Bianchi smiled broadly, the first time Stone had seen him do so. “Then you continue to justify my confidence,” he said. “You must know how important Dolce is to me.”

“I can understand that,” Stone said, wondering why the conversation was turning to Dolce.

“Her happiness, her stability are as important to me as anything else in my life. Other things—my grandson, for instance—are equally important, but Dolce holds a special place in my heart. She is so very like me; she understands so many things-the moral ambiguities of a rich life, the necessity of justice to success, the proper use of resources. I want very much for her to be a complete woman. Of course, for some time that has been impossible. Now…”

Stone’s cell phone rang. Embarrassed, he dug into his pocket for the instrument. “Eduardo, I apologize, but only a couple of people have this number, and I should answer it.”

“Of course,” Bianchi said. “Please do so.”

“Hello?”

“It’s Dino; are you with Eduardo?”

“Yes.”

“Good thing I called.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ll explain in a minute; that’s how long it will take me to get to his front door. Meet me out front; you’re going to miss dinner.”

“Dino, what the hell is going on?”

“Mitteldorfer has surfaced.”

“I’ll be right there.” Stone closed the phone and stood up. “Eduardo, I’m very sorry, but I’m not going to be able to stay for dinner. That was Dino, and the man we’ve been looking for, the one who threatened Mary Ann and Ben, has turned up. Dino is coming for me now.”

Bianchi stood up. “I understand, Stone. I’m very sorry our conversation was interrupted. I hope we can resume it very soon.”

“Please make my apologies to Dolce and Mary Ann.”

“Of course.”

The two men shook hands, and Stone hurried toward the front door. As Pietro opened it, he heard the police siren growing closer.

62

THE CAR BARELY STOPPED MOVING FOR Stone to get in. He grappled with his seat belt as Dino spun the car to the left out of the driveway, spraying gravel. “Tell me about it, Dino,” he said, when the car was stable again.

“A doorman at an apartment house on Park Avenue called,” Dino said, roaring around another car, lights flashing, siren wailing. “He recognized Peter Hausman from the sketch in the papers, but it took him some time to get up the nerve to call. Mitteldorfer has been living in his building, under the name of Howard Menzies.”

“He’s sticking with his initials, then.”

“Yeah; maybe he has monogrammed hankies. Anyway, Hausman showed up at the building after we busted his brother. Then, this evening, Mitteldorfer sells his brand-new Mercedes back to the dealer at a big loss, packs up, and heads for Kennedy. Said he was taking his wife’s ashes back to her ’homeland.’”

“And the ashes would be Eloise Enzberg?”