“I think he sold him a picture once, a few years back.”
“Do you think Philip would call him and try to get him to back up this story?”
“I’m not at all sure about that,” Rita said. “Let me think about how to do this, and in the meantime, I’ll call Philip and ask about the Hockney.”
“I’m afraid that I don’t know Mitzi’s father’s first name,” Stone said.
“It’s Mike. She told me.”
“Good, I’ll leave it with you.”
“Are you home? I’ll call you back.”
“No, we’re in a sushi restaurant downtown with Hildy and Sharpe.”
“Call me when you get home. I’ll be up late.”
“Will do.” Stone hung up and returned to the table.
“Oh, Stone,” Mitzi said, “Derek and Hildy are coming for drinks tomorrow evening.”
“How nice,” Stone said, very glad that he had called Rita. Then he had a terrifying thought: Had Hildy ever visited Rita’s apartment?
THEY FINALLY WRAPPED up dinner, and the check came. It sat there. Stone was damned if he was going to pick it up; this had been at least a seven-hundred-dollar dinner, given the wine Sharpe had ordered, and it wasn’t Stone’s party. He decided to take the bull by the balls. “Thank you so much for dinner, Derek,” Stone said, pushing the check across the table. That was very extravagant of you.” He thought he saw Sharpe turn pale. He turned to Mitzi. “Shall we go?”
“Yes, let’s do,” she replied. “Can we drop you?” she asked Hildy and Sharpe.
“We’re going to have an after-dinner drink at the bar,” Sharpe said. “We’ll make our own way home.”
Stone hustled Mitzi out of the restaurant and into the car. “How’d that go?” Tom Rabbit asked.
“Wonderfully well,” Mitzi said.
Stone thought she was a little drunk. “You really threw a monkey wrench into the works,” Stone said.
“How’s that?” She seemed baffled.
“Well, first of all, that business about the Hockney.”
Mitzi giggled. “Oh, yes, I forgot about that.”
“I spoke to Rita. She’s going to borrow a Hockney from Philip Parsons.”
“Well, that’s all solved, then, isn’t it?”
“Not quite. Now we have to deal with your chummy relationship with America ’s most famous designer, who has personally decorated your apartment.”
“Well, it looks as though he decorated it,” she said innocently.
“And that stuff about your father investing with Lauren years ago.”
“Oh, that’s perfectly true,” she said.
Stone looked at her skeptically. “Are you sure about that? Because that’s a loose end that can’t be left untied.”
“Of course, I’m sure.”
“All right, then we’re okay on that story about your father and Ralph. What are we going to do if Hildy gets to him and asks if he decorated your apartment?”