Dino looked around the bedroom. It was sweetly decorated, frilly, even. There was nothing remarkable about it: a couple of department-store prints, some yellow curtains, now bloodstained, a bed, unmade.
He walked back down the stairs, got out his cell phone, and called his precinct, then asked for the captain.
“Egan,” a gruff voice said.
“It’s Bacchetti,” he said. “I’m at Ed Abney’s house in East Hampton.” He read him the address. “Abney blew his brains out while we watched.”
“Saves us a lot of trouble,” the captain said. “You want me to get the locals to the house?”
“I don’t see any way around it. I’ll make sure the scene is properly secured and lots of photographs taken, and Rosie and I will give them statements, then we’ll chopper back to the city. My car is at the West Side helipad.”
“Good work, Dino,” the captain said. “You want me to get out a press release, or wait for you?”
“Go ahead. Just say that we gave him every opportunity to surrender, but he chose to end his life. And say that his death solves the murder of Annette Redfield.”
“It will be done.” The captain hung up.
So did Dino. He took a seat on the living room sofa and called Abney’s office.
“Bright Lights, Ink,” the receptionist said.
“This is Lieutenant Bacchetti. I was there earlier today.”
“Yes, sir, I remember.”
“Let me speak to Margie.”
“One moment.”
“This is Margie.”
“It’s Lieutenant Bacchetti. I’m at Abney’s East Hampton house.”
“Did you get him?”
“He got himself-blew half his head off to keep from going to jail.”
She let out a long sigh. “I had a feeling,” she said. “I’ve got his will right here. It was in my safe.” She giggled. “He left me everything: the business, his apartment, the Hamptons house.”
“Congratulations!”
“I won’t be needing any partners. If you’ll excuse me, Lieutenant, I need to get my people together and explain things to them before this breaks on the news.”
“It’ll be on the six o’clock shows.”
“I’ll have time to contact our clients before then,” she said. “Goodbye, Lieutenant, and thanks!” She hung up.
DINO WAS still sitting on the living room sofa when the East Hampton cops arrived.
50
Stone put down the phone on his desk and walked back to the kitchen and into the garden, where Marla was relaxing on a chaise longue. There was a script in her lap and a bottle of gimlets and two glasses on the table next to her.
Stone sat down and kissed her, then poured them both a gimlet. “I’m sorry I took so long. I was talking on the phone with Dino.”
“How is Dino?”
“Never better. He cleared Annette Redfield’s murder this morning.”