Sarah returned with a hot crockery dish. “Cannelloni,” she said, serving him the little crêpes, stuffed with ground pork. She spooned a creamy sauce over them, then served herself.

“You should give up painting for cooking,” he said.

They ate slowly, then Sarah brought out cannoli for dessert. When they had finished their dinner and the wine, she drew him from the table and led him through the apartment and upstairs. “I must show you the guest room,” she purred. She opened a door and led him into an elaborately decorated bedroom, then stopped and put her arms around his neck. “Now,” she said. “Another dessert.” She kissed him.

Stone thought he had never felt so good. The dinner had been perfection, and now, as he felt her breasts against him, felt her tongue in his mouth, he…

A loud buzzing noise interrupted them.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“The house phone,” she replied between kisses. “Ignore it.”

“I think you’d better answer it,” Stone said.

“Forget it.”

“Sarah, this could be important.”

“Oh, all right!” she said, breaking away and going to the phone. “Hello? Yes, Dan? No, I can’t right now. No, it’s impossible.”

“What is it?” Stone asked.

She covered the receiver. “It’s the desk man downstairs; he wants me to come down there and talk to the police.”

“Tell him you’ll be right down,” Stone said.

“Are you mad?”

“Please, tell him you’ll be right down.”

“I’ll be right down,” she said, then hung up the phone. “What on earth is going on?” she asked. “Why would the police want to see me?”

“You stay here; I’m going downstairs,” Stone said.

“When will you be back?” she asked plaintively.

“As soon as I possibly can. In the meantime, don’t open the door to anyone except me, and I mean anyone.”

“Stone, you’re beginning to frighten me.”

“Don’t worry, everything will be all right. I’ll be right back.” He ran down the stairs, let himself out of the apartment and into the foyer, then rang for the elevator. He looked up at the lights, expecting to see it move. It remained on the ground floor. He rang again, but the car did not move. He tried a door to his left, found a staircase, and started down.

As he ran quickly down the stairs he removed the pistol from his belt, worked the action, and put the safety on. He had started at the sixteenth floor, and it took him some minutes to reach the bottom. Finally at the lobby level, he put an ear to the door and listened. Nothing.