“Take a close look at your solid-gold, honorary-detective-first-class badge that was given to you by our former commissioner, now mayor. It’s not engraved with the words ‘Authorized to shoot anybody who annoys him.’”

“Not even double-parkers who block my garage door?”

“Especially not them.”

Stone’s cell phone rang and he looked at the number. “It’s Joan,” he said. “She never calls at this time of night. I’d better get it. Hello?”

“It’s Joan.”

“I know, I have caller ID.”

“I’ve made a tiny little mistake,” she said.

“Oh, God,” Stone moaned. He covered the phone. “Joan says she’s made a tiny little mistake,” he said to his companions. “That means she’s made a real whopper of a mistake.” He went back to the phone. “All right, let me have it.”

“There’s good news and bad news,” she said. “The good news is that I forgot to put a board meeting of the Arrington Group on your calendar.”

Stone was immediately suspicious. “And what is the bad news?”

“The meeting is tomorrow,” she said. “At noon.”

“Well, I can probably get out of bed early enough to make that.”

“That’s not all the bad news.”

“Oh, God,” Stone said, mostly to himself.

“You already said that.”

“What’s the rest of the bad news?”

“The board meeting is in Rome.”

“Rome is up the Hudson somewhere, isn’t it?”

“Not that Rome.”

“Rome, Georgia? Rome has an airport. I could fly myself down there tomorrow morning.”

“Think farther east.”

“Oh, God,” Stone said. “Not that Rome.”

“That one. Now don’t say, ‘Oh, God’ again, and don’t panic—there’s an Alitalia flight tonight.”

“What time?”

“In, let’s see, fifty-four minutes.”

“Which airport?”

“JFK.”

“That’s a forty-five-minute drive,” he pointed out.

“And Fred is off tonight, he went to the theater.”

“I’ll never make it,” he said.

“Think about this: you’re sitting next to the guy with the fastest car in town.”

“Hang on a minute.” He turned to Dino. “I’ve got to be at JFK in fifty-four minutes to catch a plane to Rome. Can I borrow your car?”

“You mean the one with the flashing lights on top?”

“That’s the one.”

“I can see the headlines in tomorrow’s Post,” Dino said. “POLICE COMMISH LOANS OFFICIAL CAR TO SCHMUCK, WHO IS INVOLVED IN TERRIBLE ACCIDENT.”

“Fifty-three minutes!” Joan shouted from the other end of the phone call.

“Only if I’m in the car with you,” Dino said. “That would shorten the headline to, SCHMUCK HITCHES RIDE WITH COMMISH.”

“You two better get going,” Viv said.

“You’re not coming with us?” Stone asked.

“I’d scream all the way,” she replied. “Go on, get your asses in gear! I’ll get the check.”

“I’ll call you en route with further instructions,” he said to Joan, then hung up and ran for the door, followed closely by Dino.

2