“I think we need an ambulance,” Rosie said. “He could have OD’d. Look.” She pointed at a pile of white powder on a piece of brown paper on the coffee table. “There’s at least an ounce here.”

“It’s a neat little pile,” Viv said. “It hasn’t been cut into lines, and I don’t see a straw or rolled-up bill that he could snort with. I wonder how much he’s had to drink.” She tapped the brandy snifter on the table. “Most of at least one drink.”

Rosie walked across the room to a bar and lifted a bottle of Rémy Martin cognac. “Looks like a fresh bottle. One drink missing, maybe.”

“I’ll call it in,” Viv said, reaching for her phone. “We don’t want him to die on us.”

Rosie came back to the sofa, pulled the man’s pants up until the penis fell back inside, then zipped it up. “We don’t want to embarrass the EMTs, do we?” She looked toward the end of the sofa, then walked over and picked up a pair of torn panties. “Looka here.”

Viv ended her call. “They’re on the way.” She looked carefully at the panties. “There’s a tear, but not the sort of tear that would get made when somebody ripped them off. You know, this situation is off. I’m going to get somebody up here to take prints.” She dialed another number.

32

DINO WAS getting ready for bed when his phone rang. “Bacchetti.”

“Lieutenant, this is Viv DeCarlo.”

“What’s up, Viv?”

“I’ve got ahold of an alleged rape case, but everything’s a little off. Guy named Fisher, has a penthouse on Park Avenue. A young woman named Carson Cullers says he raped her, but there are no marks on her and no semen inside her. There’s other stuff that doesn’t add up, too.”

“What’s Fisher’s first name?”

“Herbert. Cullers says he’s a lawyer with a big firm.”

“Let me speak to Fisher.”

“I’m in his apartment, but he’s out like a light, and I can’t wake him up. I think there might be something in the drink he was drinking. I’ve called an ambulance.”

“Have them take him to Lenox Hill, and send your partner with him. I’m coming over to the apartment, and we’ll look at the scene together. Fifteen minutes.”

“Right.” She gave him the address.

Dino hung up and called Stone.

“Hello?”

“It’s Dino. I just got a call—some woman claims Herbie raped her, but my detective on the scene says her story looks hinky. Herbie’s unconscious in his apartment, and she can’t wake him. She’s called an ambulance to take him to Lenox Hill. I’m going to the apartment now.”

“I’ll meet you there shortly,” Stone said, then hung up.

Dino reached for his pants.

STONE WALKED into the apartment and found Dino there with his detective. There was a technician dusting surfaces for prints, but no sign of Herbie.

“Stone Barrington, Viv DeCarlo,” Dino said. “Stone and I were partners in the squad about two hundred years ago.”