“Her, I didn’t know. Somebody Alberto met in the city, I heard. Swedish immigrant, apparently.”
Stone spent a few sips of his beer trying to r
eorient himself. His world seemed to have been shaken and stirred.
“How do you know Carla?” Cantor asked.
Stone told him the story.
“So now this Harlan Deal is on your case?”
“Apparently.”
“How much on your case?”
“Enough to be annoying.”
“Enough to hurt you?”
“I don’t think so. He may have his suspicions, but he can’t put me together with Carla. And I handed her off to the Colonel yesterday.”
“To the Colonel?”
“I was feeling crowded by Deal, and I feel even more so now. She’s spending a couple of nights with him, and he’s bringing her back to the city.”
“Well, that’s good, I guess. The Colonel always liked the ladies.”
“Yeah, I noticed that; it’s what gave me the idea.”
“You’re well rid of her, if it gets Deal off your back.”
“Who might he have sent to break into both my houses?”
“A pro, I can tell you that much.”
“Somebody like you?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Cantor smirked. “Somebody with a sense of humor.”
Stone ignored that. “Somebody you might know?”
“Well, there isn’t exactly an American Association of Semilegal Techs that meets every Tuesday for lunch, but I know a few guys. You want me to check around?”
Stone thought about that. “No, forget it; what good would it do? As soon as Harlan Deal finds out Carla is seeing the Colonel, he’ll get off my back.”
“And onto the Colonel’s back?”
Stone frowned. “I hadn’t thought about that, but no, I don’t think so. Deal is pissed off at me, because I did the prenup job for him, and he paid me well. He figures I’ve betrayed him in some way, which I haven’t. Carla’s a big girl, and she makes her own decisions. This will blow over.”
“I hope you’re right,” Cantor said.
“Listen, on another subject, Dino’s guys put a GPS tracker on Charlie Crow’s Rolls-Royce, and it was parked outside Ab Kramer’s house for three hours the other night.”
“Well, that’s interesting. You think they were sitting cross-legged on the floor, addressing invitations to our little upcoming reunion?”
“Not for three hours. You remember that time you tapped a phone for me through the phone company?”
“Yeah, I’ve still got my guy on the inside.”