Unnatural Acts (Stone Barrington 23)

“Give me the good news first.”

“Okay, I threw what’s-her-name out first thing this morning.”

“Right after you screwed her, right?”

“The point is, she’s gone and out of my life.”

“What’s the bad news?”

“She’s not necessarily out of your life.”

There was a long silence. “Dino,” Stone said, “I’m failing to figure out what that means.”

“It means she knows you know.”

“You told her you told me?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that. I told her you saw her coming into my building and recognized her.”

“So, you managed to convey my knowledge of her presence in New York while covering your own ass?”

“Well, yeah, I thought that was best.”

“Best for you.”

“Listen, Stone, it was an accident. We were arguing, and I spilled that you knew, but I couldn’t let her think I told you. She might have offed me on the spot.”

“So now she’ll off me slightly later,” Stone pointed out.

“I did my best to convince her that you would never rat her out because you would protect me.”

“So, I come out of this dead, but a hero in her eyes?”

“Look, pal, I’m sorry, I really am, but she had me against the wall, and I was grasping at straws.”

“Next time, grasp at a different straw, will you?”

“Again, I’m sorry. Gotta run.” Dino hung up, and he was sweating. What the hell, he thought, the alternative was not to warn him.

12

Stone had just come into his office when Joan buzzed him. “Herbie on one.”

Stone picked up the phone. “Good morning, Herbie. How did it go with Mike Freeman?”

“Better than I could have hoped,” Herbie replied. “Dink is at the funny farm, thanks to Mike’s help, and Mike offered me a job at Strategic Services, if I ever want to leave Woodman and Weld.”

“Are you thinking of doing that?” Stone asked.

“No, but having that to fall back on gave me the guts to tell Karla Martin to sort of go fuck herself and get her to write a recommendation to Eggers that he promote me to senior associate.”

“Herbie, it takes a while for an associate to break through that particular ceiling.”

“It’s done, Stone. Eggers went for it.”

“What have you been smoking?”

“I kid you not. I’m in an office with a window, next to a corner office, with a beautiful view up Park Avenue, and I’m interviewing secretaries this afternoon. I’ve got myself an associate to abuse, too, name of Bobby Bentley.”