He took five grand from his stash in the safe he had bolted to the cement floor in his closet. He thought about taking ten grand, but the last time he’d had a pocketful of money, somebody had stolen it, and he still didn’t entirely trust her. While he was at it he took the bank bands off the cash and replaced them with rubber bands, then burned the bands in the sink and ran them through the garbage disposal.

He showered and shaved and dressed in a freshly pressed suit, so as to fit in at the Four Seasons. He would allow an hour and a half for the drive into the city, twice as long as usual, because it would be rush hour, and the tunnel would be jammed. He drove out of the garage at four-thirty, and as he passed the front of his building he saw two black sedans drive up to his building, and one of them had a state seal on the door. What the hell, they weren’t looking for him; he drove on toward the city.

—

Dino called Stone.

“How you feeling?”

“Chipper, fine. Didn’t we have this conversation before?”

“Not after last night.”

“What about last night?”

“Aren’t you just the tiniest bit hungover?”

“Why should I be hungover?”

“Because last night you drank as much as I’ve ever seen you drink, and I had to put you to bed.”

“What are you talking about? I put myself to bed, the way I always do, unless Viv is home, then she puts me to bed. By the way, Viv is why I called. I agreed a while back to speak to some of her client’s employees at a gathering this evening, and she just called to tell me that the client is bringing his daughter, who she would like you to partner with at the dinner.”

“Do I have to listen to you speak?”

“I’m the entertainment—you’re a lucky guy.”

“What’s the woman like?”

“I hear she resembles a camel, but that’s right up your alley, isn’t it?”

“All right. What time and where?”

Dino told him.

“Hey, what happened about going to New Jersey?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Last night you said you and I were going to go out there and arrest Gene Ryan.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Certainly not. We were going to collar the guy and bring him back.”

“An ex-cop and the police commissioner were going to arrest a guy in Jersey without an extradition warrant and bring him back to the city?”

“That was your plan, as I recall.”

“Listen, pal, you must have been a lot drunker than I was. See you at seven.”

—

Two NYPD detectives and two New Jersey state cops found Ryan’s apartment and hammered on the door. Nothing. They hammered more and still, nothing.

“So what now?” a Jersey cop asked. “You want to break it down?”