finger.”
“Good girl!”
“She sure is.”
“You think she can handle him, then?”
“I think she could handle Osama bin Laden.”
“The equipment working okay?”
“Like a dream; we can hear everything.”
“And you’re recording?”
“Every word.”
“Okay, then, don’t hang too close to her. Give her room to work, and keep me posted.”
“Will do, Lieutenant.”
Dino hung up. “Can I pick ’em, or what? She’s already having dinner with Daltry.”
“Wow.”
“Wow, exactly,” Dino said, but he was looking toward the door.
Stone followed his gaze to see two women who had just walked in. One of them was a tall, very beautiful woman in, maybe, her early thirties; the other was Eliza Larkin, M.D. Stone stood up and waved them over.
Eliza gave him a kiss. “Stone, Dino, this is my friend Genevieve James.”
Everybody shook hands, and Stone seated them. Dino, he noticed, seemed stunned by Genevieve.
“I’m sorry,” Eliza said, “We just wandered in for a drink. I know you and I are not supposed to meet while this thing with Daltry is going on.”
“The snake,” Genevieve said.
“It’s okay, Eliza,” Stone said. “As it happens, I know exactly where he is at this moment, and he won’t be a concern. I am very glad to see you.”
Dino leaned toward Genevieve. “And I’m very glad to see you.”
“You’re cute,” she said, as a cosmopolitan was set before her. They clinked glasses. “How tall are you?” she asked.
“Not as tall as I look,” Dino said.
She laughed. “You’re not intimidated; that’s good.”
“I am not intimidated.”
“So many men are. I mean, I’m only six feet; I’ve known lots of women taller.”
“So have I,” Dino said. “I’m very pleased to hear that you have a low opinion of Devlin Daltry.”
“I certainly do,” she said. “He made my life hell for weeks last fall.”
“I’ll personally see to it that he never does that again,” Dino said.
“Oh, I don’t want you to get involved with him; he can be dangerous.”