“How so?”
“I had a tendency to buck the system and to hold opinions about cases that were not shared by my lieutenant or captain. I did that once too often.”
“Then you went to law school?”
“No, I had finished law school before joining the force but had not taken the bar exam. Bill Eggers, whom you know, I believe, suggested that I cram for the exam and, when I had passed it, join Woodman & Weld—specifically to handle cases that the firm would rather not be seen to be handling.”
“Sounds interesting. What sort of cases?”
“Oh, client’s wife gets a DUI after an accident, client’s son is accused of date rape. Like that. Things that a police background might be helpful in dealing with.”
“You were a fixer.”
“That term is inappropriate—I did not ‘fix’ cases, I resolved them. This is the second time you have cross-examined me—it will be my turn soon.”
The car glided to a halt in front of their hosts’ apartment building on Fifth Avenue, and after a short examination by a receptionist, stopping just short of being frisked, they were elevated to the top floor of the building.
“My building only has a doorman,” Ann said. “Your friends’ building has a receptionist.”
“And one with a bulge under his left arm,” Stone said.
“Do you think we’re in danger here?”
“I very much doubt it. The ‘receptionist’ is supposed to see to that, I believe.”
The elevator door opened directly into a large foyer, and after being checked off a list by a butler, they moved through double doors into a very large living room, one that contained a couple of dozen other guests without seeming crowded. A pianist was playing Rodgers & Hart. Their hosts separated themselves from a knot of others and greeted Stone and Ann, while Stone made the introductions.
“You’ll be happy to know,” Hillary said, “that we both signed our wills today.”
“I’m relieved to hear it,” Stone said. “Now nothing can possibly happen to you.”
Jack laughed heartily. “I hope you’re right.” He beckoned a waiter and left them in his hands while he turned to other guests.
Stone ordered and asked the waiter to bring their drinks to the terrace. He guided Ann across the room and out a pair of French doors to take in the view of Central Park just after sunset. They stood by the railing and watched the lights come on along Central Park West.
“And how do you know the Coulters?” Ann asked.
“They are my recently gained clients,” Stone replied.
“And do you ‘fix’—pardon me, resolve for them?”
“They are the sort of people who don’t require much resolving, just a management of their affairs and a tax and wealth strategy.”
“Did you draw their wills?”
“No, the firm has specialists for that.”
“Do you manage their money?”
“They have their own investment counselor and accountant.”
“Then you just strategize for them?”
“That’s as good a description as any of what I do for them. When they signed on, I produced a strategy document that my firm used to get their lives properly organized.”
“Perhaps you should organize my life,” Ann said. “Somebody should, anyway.”
“Are you so disorganized?”
“I’m afraid so. I’m so busy with the campaign that I have a hard time even writing checks for my monthly bills.”
“Then what you need is half a Joan.”
“Half a Joan?”
“Like my Joan, only you probably need her only part-time. If you can find a really excellent Joan, you will be astonished at how much more smoothly your life proceeds.”
“What a good idea. Can you recommend someone?”
“No, but my Joan probably can. Shall I ask her to?”
“Yes, please. My apartment has an unused maid’s room that could be an office.”
Their drinks arrived, and they turned their attention back to the falling of night upon the city. Then, quite unexpectedly, Stone heard an all-too-familiar sound. The pianist stopped playing. He took Ann by the elbow and guided—half dragged—her across the terrace to the wall between two sets of French doors and pressed her against it, glancing into the living room as they proceeded.
“This is so sudden,” she said. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Not to alarm you unduly,” he half whispered, “but there is at least one man in the living room wearing a mask and a shotgun.”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
“Absolutely nothing.”
“But you’re a former police officer.”
“Correction: I am an
unarmed
former police officer, and as such, I do not argue with shotguns. Now, be quiet and give me your necklace and bracelet.”
She quickly took them off and handed them to him, and he put them into a hip pocket. Then he looked to his left and saw a barrel, supported by a gloved hand, protruding from the living room. A man dressed in black, wearing a black mask, stepped onto the terrace and looked at them, bringing the shotgun to bear.
