
“How are things at the office?”
“Looks like we got
“The taxi killings, I guess.”
“That’s one of them. It’s the most trouble, too, because every time another cabbie gets greased, the rest of them go bananas and block a major artery for the day.”
“I read about it. Any suspects?”
“Negative.”
“What’s the other case?”
“That one’s even weirder. We got two men and two women in the past seven weeks who just went
“Where?”
“Everywhere. All over Manhattan.”
“No bodies?”
“No nothing.”
“What do they have in common?”
“Fuckall. The women were twenty-six and thirty-two; the men were thirty-seven and thirty-nine. The guys were a stockbroker and a Porsche salesman; the women were an advertising art director and a VP at a cosmetics company.”
“No ransom notes?”
“Nope. They only got one thing in common I can see.”
“What’s that?”
“They’re good looking, all of them. Good dressers, real prime-time yuppies.”
“Where were they last seen?”
“Leaving work; restaurant; leaving exercise class; jogging in Battery Park.”
Stone shrugged. “Good luck, Dino.”
“I’m going to need it. What’re you working on at the law firm?”
“A fairly juicy one. A client – chairman of an electronics firm – is accused of beating up a high-class hooker in the Waldorf Towers. Looks like it’ll go to trial, and I’ll assist in the defense.”
“They’re not giving you nothing to try yourself, huh?”
“Not yet. I think they expect me to come up with my own. Any ideas?”
“I’ll keep it in mind, tell a couple of the guys. You never know.”
Stone took the letter, in a plastic envelope, from his pocket. “I’ve got something to show you.” He handed it over.
Dino read it and stopped chewing his salad. Then he started again and swallowed. “So? Who’s ‘S’?”
Stone stared at him, unbelieving. “Come on, Dino, you read her diary; don’t you recognize the handwriting?”
“Can’t say that I do,” Dino said, concentrating on the salad. “I never had much memory for handwriting.”
“I didn’t expect this.”
“Expect what? You expect me to recommend reopening the investigation based on this?” He tossed the letter back across the table.
“I didn’t expect you to stonewall me.”
“I ain’t stonewalling you, Stone. You come up with something substantial, and I’ll go with you on it.”
“Substantial? A letter from a dead woman isn’t substantial?”
“Where was it mailed?”
“Penn Station.”
“Any prints? I know you checked.”
Stone held the plastic holder at an angle and pointed. “Three. Will you run them against what we found in her apartment?”
