Chapter 23

Frank was a block from dropping off Charlie at his house when his cell rang. “Yeah?”

It was his wife. “Don’t come home.”

“Why not—you couldn’t get your lover out of the house soon enough?” He laughed at his own joke, so she would know he was kidding.

“Two detectives were just here. They left, but they’re sitting outside waiting for you.”

“Okay, I’m gonna go to that place. Call Charlie’s house and ask if they been there.” Frank hung up and made a U-turn.

“What’s up?” Charlie asked.

“The cops were just at my house. They’re still there, waiting outside.” Frank’s phone rang again. “Yeah?”

“There’s two of them at Charlie’s, too.”

“Talk to you later.” He hung up. “They’re at your place, too.”

“They can’t know nothing, it’s not an hour yet. Well, almost an hour.”

“Yeah, creepy, ain’t it?”

“It must be some other beef.”

Frank thought about it. “What if Gino’s place was wired?”

“Oh, shit,” Charlie said. “You think?”

“We can go to the apartment,” Frank said. He had a little studio apartment for occasions just like this.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

“You got any cash stashed?”

“Yeah, at home.”

“At home. Swell.”

“I see your point.”

“Does your wife know where it is?”

“Are you kidding? She’d be at Bloomingdale’s right now.”

“I can let you have a thousand,” Frank said. “So you won’t have to go back.”

“What’ve you got in mind, Frank?”

“I think we should be on a plane. Right now. Separate planes.”

“Where?”

“It’s better we don’t know each other’s plans. You got a place you can hole up?” He raised a hand. “Don’t tell me where.”

“Yeah, I got a place.”

Frank pulled up in front of his apartment building. “Ditch this car somewhere and take a cab back here,” he said. He got out, and Charlie drove off.

Frank went into the building and to his apartment, which was at the rear of the building, next to a fire exit. He let himself in, went into the kitchen, knelt down and opened the cabinet under the kitchen sink. He removed half a dozen bottles of cleaners and some sponges, then he took out a Swiss Army knife he always carried and pried up a couple of floorboards. He reached into the hole and withdrew a plastic briefcase, then replaced the floorboards and the cleaning supplies and went into the living room.