Outside in the hallway, Gordon signaled for quiet, then addressed the crowd. “Here’s an official bulletin,” he said. “The commissioner is doing so well that we’ll likely be able to discharge him this time tomorrow. I’ve nothing further to say right now, and neither does he, so all of you, get the hell out of my hospital.” He walked toward them, his arms outstretched as if he were a farmer herding geese. “The elevators are thataway, ladies and gentlemen, just keep moving, now.”

Stone cracked the door and saw them go, while Dino was putting on a fresh shirt Viv had brought and tying his tie. “The coast is clear,” he said. “My car is downstairs. I’ll tell Fred to move it around to the side entrance.” He got out his phone and did that.

The three of them left the room and headed for the rear elevators. Dino shouted over his shoulder to the surprised cop sitting outside his door, “Anybody asks, tell ’em I’m sleeping and don’t want to be disturbed.”

Five minutes later they were in the Bentley and headed for East Sixty-third Street.

“Okay, what do you hear from Dan Harrigan?” Dino asked.

“I was on the phone with him a couple of hours ago,” Stone said. “He wants to believe Ryan went down with his Honda, but I threw as much cold water as I could on that theory. He had the vehicle registrations checked to see if Ryan had a new motorcycle, but there was nothing in the record, not even in Jersey. I got him to send some people out there to talk to Gino Parisi’s kid, but he played dumb, and they went home.”

“Gimme your phone, I want to call Dan.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Viv said. “You heard the doctor—you’re not to work the phones, and I’m going to see that you rest.” The car pulled up outside Dino’s building. “Stone, you come upstairs with me and help me wrestle him into bed.”

Dino shook the doormen’s hands and waited until he was in the elevator before starting to complain. “The doctor did not say I had to stay in bed,” he said. The elevator stopped, and Viv let them into the apartment. “I’ll be in my study with Stone. Tell Eva when she has our lunch ready to bring it to us in there, and you can even join us, if you promise not to try to do anything to me.” Dino pushed her toward the kitchen, then led Stone into his study. He closed the door behind them and sat down in his favorite chair. “Now,” he said, “let’s think of ways we can make Dan Harrigan’s life hell, until he finds Gene Ryan.”

—