“And you understand never to call me again?”
“Right. And since I won’t be talking to you anymore, Stone, I’d just like to say what a pleasure it’s been working with you, and—”
Stone slammed down the phone, swearing. He buzzed Joan.
“Yes, boss?”
“Joan, please dip into the cash in the safe. Hand-deliver twenty-five thousand dollars to Irving Newman and a thousand to Tony Levy. Both addresses are in our book.”
“Right now?”
“Take a long lunch and do it then. And make them count it, and get a receipt from both.”
“Will do, but that will pretty much clean us out of cash.”
“Okay.” Stone hung up and listened to his stomach growl. He hadn’t had any breakfast, and it was too early for lunch. He rested his forehead on the cool desktop and tried to empty his mind of everything.
Then Joan buzzed him. “Bill Eggers on line one,” she said.
Stone groaned again and picked up the phone.
9
Eggers was not happy. “Have you seen this morning’s Daily News?”
“No.”
“Well, everybody else on the planet has. I don’t know how you missed it.”
“Bill . . .”
“Your guy killed Larry, you know.”
“Bill . . .”
“Elena wanted him caught cold, but not that cold.”
“Bill . . .”
“Explain to me how this could have occurred.”
“Accidents happen?” Stone said hopefully.
“Accident? This was no accident! This was pure, unadulterated stupidity and ineptitude. Do you know that Elena Marks, along with her trust, is one of the largest and most profitable clients this firm has? And now I have to go and explain . . .”
Stone pressed the hold button and buzzed Joan.
“Yes, boss?”
“Please go and get me a copy of the Daily News, right now.”
“Be back in a jiffy.”
Stone pressed the line button again.
“. . . and to every partner in the firm, too. You and I have a meeting with Elena Marks at three o’clock this afternoon at her apartment, and you’d better be ready to pull this out of the fire. And in the meantime, if the press gets wind of your association with this fiasco, you’re going to be looking for a new career or a country that will let you practice law. And when you show up at Elena’s, you’d better not forget those photographs!”
“Bill . . .” But Eggers had already hung up.