“I don’t think you should return to your apartment right now,” Stone said, “but I think we can get you safely back later tonight. We’ll have dinner first.”

“All right.”

Stone pressed the button again.

They took a taxi to Elaine’s, where Dino awaited them.

“Dino,” Stone said, “this is Pablo.”

Dino shook hands. “Pablo what?”

“He doesn’t have a last name,” Stone said quickly. “You will have heard of his expertise in flying the Mercedes 550, though.”

“Ah, my congratulations,” Dino said, laughing. “How did you manage to hit that pool?”

“I did not hit it,” Pablo said. “In fact, I misjudged the distance to the shore when I departed the aircraft. I had thought the car would land in the sea, and that I would continue drifting toward the land. The wind was from the east.”

“How did you know that?” Dino asked.

“There was an indicator of wind direction and strength on the pilot’s primary flight display,” Pablo said. “I saw that on a remote unit in the trailer, on the moving map, as we were descending through ten thousand feet. However, I believe the wind strength decreased at lower altitudes. Still, I made it to dry land. Unfortunately, so did the car. I was greatly relieved to hear that it did not harm anyone.”

They ordered drinks and dinner.

“I have not been in this restaurant for many years,” Pablo said. “In fact, I had dinner here with my attorney the night before the last day of my trial.”

Elaine wandered over and sat down, and Stone introduced her to Pablo.

“I know you,” she said. “You used to come in here a couple of times a month, long time ago. Gelbhardt, right?”

“Elaine,” Pablo said, “I have an excellent memory, but you astonish me.”

“Larry Gelbhardt, the writer, was in here a lot at the time, so your name was easy to remember. Pablo, huh? I like that.”

“It’s a nickname I picked up during many years of living in Spain.”

“What brings you back to New York?” she asked.

Stone interrupted. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Whatever,” Elaine replied, then she got up and joined another table.

They had a leisurely dinner, then Elaine bought them an after-dinner drink.

“Dino,” Stone said, “we need your help.”

“Okay,” Dino replied.

“Pablo needs a ride home, but I don’t want him to be followed.”

“I’ve got a good driver right now,” Dino said. “How you want to work this?”

Stone told him, then they finished their drinks, and Stone signed for dinner.

Dino led the way out of the restaurant and got into the rear seat of his car, then slid across to the other side, leaving the door open. Stone, in the meantime, hailed a cab, which drew up behind Dino’s car. Stone got into the cab, then Pablo jumped into Dino’s rear seat and slammed the door. The car moved out.