Laurie glanced at her watch. “My gosh!” she remarked. “I had no idea of the time.”

“I tried to call you at home as I was coming across the Queensboro Bridge,” Lou said. “When I didn’t get you, I decided to stop here. I had a sneaking suspicion you’d still be at it. You know, you work too hard!”

“You should talk!” Laurie said with playful sarcasm. “Look at you! When was the last time you got any sleep? And I’m not talking about a catnap at your desk.”

“Let’s talk about more pleasant things,” Lou suggested. “How about grabbing a bite to eat? I’ve got to run down to headquarters to do about an hour’s worth of dictating, then I’d love to go out someplace. The kids are with their aunt, God love her. What do you say to some pasta?”

“Are you sure you’re up for going out?” Laurie questioned. The circles under Lou’s dark eyes were touching his smile creases. His stubble was more than a five o’clock shadow. Laurie guessed it was at least two days’ worth.

“I gotta eat,” Lou said. “Are you planning on working much longer?”

“I’m on my last case,” Laurie said. “Maybe another half hour.”

“You gotta eat, too,” Lou said.

“Have you made any progress in the Franconi case?” Laurie asked.

Lou let out an exasperated puff of air. “I wish,” he said. “And the trouble is with these mob hits, if you don’t score quickly, the trail cools mighty fast. We haven’t gotten the break I’ve been hoping for.”

“I’m sorry,” Laurie said.

“Thanks,” Lou said. “How about you? Any more of an idea how Franconi’s body got out of here?”

“That trail is about equally as cool,” Laurie said. “Calvin even gave me a reaming out for interrogating the night mortuary tech. All I did was talk to the man. I’m afraid administration just wants the episode to fade.”

“So Jack was right about telling you to lay off,” Lou said.

“I suppose,” Laurie reluctantly agreed. “But don’t tell him that.”

“I wish the commissioner would let it fade,” Lou said. “Hell, I might get demoted over this thing.”

“I did have one thought,” Laurie said. “One of the funeral homes that picked up a body the night Franconi disappeared is called Spoletto. It’s in Ozone Park. Somehow the name was familiar to me. Then I remembered that one of the more grisly murders of a young mobster took place there back during the Cerino case. Do you think that it’s just a coincidence they happened to be making a pickup here the night Franconi disappeared?”

“Yeah,” Lou said. “And I’ll tell you why. I’m familiar with that funeral home from my years in Queens fighting organized crime. There is a loose and innocent connection by marriage with the Spoletto Funeral Home and the New York crime establishment. But it’s with the wrong family. It’s with the Lucia people, not with the Vaccarros, who killed Franconi.”

“Oh, well,” Laurie said. “It was just a thought.”