“Did he have a lot of stuff?”
“A couple of filing cabinets and his computer and printer; that was about all.”
“Do you think I could have a look at where Herbie worked?”
“Are you a friend of his?”
“I came up to see him today, but I didn’t know he’d been released until I got to the prison.”
“Sure, I guess you could see it; follow me.”
Stone followed the young woman through aisles of stationery and office equipment to a door on the other side of the store.
She opened the door and stood back. “This is where he worked,” she said.
Stone looked into a room furnished only with a desk, a chair, and a small leather sofa. “Do you have any idea what Herbie did in here?” he asked.
“Well, I know he traded stocks,” she replied. “I don’t know what else he did.”
Stone stared at her. “On the stock market, you mean?”
“Oh, yes; he was a very active trader; he spent every afternoon on the computer and on the telephone, talking to his broker. He gave me and Mr. Wilhelm a number of good tips; we made out real well. I was sorry to see Herbie go.”
“Thanks,” Stone said.
“Come see us again. Shall I tell Mr. Wilhelm you stopped in?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. By the way, do you have Herbie’s new address?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t; neither does Mr. Wilhelm. He did say that he was headed west.”
“How far west?”
“I don’t know, really; he did say that he’d let us know when he was settled.”
“I see. Tell me, how did Herbie take his computer and his file cabinets away?”
“He had a man with a van; I guess somebody he hired.”
“Was there a name on the van?”
“Nope, just a plain, black van.”
“Can you describe the man who drove the van?”
“I’m sorry, I just didn’t pay that much attention; I was helping customers.”
“Thanks again for your help,” Stone said. He walked back to his car, wondering why the hell Sing Sing would let a prisoner spend his afternoons in Ossining, trading stocks.
“All done?” Sarah asked, as he got into the car.
“Completely done,” Stone replied. He had no idea what to do next.
21
T HEY CROSSED INTO CONNECTICUT ON I-84, and Stone soon turned off the interstate at Southbury and headed north. The car behaved like a living thing, clinging to curves and accelerating in the straights.
“When do I get t