THE H O U S E WA S down a little lane a few blocks from the Marquesa, and it was tiny: two small bedrooms and a sitting room with an old TV.
“Don’t worry,” Tommy said to Evan, “you’ve got cable. And by the way, don’t use your cell phone.”
“I left it in the cottage, at Stone’s insistence. Gigi is supposed to think I forgot it.”
“Good idea. Got everything you need?”
“Oh, it’s great,” Evan said, tossing his suitcase on the bed in the larger of the two bedrooms. “I hope you don’t mind, I’m going to take a nap,” he said, then he closed the door. Stone, Dino and Tommy sat down in the living room.
“Tommy,” Dino said, “can you put a guard on him, or do we have to do it ourselves?”
“We’re not going to be here long,” Stone said, “and since nobody knows where he is, a guard won’t be necessary.”
“You know something we don’t know?” Dino asked.
“Look, our only shot is to get Manny White to agree to arrange a hit on somebody, then nail him, right?”
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“Right,” Dino said.
“Well, you, Tommy and I are out; he knows us all, and he won’t trust any of us.”
“When you’re right, you’re right,” Dino said.
“So who are we going to get to do this?”
“I don’t think my boss would go for sending a Key West cop up there,” Tommy said, “so don’t count on any of my people.”
“Okay,” Stone replied. “How about a Miami cop?”
“The interdepartmental thing is complicated,” Tommy said, “and it could take a while to set it up.”
“And Miami would get the collar,” Dino pointed out.
“Oh, I don’t give a shit about that,” Tommy said.
“Who do we know who could pull this off that Manny doesn’t know?” Dino asked.
“I can think of one guy,” Stone said.
“Yeah, who?”
“Evan.”
“And why do you think Evan could pull this off?” Dino asked.
“He’s a very calm guy,” Stone said. “He doesn’t rattle easily.”
“I’ll give you that,” Dino replied.
“And he’s motivated,” Tommy pointed out.
“That too,” Dino said.
“Okay, let’s say he’ll do it,” Stone said. “Who’s the target? Who does he want killed and where?”