“She seems to have been following me. I suggest you follow me, too, but from a distance.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Do you know her?”

“Since she was in diapers; I used to change them.”

“She knows you, then?”

“Oh, yeah; since she’s old enough to talk she’s called me Uncle Guido.”

“Well, Guido, if she’s that fond of you, she might not be so inclined to take a shot at you.”

Guido nodded solemnly. “And she’s a hell of a shot,” he said. “I know. I taught her in her papa’s basement, when she was fourteen.”

“I noticed you’re carrying,” Stone said.

Guido threw up his hands. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to off her. Those are not my instructions.”

Stone didn’t doubt that if those were his instructions, Guido would carry them out with alacrity. “I’m glad to hear it,” he said. “Suppose you see her? How are you going to handle this?”

“Decisively,” Guido said. “I’m not here to fuck around.”

“Are the people with you good?”

“The best. They’d do anything for the old man.”

“I suggest you lose the hardware. If I can spot it, anybody can spot it, and the local cops aren’t going to take kindly to out-of-towners packing iron on their streets.”

“What are the local cops like?” Guido asked.

“Professional. They’ve got a smart chief, and you don’t want to mess with him or any of his men.”

“We’ll play it cool, then,” Guido said.

“Guido, please don’t take this the wrong way, but on the streets of Palm Beach, you’re going to stand out.”

“Don’t worry. I tan fast.”

Stone sighed. “I’m not talking about your lack of a tan. People around here can spot an outsider in a split second, and any cop in town would make you as a foreigner from a block away.”

“I ain’t a foreigner,” Guido said hotly. “I was born in Brooklyn.”

“My point is, Guido, nobody else in Palm Beach was born in Brooklyn. And if they were, they’d have learned long ago to look like they were born on Park Avenue. I hope you’re getting my drift.”

“Yeah, I get your drift,” Guido said, “and if you were anybody but a friend of my friend I wouldn’t take it too good.”

“I’m trying to help you, Guido. Your friend would not like it if I had to bail you and your pals out of the local can, would he?”

“I guess not,” Guido admitted. “How can we fit in better here?”

Stone thought about an honest answer to that question, but thought better of giving it. “Go down to Worth Avenue, to the Polo store or Armani and buy some nice quiet sports clothes. Jackets, too, like blue blazers with brass buttons?”