Dino flashed his badge. “Allow me to introduce myself; it’s Lieutenant Dino.”
“Oh, good, then you can shoot him.”
“Only if I get the chance.”
“Dino has Daltry under surveillance as we speak,” Stone said.
“I hope you catch him doing something criminal,” Genevieve said.
“I hope so, too,” Dino said. “I’ve already charged him with something minor; now I’m hoping for something major.”
Willa Bernstein sat at the bar with Devlin Daltry, sipping single-malt Scotch. “Mmmm, this is a lot better than that Queens wine at the gallery.”
“Certainly is. Willa seems an odd name for a Jewish girl.”
“My mother was reading Willa Cather-Death Comes for the Archbishop-when I was born, and I’m not Jewish. My father is, but Jewish identity is passed down through the female line, and my mother is Episcopalian. So am I.”
“My mistake.”
“Everybody makes it. When are you having another show?”
“I opened one a couple of weeks ago, but it’s sold out, so we’re closing it.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I’d love to have seen it.”
“I have a number of pieces at my studio. Maybe I can show them to you after dinner.”
“I’d like that,” she said.
The headwaiter came over. “Your usual table is ready, Mr. Daltry. May I take your drinks over?”
“Of course, Eddie. We’re right behind you.”
They stood up and followed the man toward the table.
“I hope it doesn’t bother you that I’m so tall,” Willa said. “It bothers a lot of men.”
“Not in the least,” Daltry replied smoothly. “In fact, I’m rather partial to tall women.”
Dino’s cell phone rang again. “Excuse me,” he said, flipping it open. “Bacchetti.”
“It’s Bernstein, Lieutenant.”
“Update?”
“They’ve just sat down to dinner. He’s already invited her to his studio afterwards, and she’s accepted. Do you want us to let her do that?”
Dino thought for a moment. “Yes,” he said. “She’s doing a great job so far; we have to believe she can take care of herself if she goes back to his place.”
“Well, she’s half again as big as he is,” Bernstein said. “She ought to be able to handle him.”
“Joe Dowdell and Hank Ortega are in the other car, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, you just be sure that the four of you-sorry, five, I forgot about Pointer-are ready to go in there pronto if anything happens. She’s got a code word if she gets into trouble, right?”
“Yes, Lieutenant. She’ll say ‘My back hurts’ if she needs us.”