“Oh, good. Tell me about it.”
“Well, first of all, I’m back on the force.”
“What?”
“No kidding. The commissioner has reactivated me and assigned me to Brian Doyle. I’ve been drafted.”
Dino began to laugh.
“You think this is funny?”
Dino tried to answer but couldn’t. He was laughing too hard.
Elaine came over and sat down. “So, what’s funny?”
Dino couldn’t stop laughing but pointed at Stone.
“Yeah?” Elaine asked. “What about him?”
Stone produced his new badge and ID and showed them to her.
“You gotta be kidding,” she said.
“It’s only temporary.”
“I’m amazed they’d have you back,” she said.
“They insisted,” Stone replied.
Dino continued to laugh.
“All right,” Stone said, “you can shut up now.”
Dino gradually got control of himself.
Stone stuck a finger in his right ear. “And they bugged me, too.”
“You mean you’re wearing a wire?” Dino asked, wiping tears away with his napkin.
“Right this minute.”
“Where is it, in your crotch? And why do you have your finger in your ear?”
“It’s not in my crotch-it’s deep down in my ear, and I’ve got my finger in it so they can’t hear us downtown.”
“Why don’t you just remove the thing?” Elaine asked.
“Because you need this little wire with a hook on it to get it out, and I lost the wire.”
Dino began to laugh again.
“You look kind of silly with your finger in your ear,” Elaine said.
“Do you want to be recorded downtown?” Stone asked.
“Not particularly.”
“Well, if I take out my finger, they can hear everything you say.”