“I’ll think of something to do with it,” she said, kissing him again and slipping him inside her. “It’s my day off, too, so we’re going to be here for a while.”

The phone rang again. “Fuck it,” Stone said.

“It’s probably more good news,” Eliza said. “I can wait another few seconds.”

Stone grabbed the phone. “What?”

“Well, don’t bite my head off,” Herbie said.

“Jesus, Herbie, do you know what time it is?”

“I’ve got five-forty. You really ought to invest in a watch, Stone.”

“What do you want, Herbie?”

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m taking your advice,” Herbie said. “I took a cab to Jersey, and I’m on a bus, headed south.”

“Great news, Herbie. Good-bye and good luck.”

“Oh, will you tell Uncle Bob good-bye for me?”

“Sure, I will. Good-bye.”

“And say good-bye to that nice D.A., too. You know, if I’d been able to hang around, I would have taken a shot at that. She’s cute!”

“I’ll tell her you said so, Herbie; I’m sure she’ll be devastated to lose the chance. Good-bye.”

“Hey, you think she’ll really be devastated? Maybe I’ll hang around and…”

“Good-bye, Herbie,” Stone said and hung up. He turned back to Eliza. “That was Herbie.”

“I heard. Do you think you’ve seen the last of him?”

“Dear God, I hope so,” Stone said, turning his full attention to her again.

“You know, you went down a bit when you were talking to Herbie, but now…”

Stone made a little thrust.

“You’re back,” she said, helping him.

57

Herbie got off the subway downtown and began looking for a place to have breakfast. He passed a newsstand and picked up a Daily News. He reflected that he was going to have to start reading the Times, now that he was a lawyer. It looked better.

He found an early-opening restaurant and ordered eggs, bacon and pancakes. He had lost weight in that lousy hotel, and now he was going to gain it back. He ate slowly and turned to the paper. There was a front-page story: Carmine Dattila released from jail. That pissed him off all over again. He checked his watch frequently; he didn’t want to be too early.

At nine o’clock he paid for his breakfast and took a walk. He found a street vendor selling cheap raincoats, and he bought one, along with a rain hat and some sunglasses. It did look like rain after all, and he could use a disguise of sorts. Dattila’s people were still out there, looking for him.