“Well,” Eggers said, “I didn’t come here to put any pressure on you.”
“Thank you, Bill,” Stone said gratefully.
“Now what the hell is going on with Philip’s daughter and that so-called artist?”
“Gee, thanks for not putting any pressure on me,” Stone said.
“Come on, give me the lowdown.”
“An undercover cop has made a buy from Sharpe, and it’s on tape,” Stone said.
“So he’s in jail?”
“No, not yet.”
“Why the hell not?”
“They want him to do it again, so it’ll be a bigger bust. If he does it twice, maybe he’ll get a longer stretch.”
“How much did he sell the cop?”
“Half a kilo of coke and a pound of grass.”
“Shit, that’ll get him at least ten years, no parole.”
“The legislature repealed the Rockefeller laws, haven’t you heard?”
“Now that you mention it,” Eggers said. “What would he get now?”
“Who knows? There’s a lot of money at stake; somebody might get to a judge.”
“Well, they haven’t repealed greedy judges,” Eggers said. “When is this business going to get wrapped up, so I can return Hildy Parsons to her father intact?”
“Who knows?” Stone said. “But I wouldn’t count on her being intact.”
The waiter came, and they ordered. Stone ordered another bourbon. “Did I mention that Dolce is stalking me?” he asked Dino.
“What?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“Wait a minute,” Eggers said, “you’re fucking Eduardo Bianci’s crazy daughter?”
“No, but she wants me to. She sent me two dozen roses, and she’s hanging around outside my house.”
“I thought she was locked in a rubber room in Eduardo’s house,” Dino said.
“Not anymore. She goes out shopping with a minder.”
“Now this is dangerous,” Dino said.
44
STONE OPENED HIS EYES and gazed at the ceiling. It was moving around. He held on to the mattress to steady himself and got his feet on the floor. He barely made it to the bathroom before he knelt at the throne and emptied his stomach.
He lay down on the bathroom floor, pressing his hot cheek against the cool marble. From the bedroom came the sound of Joan buzzing him. He struggled to his feet, splashed cold water on his face, staggered back, sat on the bed, and picked up the phone. “What?”
“You sound awful.”