“There was a guy on the scene had these black glasses, with tape on them.”

“I remember. His name is Van Fleet.”

“That’s right. He works on stiffs.”

“Right.”

“I think he knows something. I think he saw who tossed Sasha, or something. He was acting funny at the scene. I tried to find him after I showed you the tape, but he was gone. I bought him a drink later, tried to get it out of him, but he wouldn’t talk to me.”

“Okay, Scoop, I’m glad to know that. Thanks.”

The ambulance screeched to a halt, and two men came with a stretcher. Stone stood up to let them at Scoop, and, as he did, he saw Scoop’s eyes glaze over and his head fall to one side. A paramedic produced a stethoscope and listened to his chest.

“This one’s had it,” he said to a cop. “No ticker at all, and, with those kind of holes in him, he ain’t gonna resuscitate, believe me.”

“Ah, shit,” the cop said. “I wanted to see him stand trial.”

“No, it’s better this way,” Stone said. “All neat and tidy; you got your confession.”

Later that morning, when Stone finally got into bed, he discovered he was drunk again.

Chapter

48

On Friday, Stone sat down and thought about his options. He should have gone to the FBI, he knew, when he got the first letter. Their kidnapping case was still open and would remain open until there was some sort of resolution, but they had already conducted their own investigation of Van Fleet and had turned up nothing. Neither had their search of his loft produced anything, and they were unlikely to find Stone’s new information compelling. Anyway, his years as a police officer had made him very nearly constitutionally incapable of going to the FBI for anything.

He could, too, have gone to the police, maybe approached Delgado directly, but it had already been made abundantly clear to him that the police hierarchy considered the case closed and did not want it reopened. If he could deliver Van Fleet and Sasha, handcuffed together, Delgado might listen to him, but not otherwise.

His best alternative was Dino. Dino was even less anxious than Delgado to reopen, because he didn’t want to piss off his superiors, but Dino was his friend, and he still felt guilty about the treatment Stone had received from the department. The trouble was, Dino was in Las Vegas. Stone called Dino’s mother and learned that he was due back from his honeymoon sometime the following day. Stone heaved a sigh of relief. Dino wasn’t going to be easy, but at least he would be in town.

The phone rang.

“Stone. It’s Hi Barker.”

“What’s happening, Hi?”

“I got him. He’s mine for the Sunday-night show. Is there anything else I should know before I interview him?”