“Give me your jewelry,” he said to Ann.
“I don’t wear jewelry,” she replied.
“Give me your wristwatch,” he said to Stone.
“I’m happy to, but you should know that my name is engraved on the back, and it would get you caught. I have less than a hundred dollars in my pocket that you are welcome to.” He moved a hand toward his pocket but was stopped by a negative noise from behind the mask.
“If you don’t mind, we’ll just stand here quietly and finish our drinks while you do what you came here to do,” Stone said. “Please don’t harm anyone. That would greatly increase your chances of getting caught and doing some very serious time.”
“Ah, a lawyer,” the man said. “Don’t move.” He went back into the living room, where there was some shouting going on.
“What are we going to do?” Ann asked.
“We’re going to stand here quietly and finish our drinks,” Stone said, reaching for his cell phone.
18
T
he phone rang twice before being answered. “What is it, Stone? I’m in the middle of dinner, and I plan to let my wife seduce me when we’re done. Call back after ten o’clock.”
“Hold it, Dino. I’m at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Coulter with thirty other people, and there’s an armed robbery in progress.” He recited the address. “There are at least two men with shotguns, and somebody has probably disabled the doorman and the downstairs receptionist.”
“Shit,” Dino said. “And this is a very good steak.”
“You don’t have to come yourself, remember? You have a large force of detectives. And don’t wait to call backup, send it now. And for God’s sake, tell them not to use sirens, the doors to the terrace are open.”
“I’m on it.” Dino hung up.
Stone turned back to Ann. “That was very quick of you—about not wearing jewelry.”
“It was the only thing I could think of to say.”
He placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her. She responded nicely.
“What was that for?”
“For the fun of it. Also, we’re less likely to be disturbed by men with shotguns if we’re canoodling.”
This time she kissed him. “I prefer this to men with shotguns,” she said. They kissed some more. “How long do we need to do this?” she asked.
“Until the police break down the door,” Stone said. “Maybe longer.”
Perhaps three minutes later Stone heard the sound of doors slamming, and he peeked into the living room. People were lying on the floor in disarray, and some of them were getting up. Jack Coulter was the first to get to his feet.
“It’s all right now,” Coulter was saying. “I’m very sorry for the interruption. I assure you this was not the evening’s entertainment. I’ll call the police now.”
Stone stepped into the living room. “I’ve already called them,” he said.
“My friends,” Coulter said, “I think this is as good a time as any to announce dinner. Please take a few deep breaths, calm yourselves, then proceed to the dining room for the buffet, and we can talk to the police while we eat. You can wait until tomorrow to call your insurance agents.”
The pianist began to play again, and people began to make their way into the dining room. It was almost as if nothing had
happened. Stone heard a woman say to her husband that it was their most exciting evening in years.
Another two minutes passed before men with body armor and automatic weapons burst into the living room, followed closely by Dino, his weapon drawn.
“They went thataway,” Stone said, pointing toward the elevators. “Didn’t you pass them on the way up?”
“No, they must have taken the service elevator,” Dino replied.
Jack Coulter walked over, and Stone introduced Dino. “There’s a back exit from the garage in the basement,” Jack said, “and an alleyway to the north.”
Dino spoke some words into a handheld radio, then directed the armored men to take the service elevator. “Now,” he said to the crowd, “was anybody hurt?”
There were negative murmurs from the crowd, some of whom were already seated and eating.
“It seems to have been for the jewelry,” Stone said. “There was quite a lot of it.”
“That reminds me,” Ann said, “may I have mine back?”
Stone dug it out of a pocket and gave it to her.
“Smart move,” Dino said.
“It was Stone’s idea.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Dino barked to the crowd, “detectives are going to interview you individually. Please give them your cooperation.”
Stone tapped him on the shoulder. “Dino, I think I know one of the men, possibly two.”
“You want to share their names?”
“Two brothers named Drago. I had an encounter with them a
few days ago in Central Park, and I think I recognized the voice of the one who spoke to us.”
