“That is exactly what I thought,” Hildy said.
“Good, then you won’t have to remember a story. You believed Derek Sharpe to be an artist and nothing more. You had no idea that he might be involved in any sort of illegal activity, and you are shocked at the allegations. Got that?”
Hildy folded her arms and looked down at her knees. “Yes,” she said softly.
“As soon as the police have finished questioning you, you are going on a vacation, somewhere out of the country. You will not return for Sharpe’s trial, and you will not speak of him to any person in this country or abroad. You will carry a cell phone, so that the authorities will be able to reach you if necessary. If you have told them what I asked you to they will not call you as a witness, since you have no knowledge of Sharpe’s extralegal activities. Is all that perfectly clear?”
“Yes,” she said. “But, Daddy, I don’t want to go on a vacation.”
“You will go to the house in Tuscany as soon as your doctor says you’re well enough to travel,” Philip Parsons said. “Once ther
e, you may invite friends to join you. You will not come back until Derek Sharpe has been tried and convicted, no matter how long that takes.”
“Well,” she said sheepishly, “ Italy is very nice this time of year.”
WHEN STONE RETURNED home there was a hand-delivered envelope on his desk. He ripped it open and found a single ticket to the opening night of Carrie’s show. There was no note.
60
STONE MET DINO at Elaine’s at eight thirty. “You’re off the hook for shooting Hildy,” he said.
“What do you mean, ‘off the hook’?” Dino said. “I was never on the hook.”
“You’re just lucky no one searched you and found the.22.”
“There was no luck involved. The Connecticut State Police were not going to search an NYPD lieutenant.”
“That’s why you’re off the hook. I spoke with her father this afternoon, and he’s good with it, too. I think he suspects something, but he got his daughter back, so he’s not going to make a fuss.”
“Is Hildy going to get nailed for her part in this thing?” Dino asked.
“No. I sat in on her questioning this afternoon. She played dumb and innocent, too.”
“But she had to know something about what Sharpe was doing.”
“Maybe, but she doesn’t now, so she’s not going to have to testify against him.” Stone picked up a menu. “You ready to order?”
“I’m expecting a guest,” Dino said. “Let’s wait.”
The waiter brought them both another drink, and Dino kept checking his wristwatch.
Finally, the door opened, and the commissioner entered, preceded by Mitzi, who looked smashing in a red dress.
Stone stood up, shook her hand, then the commissioner’s. “Good evening, sir,” he said. “I didn’t know you frequented Elaine’s.”
“I have been coming here since Giuliani was mayor,” the commissioner replied, looking around. He turned to the waiter. “You got any single malts?”
The waiter recited the list, and the commissioner chose one. “The lady will have a Beefeater’s martini with a twist, not too dry,” he said.
Stone shot a glance at Mitzi, but she was not looking at him. However, she delivered a sharp kick to his ankle under the table.
The drinks came, and the commissioner raised his glass. “To successful operations,” he said, “and to those who carry them out, even when unexpected circumstances occur.”
They all drank, and then they ordered dinner.
“Aren’t we missing the, ah, leader of the operation?” Stone asked.
“Oh, Lieutenant Doyle is home studying, I expect,” the commissioner said.