“No, too much paperwork. Just scare the shit out of him.”
A few minute later, Joan walked past his office and held up Eddie’s suitcase for him to see.
“Jesus, it’s alligator! Remind me, we did cut his allowance in half until we get his bail back, right?”
“We certainly did.” She moved on to her office. Shortly, she buzzed Stone.
“Yes?”
“Dino for you on one.”
“I nailed the bastard,” Stone said.
“Which bastard?”
“Eddie Jr. We found some of his clothes in Peter’s suite. The son of a bitch has been living here!”
“That would explain why he’s been so hard to find,” Dino said. “He wasn’t at the Athletic Club, either, and we’ve run out of clubs he belongs to.”
“Well, I can tell you, he doesn’t belong to this club anymore.”
“Dinner, Clarke’s, seven?”
“You’re on.” They both hung up.
Stone got there first and ordered drinks for both of them. He had drunk half his bourbon before Dino showed.
Dino held the Scotch up to the light. “There’s a layer of dust on my drink,” he said.
“Next time, don’t be late, and you’ll have no dust problems,” Stone replied.
“Why are you so grouchy tonight?” Dino asked.
“It’s Eddie Jr. He’s driving me nuts. Can you think of some reason to arrest him?”
“I tried that, but you got him bailed out.”
“Oh, yeah. I did, didn’t I? My mistake.”
“Has he violated the terms of his bail?”
“I don’t know. Is living in my house without my knowledge or permission a violation of his bail?”
“I don’t think so,” Dino said. “If you could find him in possession of a .38 pistol, that would do it.”
“Next time I see him, I’ll frisk him.”
“When will that be?”
“If I’m lucky, never.”
“And if you’re not lucky?”
Stone smiled a little. “Look behind you.”
Dino turned. “Hello, Eddie,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
“Stone changed the code on his alarm, and I nearly got arrested.”
“Close, but no cigar,” Dino said.
“Stone, what’s the new code?” Eddie asked, as if he expected to be told.
“None of your fucking business,” Stone said, “and if you enter my house again, without my permission, I’ll have Dino arrest you for breaking and entering.”
“There’s no breaking,” Eddie said, holding up a key. “I’ve got a key.”
Stone snatched it from him. “Not anymore,” he said.
“Where am I going to sleep?”
“Try the gutter.”
“You want me to sleep in the gutter?”
“I don’t care where you sleep, as long as it’s not in my house. Try Central Park. I hear the benches are nice there.”
“That’s very inhospitable of you,” Eddie said.
“It is, isn’t it,” Stone replied, smiling. “It’s very satisfying, too.”
“Try the Y,” Dino said.
“What’s that?” Eddie asked.
“The YMCA. Heard of that?”
“No. What do the letters mean?”
“Young Men’s Christian Association, I believe,” Stone replied for Dino.
“I’m not a Christian, I’m a Buddhist.”
“Don’t worry, Christians are very tolerant about such things.”
“Eddie,” Dino said, “it’s cheap, clean, and you’ll make new friends. I think they have a pool, too.”
“It probably stinks of chlorine. Where is it?”
Stone spoke up. “Just get into a cab and tell the driver to take you to the nearest Y.” He handed Eddie ten dollars. “Here’s cab fare. Remember not to write.”
To Stone’s surprise, Eddie left. He and Dino went into the dining room for dinner.
“What a pain in the ass that guy is,” Dino said.
“You’re finally getting the picture,” Stone replied.
Thirty-Four
Stone and Dino, after the departure of Eddie Jr., settled into their evening, enjoying their steaks and wine, and topping it all off with snifters of cognac.
“I can’t tell you how relaxing it is to be rid of Junior,” Stone said.
“Yeah, I haven’t seen you this loose since he came into the picture. Maybe he’s found a home at the Y,” Dino suggested.
“God, I hope so.”
Dino’s phone rang, and he glanced at it. “I have to take this,” he said. “I left instructions.” He punched the button. “Bacchetti. Yeah? Yeah, that’s right. Hang on.” He covered his phone. “Eddie got into a fight with two other guys at the Y. Something about a blanket. They’re holding him at the precinct. What do you want to do?”
Stone sighed. “Nothing. I want to do nothing.”
“You want to just leave him there for the night?”
“How much will it cost to have them keep him forever?”
“He’ll see a judge in the morning and probably get kicked into the street.”
“Perfect,” Stone said. “Let’s let him live with the consequences of his actions.”
“And it was all going so well,” Dino said.
“It’s still going well,” Stone replied. “He can’t get at me from jail, and he’s already used his phone call. At least, he’s going right past me now and straight to the top, which is you.”
“I put out a call to be notified if he got arrested anywhere.”
Stone’s phone rang. “Yes?”
“It’s Joan. I just got a message from Eddie. He’s in jail. And having already used his phone call, presumably to call you, he got his cellmate to call me, and he told me to call you.”
“That’s all terribly interesting, Joan, but nothing to do with me — or, for that matter, you.”
“So, I should just ignore the call?”
“That’s what I would do.”
“Then I’m going back to bed. Good night.”
“Good night.”
Stone hung up. “He got somebody to call Joan.”
“He’s like that bunny on TV,” Dino said. “He just keeps on going.”
Stone’s phone rang, and he looked at the caller ID. “Call from somebody I never heard of.”
“You know what that’s about, don’t you? Just shut down your phone until tomorrow morning.”
“Good idea.”
“Lawyers don’t get calls in the middle of the night like cops and doctors.”
“Actually...” Stone switched his phone back on. “We do sometimes. And those calls can be lucrative when they come in the middle of the night.”
Stone got home after midnight, only slightly the worse for wear, and the office line was ringing. “Hello?”
“Is this the Barrington law firm?”
“It is.”
“This is Sergeant Nolan at the precinct. I got an Edwin Charles Jr., says he’s your client.”
“Hmmm, let’s see,” Stone said. “Nope, he’s not ours. Give him to a public defender.”
“He won’t take a PD.”
“Then give him a cell. Put him in the tank with all the thieves and junkies.”
“Whatever you say.” He hung up, and Stone went to bed. Then, in the wee hours, his phone rang again. This one would be from night court, he knew. He picked up the phone. “Wrong number,” he said, and hung up.
He remained at peace until Joan got in and rang him at his desk the following morning.
“Morning,” she said cheerfully. “How many calls did you get last night either from or about Eddie?”
“Including this one? Eighteen — no, nineteen.”
“It makes me sorry his parents showed him how to use a phone,” she said.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Oh, the reason I called is that there was a call from Bridget on the machine.” She gave him the number.