“Oh, shit,” Brubeck said aloud to himself.

Chapter 8

As Stone’s day ended Joan came into his office carrying a vase containing two dozen red roses. “Where would you like these?”

“At a nearby hospital,” Stone said, embarrassed.

“Be sure and read the card.” Joan left the roses on his desk and went back to her office.

Stone stood and walked around the desk and the huge bouquet. A card was nestled among the roses. It read: What a nice evening! More, please!

Stone’s nether regions tingled.

“Hey, nice!” a voice behind him said.

Stone whirled to find Dino standing behind him.

“You sending yourself flowers these days?”

Stone muscled the heavy vase over to a side table and relieved himself of the load. “A sort of joke,” he said.

Dino walked over to the vase and plucked the card from the roses. “Sounds like a grateful woman to me.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Stone asked irritably.

“I was in the neighborhood, and my alarm watch told me it’s the cocktail hour.”

“Help yourself and make me one,” Stone said, flopping onto the comfortable sofa.

Dino went to the cabinet that concealed a small bar and an ice machine, poured a Johnnie Walker Black and a Knob Creek, handed Stone his, then sat down. “I hear that Jerry Brubeck and Gino Parisi had an exciting day,” he said.

“And how did you come by that information?”

“I happened to have two detectives on the scene. They were going to call on the Bowsprit Beverages management and have a word with them, but as they were getting out of their car they witnessed a little scene.”

“What sort of scene?”

“There were four of them, and Gino was frightened enough to pull a gun on them. One of them produced a police baton and appeared to break Gino’s wrist. Words followed, and Gino took another whack to the knee and went down.”

“Anybody get arrested?”

“For what? Nobody got shot, and I’m sure Gino must have a license for his .38. He was pretty mad, though.”

“Parisi the younger and Ryan are still hanging around Pepe Perado, apparently waiting for a chance to get at him.”

“So the encounter in the garage was just preventative maintenance?”

“You could put it that way.”

“My detectives said the four explainers were the biggest, ugliest guys they had ever seen at one time in one place. How is it that you come to know such people?”

“I don’t know them, they were recommended by a friend.”

“Ah, a whiff of Mike Freeman is in the air,” Dino said, sounding amused. “I got a call a few minutes ago. Gino Parisi was heard speaking to a cousin of his from Brooklyn, not the nice part. Your name came up.”

“You’ve got Parisi wired?”