“First names?”
“Crane told me, but I’ve forgotten.”
“Crane knows them?”
“She said that Don Dugan employs them as debt collectors.”
Jack Coulter spoke up. “What was that name?”
“Drago.”
“No, the other one.”
“Don Dugan?”
“He’s the man who sold us our security system. It was installed less than a week ago.”
Stone smiled and spread his hands. “There you go,” he said to Dino.
“Dugan is in the security business, too?” Dino asked.
“Incontrovertibly,” Stone said. “Are the doorman and receptionist downstairs all right?”
“They were both wearing a lot of duct tape and shut in a closet,” Dino said, “but they’re okay.”
“The receptionist was armed,” Stone said.
“That’s what he told us. We didn’t find his gun, but he was wearing a shoulder holster.” He turned to Jack. “Now we have to question your guests,” he said. “Where may we talk to them one at a time?”
“In my study, there,” Jack said, pointing. “My wife’s study is beyond that, if you want to talk to them two at a time.”
“Thank you,” Dino said. He turned and instructed the other detectives. “Start with the ones who’ve finished eating,” he said. “Stone, where were you when this went down?”
“Ann and I were on the terrace,” he said. He introduced
them. “You’ve met before, when you were interviewed by your co-op board.”
“Ah,” Dino said. “That’s why you look familiar. Let’s have a look at the terrace.” He led the way outside; Stone, Ann, and Jack followed. “Where were you when this happened?”
“Standing at the railing,” Stone said. “I heard a shotgun being racked, and we moved over there.” He pointed. “Pretty quickly. One guy came out. Ann’s jewelry was in my pocket by then. He asked about my wristwatch, but I told him it had my name engraved on the back, and he let it go. He left us and went back inside.”
“How many of them were there?”
“Four,” Jack said. “They were all dressed in black suits and wore masks and gloves. One of them had a small valise, also black, and they put all the jewelry into that.”
“They were pros,” Stone said. “The one I talked to was very calm.”
“You think he recognized you?” Dino asked.
“Maybe not. Last time we met I was wearing sweats instead of a tuxedo. He knew I was a lawyer, though.”
“How’d he know that?”
“I told him it would go better for him if he didn’t hurt anybody, and he said, ‘Ah, a lawyer.’”
“Does he know your name?”
“He does, if he remembered me from the park. If not, no.”
“Detective, would you and your men like some dinner?” Jack asked.
“Thank you, no, they’re working, and I’ve already eaten, sort of.” He looked at his watch. “Stone, do you know where Dugan lives?”
“No, but he could be at Crane’s place.” He gave Dino the address.
“I think I’ll take a couple of guys, and we’ll have a chat with him.”
“Kiss him for me,” Stone said.
19
S
tone and Ann lined up for the buffet and perched on a sofa to eat.
“They’re all so cheerful,” Ann said, looking around at their fellow diners.
“They’re relieved,” Stone said. “If somebody had been hurt it would be different, but they’re all happy that they got through it.”
“They lost their jewelry, though.”
“If it wasn’t handed down from a grandmother, their insurance companies will replace it. They’re no worse off than when they arrived for dinner.”
“Do you think they’ll get any of it back?”
“That depends on the professionalism of the robbers, or whoever sent them. If they start trying to fence it tomorrow, they’ll get caught and at least some of the jewelry will be recovered. But if the robbery was as well planned as it seemed to be, then they’ll have, in advance, acquired a fence—that’s somebody who receives and resells stolen goods.”
“Thank you, I got that from a thousand cop shows on TV.”
“If they’re really smart and not too greedy, then they’ve already got an expert removing the stones from the settings, grading them by size and clarity, and tomorrow they’ll be on a plane to Amsterdam, where there are so many diamond merchants they’ll be untraceable. Then, in a couple of weeks, the robbers will get their money.”
“And Don Dugan?”
“Right. I wouldn’t be stunned to hear that he planned the robbery. It will be interesting when Dino gets his client list and starts finding out how many of them have been robbed.”