Dino sat down again. “I should never have let you two do this thing.”

Rosie sat down beside him. “We didn’t count on the restaurant, and once we knew about it, we didn’t count on the upstairs room. From what the bartender said, it was a regular stop for Abney.”

“He threw her in a fucking dumpster, like she was garbage,” Dino said.

“He must have thought she was dead, or he would have finished her off.”

Dino looked at her. “If you tell me she got lucky, I’ll transfer you to the Bronx.”

THREE AND A HALF hours later, a man in scrubs walked into the surgery waiting room. “Who’s the lieutenant?”

Dino stood up, and so did Rosie.

“Detective DeCarlo is in recovery and out of the woods,” the surgeon said. “I replaced about two inches of her trachea.”

“Replaced?” Dino asked. “With what? A plastic tube?”

The surgeon shook his head. “The real thing, from a cadaver.”

Dino’s face fell. “From a cadaver?”

“Don’t get all creeped out, Lieutenant, it’s a standard procedure these days. We transplant bone, cartilage, all sorts of body parts. It works. Her injury was below her voice box, so her speech won’t be affected. She’ll be on her feet in the morning and out of here in a few days.”

“Thank you,” Dino said. “Send the bill to the police commissioner.”

“There won’t be a bill,” the surgeon said.

DINO AND ROSIE were there when Viv came to. The nurse allowed them to stay long enough to speak to her, then threw them out.

Dino got on his cell phone. “Have we got Abney? Why the hell not? Hang on.” He turned to Rosie. “Where does Abney hang out?”

“Sardi’s upstairs, but I doubt if he’s there this late. That’s all we got on him.”

Dino spoke into the phone again. “Check the upstairs bar at Sardi’s, if it’s still open. Add to the APB that the suspect badly injured a female cop.” He hung up. “Maybe somebody will shoot the son of a bitch,” he said.

47

DINO AND ROSIE were at the Bright Lights, Ink, office at the stroke of nine a.m. He showed his badge to the receptionist. “Is Mr. Abney in?”

“No, he normally doesn’t arrive until around ten,” she replied.

“Who is his secretary?”

“Margie Quinn.”

“Where does she sit?”

“Through the double doors, across the big room to the corner office. Her desk is just outside his door.” She reached for the phone.

Dino put his hand on hers. “Don’t,” he said, “and when Abney arrives, act normal, you understand?”

“No, I don’t understand,” the woman said.

“I have a warrant for his arrest,” Dino said. “There’s room on it for your name, too.”

“I understand,” she said.

“Let’s go, Rosie.” Dino pushed open the double doors and entered a large room with more than a dozen cubicles. He walked around them and came to Margie Quinn’s desk and showed her his badge. “Come with me,” he said, and pushed open the door to Abney’s office.