“Dino is the only single man I know, and as much as I love him, I don’t think I’d like to get into bed with him.”
“I take your point. I guess I’ll have to do my own hunting.”
“I’m afraid so.” Stone finally thought of something else to say. “By the way, tomorrow morning, you should have your people in place a couple of hours before you expect Derek Sharpe with the goods.”
“Good idea.”
“You could put one of them in a doorman’s uniform.”
She shook her head. “The co-op board would be outraged if they thought the NYPD was staging a drug bust in the building.”
“Come to think of it, you’re not going to need a lot of help to take Derek. You and Tom should be able to handle him; then you can walk him out, and the board will be none the wiser.”
“I think that’s best,” Mitzi said. “I’d hate to get Rita thrown out of the building, especially when she’s asked me to move in with her.”
Stone almost choked on his bourbon. “You two are getting very chummy, aren’t you?”
“Well, you’re a witness to that, aren’t you?”
“I know you like men, Mitzi, but does Rita?”
“You have to ask? She enjoyed you as much as I did.”
“I suppose.”
“Women are not embarrassed about being attracted to other women. Men, on the other hand, are worried that someone will think they’re gay.”
“That’s perfectly true,” Stone admitted, “but I wouldn’t have thought you and Rita…”
“Rita and me sometimes,” Mitzi said. “Anyway, it’s nice for a girl to have a roommate, somebody to sit around in pajamas with, eating chocolates.”
“And each other.”
“That, too. Nothing wrong with a full life.”
Stone had nothing further to contribute on the subject. “I suppose Brian is pleased with the way your case is going,” he said lamely.
“He’d sure better be,” Mitzi said. “When we tag Derek, the tabloids are going to go nuts, and he’ll be the guy standing in front of the cameras. He’ll get noticed at One Police Plaza.”
“I guess he’ll enjoy that,” Stone said. “Is he bucking for captain?”
“You bet your ass he is,” Mitzi said, laughing. “And if this case puts him over the top, I’m never going to let him forget it!”
“What about Sig Larsen?” Stone asked.
“I told you, Brian isn’t interested in him. He’s got the U.S. Attorney’s office on pins and needles, though. After Bernie Madoff they think it’s fashionable to bring in financial scam artists.”
“Tell Brian I don’t think he should mention my name to the U.S. Attorney.”
“The beautiful blonde? Why not?”
“Well, a couple of years ago, right after she got the job, we had a little thing that ended up getting us into the papers.”
Mitzi looked shocked. “That was you? You actually got video-taped in bed with her?”
“Fortunately, my face was out of the frame, but she got recognized. She was the one on top at the time.”
Mitzi hooted. “Brian is going to love this!”
“Just tell him it’s in his interests not to bring my name into it. By the way, did you keep a copy of Sig’s prospectus?”
“No, he wouldn’t let me. I read most of it, and it sounds very appetizing, if you’ve got a lot of money to throw around.”
“He said he would send someone to my office with a copy that I could read but not keep.”
“I know Brian would love it if you found a way to make a copy,” Mitzi said.
“I don’t live to make Brian Doyle happy,” Stone said.
“He loved it that he got you put back on active duty.”
Stone winced. “He loves it that he can use that to give me orders.”
“Exactly.”
“Don’t worry; when he starts doing that, I’ll ignore them.”
“Don’t piss him off, Stone; I’ve still got to live with him.”
“Do you and Brian have something going on?”
“A long time ago,” she said, “before he made lieutenant. He was my first partner, assigned to break me in.”
“And he did?”
“In a manner of speaking,” she said with a sly smile.
38
STONE WOKE UP, exhausted again. He was going to have to get some real rest, he thought, as he swung his legs over the side of the well-mussed bed. He could smell bacon frying.
Mitzi had left him a razor and toothbrush in her bathroom. He shaved, showered, and then looked for his clothes. Nowhere in sight. He found a robe in a closet and walked down to the kitchen. Rita was cooking, and Mitzi was ironing. A woman he didn’t know was sitting at the counter having coffee.
“You’re up!” Mitzi said.
“Sort of. I’m pretty tired.”
Rita laughed. “You’d be even more tired if I’d known you were in the apartment.”
“Good morning,” Stone said to the attractive young woman at the counter.
“Oh, Stone,” Rita said. “This is my friend Emma Suess. She served you canapés the first time you were here, in the maid’s uniform?”
“How do you do,” Emma said, extending a hand. “I’m not really a maid; I’m an actress. I was playing the role of maid that night.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, Emma,” Stone said. He wondered what other roles she played around the house.
Mitzi handed him his freshly ironed shorts and shirt. “I’ll be done with your suit in a minute.”
Stone got into them, then his pants, when she had finished.
“Now don’t you feel all fresh and new?” Mitzi asked.
“Fresh, maybe, but not new.”
“Tom will be here around nine.”
Rita put eggs and bacon on the counter, and they all ate with gusto.
“So,” Rita said, “you’re going to put away Mr. Derek Sharpe this morning.”
“We hope,” Stone said.
“For sure,” Mitzi interjected.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Stone said.
“We’ve got the guy boxed, Stone. Why do you sound so discouraged?”
“I’m not discouraged. I just don’t know what you and Sharpe said to each other last night and if it’s going to translate into a successful prosecution. One thing drug dealers always have is plenty of cash for the best lawyers.”
“Once we nail him with the goods, he’ll cop a plea, and we’ll put him away for ten years.”
“The Rockefeller laws have been repealed,” Stone said, “or hadn’t you heard about that? A conviction doesn’t mean an automatic ten-year sentence anymore; the judge is going to have discretion.”
“Are you saying a judge can be bought?”
“That, too,” Stone replied.
“I talked to Brian this morning,” Mitzi said. “The minute we’ve got the cuffs on Sharpe they’ll be in his building with a search warrant, and we’ll find his stash. I’ll bet it’s a lot.”
“I’ll bet it’s not in the building,” Stone said. “Sharpe is not stupid. I think you’d do better to let this morning’s arrest slide, then set up another one in a few days and nail him then.”
“So why didn’t you mention this last night?”
“I was thinking about other things last night.”
“That’s sweet of you, but since you didn’t get your two cents in, we’ll have to go with it as it is.”
“You can call Brian and suggest a new plan.”
“He wouldn’t go for it.”
“At least you’d have your ass covered if this goes wrong.”
“Well,” she said, “there’s a lot to be said for having your ass covered.”
“Call him,” Stone said.
Mitzi took her plate and went into another room.
Rita took a sip of her coffee and looked at Stone over the brim of the cup. “Now she’s going to be all pissed off,” she said. “You’re spoiling her party.”
“I’m trying to protect her from Brian Doyle,” Stone said.
“You think she needs protecting from her boss?”
“Brian is a… mercurial guy, and if this goes wrong, he’s not going to take the blame.”