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“No, what?”
“No, you can’t borrow my .45 for a minute.”
“A minute is long enough.”
“I’ll tell you what you’re always telling me,” she said.
“What’s that?”
“Take a few deep breaths. You’ll feel better.”
Stone took a few deep breaths. “You’re right, I feel better.”
“Now, tell me what to do.”
“Dino claims there’s a reported shooting on East Seventy-Second, and he’s had to pull his men off and send them up there.”
“Do you believe him?”
“Sort of. I mean, I wouldn’t put it past him to lie about the shooting except I know how bad he wants Eddie Jr., who is his only suspect in the murders of Annetta and the maid.”
“What about Mac? Isn’t he worried about Mac?”
“No, sweetie. Mac is dead, and Dino doesn’t think you’re a murderer. In his own mind, he’s already cleared the shooting of Mac as self-defense against an armed intruder.”
“What about the East Hampton cops?”
“They don’t matter. They know that Dino is more credible with the press than they are, so they’re not going to argue with him.”
Joan shook her head as if to clear it. “I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten what we’re talking about here.”
“We’re talking about what to do next,” Stone said.
“Got it. What are we going to do next?”
“As I see it, we have two choices: one, we can go up to East Sixty-Sixth Street and check all the mailboxes to see if Eddie’s name is on any of them, then do the same at the East Sixty-Seventh address.”
“What’s the second choice?”
“We can sit here calmly until Dino has cleared the East Seventy-Second Street shooting scene, then let him go back and check on the mailboxes.”
“He’s already found a mailbox with Eddie’s name on it. Which one was that?”
“I can’t remember. Can you?”
“No.”
“Then I think we should use public funds in the form of Dino and his men, instead of wearing ourselves out trooping up and down the East Sixties.”
“Which one is likelier to give me a clear shot at Eddie Jr.?” Joan asked.
“Joan, you’re not going to get a clear shot at Eddie Jr. Mac was a fluke. If you take another shot at Eddie Jr. and hit him, you’re going to live the rest of your life with the consequences of that action hanging over you, and some of those years are likely to be in a women’s correctional institution, where you’d have to learn to like girls instead of boys.”
“You are such a pessimist!”
“I’m a realist, and you know it. You’re going to have to content yourself with seeing Eddie Jr. in prison, not in his grave.”
“I like the second one better.”
