“Well, Mitzi is going to be wearing a wire from now on, so we’ll know who she’s talking to and every word they say.”
“And you think a wire is going to make her safer? It’s more likely to get her killed.”
“Stone, a wire these days doesn’t mean what it meant back in the olden days, when you were on the force. They’re very clever little devices now.”
“Brian, if you send Mitzi in there you’re going to have to find a way to get her some on-site help. You need somebody at the scene in case things turn bad.”
“Well, as it happens, I’ve got just the guy to go in there with her. He’s known to all the participants, and he’ll fit right in.”
“Good. Who is that?”
“His name is Stone Barrington,” Brian said.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Stone said. “I’m retired, remember?”
“Oh, I think I can get you put on temporary, active status until we’re done with this.”
“I don’t want that, Brian, and in any case, you need a lot more than me. You need guys in black suits and body armor parked in a vegetable truck around the corner, ready to storm the place.
“Speaking of body armor, Mitzi is being fitted out in the latest fashion as we speak. I’m told it will make her even more inviting, that it’ll add a couple of inches to her tits.”
“Brian, you’re not getting this: The biggest threat to Mitzi is not from Sharpe or Larsen, it’s from the people who want Sharpe permanently out of business. Mitzi wearing a wire and armor is not going to protect her from a hail of shotgun or automatic
weapons fire.”
“We do the best we can, Stone,” Brian said. “Now, I’ve already put in an application to the commissioner for your reactivation to the force, and I’m ordering you not to decline any invitations from Sharpe or Mitzi to join them on some occasion.”
“Ordering me? Where do you come off doing that?”
“Detective Second Grade Barrington, you will comply with the lawful orders of your superiors, including me, Lieutenant Brian Doyle, do you understand me?”
“I’m calling the commissioner myself,” Stone said.
“Since when does the commissioner take your phone calls?” Brian asked. “I heard never.”
“Then why do you think he would approve active status for me?”
“After speaking with him myself,” Brian said, “I think he believes it would be better to have you inside the tent, pissing out, than outside, pissing in. I believe Lyndon Johnson first said that, but it hasn’t lost its meaning over the years.”
“Oh, God,” Stone said.
“By the way, don’t leave your house; I’ve got an officer on the way over there to fit you out with some of today’s electronic marvels and your own cute little vest.”
“I won’t let him in the house,” Stone said.
“Oh, yes, you will,” Brian said, then hung up.
Stone put down the phone, feeling a little sick at his stomach. First Dolce and now this.
Joan buzzed him. “Willie Leahy on one,” she said.
That had been Stone’s next call. “Hello, Willie?”
“Yes, Stone.”
“What’s up? Is Carrie all right?”
“She’s still a pain in the ass, but she’s fine.”