There was one more message. “Stone, it’s Bill Eggers, your old law school buddy, of Woodman & Weld? I heard about your departure from the cop shop. I’m in LA right now on a case, but I’ll be back in the office on Monday. Let me buy you dinner next week? I want to talk about something that might interest you. I’ll call you Monday.”

Stone spent the rest of the week working furiously on the house, making remarkable progress, now that he had the time. There were five coats of varnish on the bookshelves by the weekend, and they were looking good. He got all the floors sanded with rented equipment and got the tile floor laid in the kitchen. A few weeks more, and the place would start to look like home. A bill came from the upholsterer that put a serious dent in his bank account, and he remembered the letter from his banker and the note, which would be due soon. He tried to put money out of his mind. It didn’t work.

Dino didn’t call.

Chapter

29

On Saturday night, Cary turned up not in just a black car but in a limousine. Stone was waiting at the curb, and he slid into the backseat laughing.

He gave the driver the address and turned to Cary. “Are you sure the network can afford this?”

She raised the black window that separated them from the driver and slid close to him. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been putting in so much overtime, they owe me.” She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him.

“There goes the lipstick,” he said.

“Fuck the lipstick.” She kissed him again and ran her hand up his thigh to the crotch. “Fuck me, too.”

“In a limousine?”

“Why not? The driver can’t see anything.”

“We’ll be at Barker’s building in three minutes.”

“That’s just time enough,” she said, unzipping his fly.

Before Stone could move he was in her mouth.

She was very good, and he was very fast; by the time the chauffeur opened the door, Stone had already adjusted his clothing, and Cary had reapplied her lipstick.

“You’re amazing,” Stone whispered as they entered the building. He was trying to bring his breathing back to normal.

“It was the least I could do,” she said, “after I abandoned you in what must have been a very bad week.”

“I think being alone helped me make the adjustment better,” he said, “but I like the way you make up for slights.” The doorman took their names and directed them to the elevator.

When the door had closed, she moved close to him. “I wonder how long we have before the elevator reaches Barker’s floor?” she said.