17
Meg returned to Stone’s house a little after five, and Fred hauled several shopping bags and boxes up to the master suite. Stone was at his desk, and he made them a drink from his office bar.
“A good day, I hope?”
“A very good one. Tonight I’ll be a new woman—you won’t recognize me. In fact, I may be a new woman every night for a week.”
“You bought that many clothes?”
“I did.”
“Look at any apartments?”
“Didn’t have time for that—another day. Where are we dining?”
“At Patroon, a favorite restaurant of ours. You’ll like it.”
“Can I dress to kill?”
“Sort of. It’s not all that formal, though, so don’t overdo it.”
“You give such good advice,” she said.
“Told you so.”
DIRTY JOE and Jungle Jane were packing for their trip. “Did you get the weapons off?” she asked.
“On their way. They’ll be at Gino’s house.”
“Where are we staying?”
Joe sat down on the bed and did some Googling. “Best deal that’s close to Gino’s is the Lombardy, on East Fifty-sixth Street, off Park Avenue. There’s a suite available.”
“Sounds good,” she replied. “Gino is paying anyway.”
“I booked for a week. If we get it done, we can take a few days off, see a musical or something.”
“How will I be armed?”
“The little .380. I’ll have a .45, both with silencers and three magazines.”
“Sounds good.”
“If Gino can nail her down, we’ll both take her. She won’t survive the crossfire.”
“Good deal.”
THEY WERE SETTLED into a booth at Patroon, with drinks and menus before them.
“How was your day?” Viv asked Meg.
“Just lovely.”
“How did your security detail work out?”
“They were perfect. I felt safe at all times. You do good work.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Viv said.
“Did I tell you,” Stone said to Meg, “that Strategic Services is the second-largest security company in the world?”
“Nope. Who’s the largest, Viv?”
“I keep trying to forget their name,” Viv said.
“What’s your job there?”
“Executive VP for security. I used to be chief operating officer, but I didn’t like the business side, so I asked for the change.”
“She’s a happier woman since then,” Dino said.
“I worry less,” said Viv. “I didn’t like thinking about the bottom line all the time. I just assemble the right teams for the work in hand.”
“Viv was quite a cop,” Stone said. “She saved Dino’s life, took out an assassin, and on another occasion, she fired a single shot from a handgun at a terrorist driving a car packed with explosives, from nearly a block away, and put the round through the back window and into the back of the driver’s head. The bomb, if it had gone off, would have taken out a big chunk of Second Avenue. She got a medal and a big reward for that one.”
“I didn’t know policemen could accept rewards,” Meg said.
“As it happened, she had resigned from the NYPD that morning to marry Dino later that same day.”
“Good timing, Viv!” Meg said. “Can an ex-cop carry a weapon in this city?”
“There are two sitting at this table,” Stone said, “not to mention one serving officer.”
“Once again, I’m well protected!”
“You also have an excellent steak knife handy, if things get out of hand,” Stone said.
GINO AND VERONICA BELLINI glided to a halt in front of the restaurant. “Here we are,” he said, and he waited for their driver to open the door for them.
“And how do you know this place?”
“I don’t. I read about it in a novel.”
The door opened, and they went inside the restaurant and Gino gave his name. They were escorted to a table against a wall and sat side by side with a good view of the whole place. Drinks and menus were delivered.
“Holy shit,” Gino said.
“You put that so gracefully, Gino,” Veronica said drily. “What does it mean?”
“Look across the room, center booth, under some photographs on the wall.”
“I see two couples having dinner.”
“Exactly. The blonde is Meg Harmon.”
Veronica stared across the room. “Holy shit,” she said softly. “What do we do?”
“First of all, stop staring at them. Look anywhere else in the room but there.”
“Okay, now what?”
“Tell me what you’d like for dinner.”
“A steak and a Caesar salad,” she replied.
The headwaiter materialized at their table and inquired if they’d like to order.
“Two Caesar salads, two strip steaks, medium rare,” Gino responded.
“Would you like any vegetables?”
“Onion rings and green beans,” Gino said.
The man handed him a wine list. “I’ll be back in a moment to take your wine order.” He vanished.
“Are you looking at them?” Gino asked.
“I’m trying not to,” Veronica replied.
“Look for other interesting faces in the room—imagine who they might be.”
The headwaiter returned. “Have you chosen a wine, sir?”
Gino glanced at the wine list at the high end of the price range. “A bottle of the Opus One,” he replied.
“An excellent choice. May I decant it for you?”
Gino looked at him blankly.
“The wine is twenty years old; it’s likely to have some sediment at the bottom.”
“Yes, do that, thanks.”
“I see an actor I recognize,” Veronica said, “but I can’t think of his name.”
“Good, keep checking him out until the name comes to you.”
The headwaiter returned with a bottle of wine in a basket, a candle, and a corkscrew. He uncorked the wine, sniffed the cork and handed it to Gino, who aped him.
The headwaiter held the bottle with the candle under it and carefully poured the wine into a decanter. “There,” he said, and poured some for Gino to taste.
Gino tasted it. “Yeah, okay.”
The man poured two glasses. “I’ll be back shortly to make your salads,” he said, then went away.
Gino got out his cell phone, Googled the Lombardy Hotel, and rang the number. “Joseph Cross,” he said to the operator.
“Hello?”
“You’re in—good.”
“About ten minutes ago,” he said. “We’re about to go out for dinner.”
“Write this down—Patroon, 160 East Forty-sixth Street. Call them and make a reservation, then get here as soon as possible. I’ll call you after you’re seated.”
“Right,” Joe said, then hung up. “We’ve got a restaurant recommendation from Gino,” he said to Jane.