“I do very well, thank you. I’ve heard quite a lot about you. Dino says you’re a terrible drunk.”

“As you get to know Dino better,” Stone said, “you will learn that he is an inveterate liar, especially when I am the subject.”

A waiter appeared with two drinks on a tray. “Knob Creek on the rocks,” he said, and Hank took the other one.

Dino couldn’t help laughing. “What did I tell you, Hank?”

Stone took the drink and raised his glass to Dino. “Why don’t we go and talk to somebody else,” Stone said, taking Hank’s arm and steering her toward the grand piano, “like each other?”

“What a good idea,” she said, “and accompanied by good jazz.”

“I understand you’ve just arrived in our city,” Stone said.

“Only a couple of weeks ago.”

“Have you found a place to live?”

“Dad has kept an apartment here for several years. I’m camping there, until I can find time to look for a place of my own.”

“I suppose you don’t have much time for anything but work.”

“Oh, I can be tempted.”

“Temptation is one of the things I do best,” Stone said.

“What are the others?” she asked.

—

Ryan and Sylvia woke from a sex-induced nap. “We’re half an hour late for dinner,” he said. “I’d better let them know we’re still coming.” He reached for the phone.

“Are you sure you want to go down for dinner?” she asked, scratching his chest.

“I need the rest,” he said, and rebooked their table. He got up and began dressing. He took a holster containing a small 9mm semiautomatic and snapped it to his belt.

“Do you always carry?” she asked, getting into her clothes.

“Nearly always,” he replied. “I was a cop for a long time, and I got used to it. I feel naked without a piece.”

“I know the feeling,” she said. “I was carrying on the train, but today I had to fly. I couldn’t even bring a switchblade.”

“Jesus, you carry a knife? What have I got myself into here?”

“You’re into a lady who knows how to protect herself. In my business you never know when a mark is going to turn bad on you. Don’t worry, I’ve only had to knife one guy, and just enough to teach him some manners.”

They took the elevator to the lobby and walked into the dining room, where they were seated immediately.

—

One of Dino’s two detectives for the event was seated in the lobby, reading the Post. He reached for his cell phone and made a call.

—

Upstairs, Dino’s phone went off; he checked the caller ID before stepping out of a group and answering. “Talk fast,” he said.

“Boss, I just saw Gene Ryan walk into the hotel dining room with a woman. Should I take him?”