“Okay, I’ll keep you posted on what’s going on at this end.”

“Same from here.” They hung up, and Stone went back to his Mark Twain.

—

As darkness was falling that evening, and they were contemplating dinner at a restaurant, Stone’s second phone rang.

“It’s Ernie,” he said. “Lock that fucking bank vault door of yours.” He hung up.

13

Stone locked the door.

“What’s up?” Hedy asked.

“I don’t know, Ernie said to lock the door.”

“Would you like a drink?” she asked.

“Not right now. I want to find out what’s happening, first.” There was a sharp metallic rapping on the door, and Stone walked over to it. “Who is it?”

“Hal.”

Stone unlocked the door, and Hal walked in.

“We made a couple of bad guys in the neighborhood and watched them for a few minutes. They appeared to be searching, and they finally got into a car and left.”

“That’s good. Do you think they know we’re in the neighborhood?”

“Possibly.”

“How could they?”

“Have you used your own phone today?”

“No, I used the one you gave me.”

“Let me see your iPhone.”

Stone handed it over.

Hal removed the SIM card and handed it to Stone. “Don’t put this into the phone until you want to use it.” He did the same to Hedy’s iPhone. “It could be that they picked up on one or both of your phones when you were at the Hassler and tracked them to this street but weren’t able to localize on the apartment. This is a densely populated neighborhood, and even with a signal they might be unable to zero in on you. For instance, even if they got the building right, they wouldn’t be able to tell what floor you’re on. The good news is, we were able to put a tracker on their car, so if it returns, we’ll get a heads-up on our receiving equipment.”

“That’s good to know.”

“What are your dinner plans?”

“We haven’t made any.”

“I don’t want you to get cabin fever. There’s a nice place directly across the street from you, with a name something like Italian for white cat. Try that.”

“Okay.”

“Somebody will have eyes on you all the time, and if we spot anybody, we’ll handle it. We’ll call you if any action on your part is needed. Don’t carry the gun—somebody might spot it, and we don’t want to cause a fuss.”

“As you wish.”

“I’d go to dinner no later than seven,” Hal said. “That will guarantee you a table, and the place will be crowded later.”

Hal let himself out of the apartment, and Stone locked the door behind him.

“How about that drink now?” Hedy asked.

“What are my choices?”

“Is Knob Creek okay?”

“Where on earth did you get that?”