Swimming to Catalina (Stone Barrington 4)

“Sorry to disturb you.” He gave the man Betty’s address, then hunkered down in the seat.

“That’s only a few blocks from here,” the driver said wearily.

“Let’s call it an airport run,” Stone replied.

The cab pulled away from the curb and Stone watched as the Lincoln drove past in the opposite direction. This time he got a better look at the driver. He had last seen him standing at a neighboring urinal, he remembered.

The cab was on Betty’s street in two minutes. “Drive slowly down to the next corner,” Stone said.

“The address you gave me is in the middle of the block,” the driver said.

“Just do it, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.” He muttered something under his breath.

“All right, stop here.” Stone looked up and down the street, gave the man twenty dollars, got out of the cab, and looked around again. He had the block to himself. He walked quickly to Betty’s house, half expecting the Lincoln to beat him there, let himself in, and went upstairs.

“Stone?” Betty called from the bedroom.

“Yeah, it’s me.” He walked down the hall, shucking his jacket, and into the bedroom. Betty was sitting up in bed, naked.

“Where have you been?”

“It took me longer than I thought to shake the other car.” He got out of his clothes and into bed.

“You sure you don’t have another girl stashed someplace?”

“Positive,” he said, kissing her.

“I’ve been waiting up for you,” she said, running a finger up the inside of his thigh.

“Why, whatever for?” he asked.

She showed him.

Betty was already dressed for work when Stone woke up. “Now,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “What was all that about last night?”

“Don’t you remember doing it?”

“Not that. I mean, that thing with the car following us.”

“I don’t know, but I recognized the driver; he was with Ippolito at Grimaldi’s. I saw him up close, in the men’s room.”

“Are you and I in any kind of trouble?” she asked.

“What kind of trouble could we be in?”

“Do you think the car followed us from here to the restaurant?”

“No, it was still daylight then; I’d have noticed. They picked us up at the restaurant.”

“How’d they know we were there?”

“Did you see anybody you knew at dinner?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Somebody saw us there.”