Severe Clear (Stone Barrington 24)

Gennaro tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling, then he looked back at Rifkin. “How big was it?”

Rifkin held his hands out to demonstrate.

“No bigger than a case of wine, then? My guess would be that a supplier’s delivery man brought it in there on a hand truck with several cases of wine or liquor.”

“Any idea of which supplier?”

“We buy from four suppliers: I give them a list of what we want, and they bid. I always take the lowest price for, say, a case of Absolut Vodka or Knob Creek bourbon.”

“Same for the wines?”

“Yes, but if we specify a wine and a vintage, all four might not have it. If I don’t get a low enough bid, then I go to the Internet before I accept, then the delivery would be made by UPS.”

“What else do you do on the Internet, Michael?”

Gennaro tilted his head to one side in thought. “Shopping for clothes, shoes, sex toys, household appliances. I use Google to look for stuff.”

“E-mail?”

“Yeah, but not so much.”

“Why not?”

“I guess I don’t have all that many friends. In this business you work nights. It doesn’t lead to an athletic social life. The cell phone works better for me.”

“How many cell phones do you have?”

A flick of an eyebrow. “Ah, just one, an iPhone.”

“Like it?”

“Yeah, it does a lot more than I know how to do with it.”

Rifkin closed the file in front of him. “Well, I guess that’s about it. Thanks for your time, and I hope the job goes well for you here.” Rifkin held out his hand.

Gennaro shook it, then got up and took a step toward the door.

“Oh, Michael?”

Gennaro stopped and turned around. “Yeah?”

“What’s your religion?” Rifkin saw Gennaro’s jaw tighten.

“Catholic,” he replied.

“Thanks, Michael.” He gave the man a little wave and watched him go. Just before he closed the door he looked back.

Rifkin turned to his two agents, who were sitting at a nearby table. “I want a membership list of every mosque in L.A., starting with Studio City and spreading out from there. I don’t care how you get them.”

50

Stone and Dino had breakfast on the patio beside the pool. “I don’t know what to do with myself today,” Stone said. “It’s the first time since we arrived that my mind hasn’t been full of what I have to do today.”

“That sounds like a complaint,” Dino said.

“No, just an observation. I don’t really want to leave the house today. All the guests are checking in, and it’s going to be chaos out there.”

“Why chaos? People check into hotels all the time.”