Dark Harbor (Stone Barrington 12)

“Not that I’ve heard about, but I’ll ask Rawls; he seems to know everything that’s going on. Maybe Rhinehart took his ill-gotten gains and retired up here.”

“I doubt it,” Dino said. “The guy was a pro, but he was obsessive about stealing. I don’t think there are any New York State parole officers on this island, either. If he got out in half his sentence, he should be reporting to a P.O. every week.”

“Dino, you’re a wonder; you’ve been here fifteen minutes, and already you’ve spotted a perp.”

“They’re everywhere,” Dino said. “Maybe I’ll just clean up this burg while I’m here.”

“How long can you stay?”

“I got a lot of vacation time built up; we’ll see.”

“How’s it going with Mary Ann?”

“Everything’s squared. We’re just waiting for a judge to sign off on the agreement and give us a decree, then I’ll be a free man.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“Relieved.”

“No regrets?”

“Can’t think of any. It wasn’t like it was a marriage made in heaven, y’know. If the kid hadn’t been in the picture, we’d have screwed each other for a few months and called it a day the first time she complained about something. She knew it, I knew it.”

“Any luck on the apartment hunt?”

“Yeah, I found a nice six on Park in the sixties.”

“Sounds expensive.”

“By the time it’s done up I’ll have a couple mil in it”

“Sounds nice.”

“Had to be; the court has to approve it for Benito’s visits.”

“When do you close?”

“Yesterday,” Dino said. “Things move fast when it’s an all-cash deal. I’ve already got a designer working on the renovations and buying me some furniture.”

“You’re going to let a designer furnish the place?”

“Jesus, Stone, you think I give a shit about furniture? I told her, make it nice for the kid so the court will sign off on it. She’s going to get it painted, put in some new stuff in the kitchen and get the floors refinished. I’ll be in it in a month.”

“Dino, it’s New York; nothing happens in a month.”

“This designer lady is a real hard-ass; she’ll get it done. She’s already got her people lined up, and she gets paid more if it’s ready on time.”

“And you’re letting her pick out everything?”

“I picked out the TVs and the stereo and my chair for the den. The rest is up to her.”

“Good luck.”

“Listen, I’m a better judge of people than I am of furniture. Anyway, it’ll piss off Mary Ann if I’m in a really nice place, and I’ll enjoy that.”

They drove in silence until they got to the house and started unloading Dino’s bags.

“I just thought of something,” Dino said.