“Once has always been enough for you,” Elaine said, rising to hop to the next table.
“What was that supposed to mean?” Holly asked.
“Pay no attention to Elaine,” Stone replied. “She likes to needle me.”
“About women?”
“About whatever she can think of.”
Dino came in, hung up his coat, sat down, and ordered a Scotch.
“What would you like, Holly?”
“A three-to-one vodka gimlet, straight up, shaken, very cold,” she said to the waiter.
“Make it two,” Stone said.
“Sounds good. Cancel my Scotch and make it three,” Dino echoed.
“I’m glad to be able to influence opinion,” Holly said. “What information do you have for me, Dino?”
“You’re right. Your guy, Rodriguez, is in town. He’s been hanging out at the La Boheme coffeehouse in Little Italy.”
“Holly’s a little ahead of you, Dino. We had lunch down there, and she spotted Trini and gave chase.”
“No shit? What do you need me for?”
“Well,” Holly said, “I didn’t know about the La Boheme coffeehouse.”
“It’s a mob joint. There’s at least two bookies and a loan shark working out of there.”
“Maybe tomorrow I’ll stop in for a cup of coffee.”
“Not without a SWAT team to back you up,” Dino said. “They don’t cotton to the company of women in that place.”
“Maybe it’s time I brought them up to date.”
“Not unless you enjoy the sound of your bones breaking. They’re not friendly to outsiders of any kind, but especially women.”
“I’m sure there’s a New York City ordinance that prohibits such behavior. Why don’t you come down there with me and enforce it?”
“Because no law enforcement agency, local or federal, wants to disturb the action in the joint. Just between you and me, there’s probably more audio and video equipment installed in the walls there than at the Wiz.”
“What’s the Wiz?”
“A great big audio and video store.”
“I get the picture. Maybe I should just go down there and park outside until Trini shows up, then take him.”
“Holly, you’re not listening. You try to take somebody in that coffee shop, and a shooting war will break out. I wasn’t kidding about the SWAT team.”
“Can you arrange a SWAT team for me, Dino?”
“You got an extradition warrant?”
“It’s in my handbag, right next to Stone’s Walther.”
“Tell you what: If you can get the governor of Florida to call the governor of New York, and the governor to call the mayor of the city, and the mayor to call the police commissioner, and the commissioner to call the chief of detectives, and the chief to call me and order me to do it, then I’ll do it.”