Kisser (Stone Barrington 17)

“What is it?”

“Shall I call an ambulance?”

“Just skip a step and call an undertaker.”

“You’re hungover, aren’t you?”

“The word doesn’t cover it.”

“This ought to help: Tiffany Baldwin is on the phone.”

“Tell her I’m ill and can’t talk.”

“That won’t work; I’ve been on the phone with you for too long.”

Stone pressed the button. “Hello?”

“Did I wake you?” Tiffany asked.

“No. You can’t wake the dead.”

She laughed. “You have to be in my office in an hour for a meeting.”

“I’m sorry,” Stone said. “I thought you said I have to be in your office in an hour.”

“You have to be in my office in an hour,” she said, “for a meeting.”

“Tiffany, I don’t have any current business with your office. What is this about?”

“We’re all meeting in an hour,” she said. “It’s a strategy session.”

“Can you hold on for just a minute,” he said. He pressed the hold button, ran into the bathroom, and threw up again. He ran some cold water on a facecloth and went back to the phone, swabbing his face. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about, and if I did, I wouldn’t come.”

“Your Lieutenant Doyle requested the meeting,” she said.

“He’s not my Lieutenant Doyle; he’s just a cop I know.”

“It’s my understanding that the commissioner has placed you under his command.”

“That’s a lie.”

“That’s not what the commissioner says; I called him.”

“Okay, it’s not a lie; it’s just a perversion of justice.”

“Once again, Stone, be in my office in an hour for this meeting. The commissioner will be here, and if you’re not, he’ll notice.” She hung up.

Stone wanted to collapse into bed again, but he got to his feet and threw himself into a cold shower, regretting it immediately. He shaved, cutting himself twice, struggled into some clothes, and went downstairs. He went into Joan’s office, poured himself a cup of coffee, and began sipping it.

“You were right,” Joan said. “I should have called an undertaker.”

“Too late,” Stone said. “I have to go downtown to the Federal Building.”

“To see Tiffany Baldwin?”

“Among others. She said the commissioner is going to be there, too, but that may have been just to scare me.”

“Did it work?”