“Dino, why would I give a shit about her handbag?”
“Because she’s packing,” Dino replied.
“Dino...”
“And she’s going to come out of the ‘little girls’ room,’ walk up to this table, shoot you in the head, and walk out.”
“You’re just trying to get her all to yourself. I’ll tell Viv on you.”
“Viv would have made her first — and would probably already have shot her. Why haven’t you gotten out of here?”
“What about you?”
“I’ll stay here and stall her for a minute, while you run like a deer.”
“This is insane,” Stone said.
“It worked, didn’t it?” Dino looked up. “Uh-oh. Too late.” He reached under the table for something.
Anna was striding out of the ladies’ room and into the dining room. She sat down but did not put her handbag on the table.
“Listen for a moment, Anna,” Dino said, “and tell me, what do you hear?” He cocked the snub-nosed .38 he used for a backup.
Anna’s face froze.
“Place your handbag and both hands on the table,” Dino said.
She thought about it for a millisecond, then complied.
Dino produced a pair of handcuffs. “Cuff her,” he said to Stone.
“You’re not kidding?” Stone said.
“I kid you not.”
Stone reached over and cuffed her.
Dino opened her handbag and dumped its contents on the table. The contents included a Beretta .25 semiautomatic pistol and a spare magazine. There was a short silencer screwed into the pistol barrel.
“Anna,” Dino said, “it is a felony to possess a handgun in this city without a carry license. It is punishable by a prison term and it is another felony to possess a silencer. You are under arrest.” He showed her his badge, then handed his .38 to Stone, and took out his cell phone. “Shoot her if she moves, and she probably will.”
Stone leveled the weapon at Anna. “Then I will certainly shoot her.”
Dino pressed a button and spoke into the phone. “Come in here with a weapon drawn and ready to make an arrest,” he said.
While they waited, Dino returned her belongings to her handbag, sans weaponry, and tucked it under her arm. “You can call the number they give you when you arrive at the precinct, and they’ll send a lawyer, but you should expect to remain in jail until your trial, a few months, since you are a threat to the public safety and a flight risk.”
Anna, who had not spoken since returning from the little girls’ room, spoke. “I wish a lawyer,” she said.
Dino’s driver came in and took charge of the prisoner.
“We’ll be along in a few minutes,” Dino said to him. “Lock her down, but first, have a female detective conduct a full cavity search, and check her hair for a hatpin. Let everybody know that she is very dangerous.”
Stone spoke up. “Can I have thirty minutes alone in a cell with her, cameras off?”
“If you do that,” Dino replied, “she’ll try to kill you, and she knows how.” He shoved the check across the table. “Dinner is on you,” he said.
41
Dino and Stone got into the rear seat of Dino’s armored GMC. “Let’s drift up to the 19th Precinct and see how our guest is doing,” he said to his driver.
“No problems getting her there,” the driver replied. He drove uptown for the few blocks. As they approached the precinct, they saw an ambulance parked out front, its blue light spinning. Two men and a woman came down the front steps with a gurney. The woman was holding an IV bag above the patient, who appeared to be another woman. They got her into the ambulance, and it drove away.
Dino hit the sidewalk running and went upstairs into the precinct, with Stone hot on his heels.
“Commissioner,” the desk sergeant said, “one flight up.”
They were met by a man in a suit and tie, minus the jacket, holding both hands up. “Commish, it’s all under control.”
“What is under control?” Dino shouted at the man.
“The perp had a handcuff key on her somewhere. Detective Rosie Mack took her into a holding cell for the body and cavity search, there was some noise, and the perp came out of there with her hands free and Rosie’s piece in one of them. She grabbed her handbag from my desk and made it down the stairs without shooting anybody, took an unmarked cruiser, and drove it away. I’ve issued an APB.”
“What is the extent of Rosie’s injuries?”
“She was stuck in the chest with something smaller than a knife and hit on the back of the neck. She was unconscious, and there was some blood.”
“Where’s she headed?”
“Lenox Hill ER.”
“Has anybody reported the cruiser?”
“No, sir. It’s a Toyota four-door, gray.”
“Let’s go,” Dino said to Stone and ran down the stairs. “Lenox Hill ER,” he said to his driver.
“What about the cruiser?” Stone asked.
“With a one-car search party, we’re not going to find it. Leave it to the net; I want to see Rosie.”
They got out of the car at the ER entrance and ran inside. Dino brushed a nurse out of the way and started looking in examining rooms.
Another nurse stopped him. “She’s on her way to the OR with a small puncture wound to the heart and a concussion.”
“Was she conscious at all?”
“Briefly. She said something about a hatpin and a headache, then she passed out.”
“What are her chances?”
“Good, but they’ve got to crack her chest, so she’ll be down for some time.”
“No point waiting,” Dino said. “Tell her I was here, and when she shows signs of waking up, call me immediately.” He handed the nurse a card. “No matter what time it is.” He stalked out of the ER with Stone on his heels.
“As I recall,” Stone said, “you and Rosie were sort of an item a while back.”
“A long while back,” Dino said. “But she’s a great person, and I love her as much as I love anybody but Viv. She didn’t deserve this, and I’m going to find out why my instructions weren’t followed to the letter.”
They arrived at Stone’s house and the driver pulled into the garage, per Stone’s instructions.
“Do I have to tell you to watch your ass?” Dino said. “I mean, she came for you.”
“No, you don’t have to tell me.”
“I’m going to put a uniform on your front and rear doors, until you can get Mike Freeman at Strategic Services to get some people over here. I hope I don’t have to tell you that she walked into a crowded bar, suckered us both, and damn near committed two murders.”
“Why would she go after you?” Stone asked.
“Because I was there, and I made her. She wouldn’t have hesitated. This is who you’re dealing with.”
“I understand, believe me. You want to wait here for the call?”
“I may as well. Viv is in the Far East somewhere for another couple of days, and I’m glad she is.”
“Coffee?” Stone asked.
“Nah, I’ll catch forty winks on your office sofa. You go to bed. I don’t want you cluttering up the ER when Rosie comes out of it.”
“All right. Call me after you’ve seen her, and give her my best.”
“Yeah, sure. She’ll like that.” Dino headed for Stone’s office and slammed the door behind him.
Stone went upstairs, stripped, and fell into bed.
42
Stone came downstairs the following morning and was surprised to find Dino still in his office. “Have you seen Rosie?”
“She’s awake, but they won’t let me see her until the surgeon has conducted his post-op examination. They told me to come at ten o’clock.”
“Have you dismissed your driver?”