“Vito.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Dino said. “I know that guy. He runs a numbers operation, and God knows what else, out of a grocery store in Little Italy.”
“That’s the address he gave me,” Herbie said, taking Stone’s pad and pen and laboriously writing out the address.
“What’s he doing getting film processed in Brooklyn?” Dino asked.
“He lives in the neighborhood. I’m not sure exactly where. He comes in all the time with his wife’s pictures.”
“Stone and I are acquainted with the gentleman, too,” Holly said, inspecting the photograph. “Oh, oh, take a look at this, Stone,” she said, pointing. “I think this nails down the location, don’t you?” She handed him the photograph.
Stone inspected it carefully. “Aha,” he said, “I believe that’s our grave in the background.”
“Your grave?” Dino asked. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Remember, I told you about that? Mr. Galeano and his friends dug this hole in the basement of his grocery store especially for Holly and me.”
Dino took the picture and looked at it closely. “So, why aren’t you in it?”
“Because I persuaded him to call your father-in-law first. Eduardo suggested he not do it.”
“When did he dig the grave?”
“Yesterday,” Stone replied.
“So we know Trini was there yesterday.”
“Right.”
“And how do we know Trini isn’t in the hole?”
“Because he was at that apartment today.”
“Did you actually see him?”
“No, but one of the SWAT team identified him just before he slammed the escape door in their faces.”
“When do I get the hundred grand?” Herbie asked.
“Herbie,” Dino said, “do you remember the conditions attached to the reward?”
“Sort of.”
“Let me review them for you: Number one, we have to arrest Trini on the information you supply. Number two, the FBI has to sign off on it.”
“Yeah, but you’re going to write them a letter.”
“Herbie, as eloquent as I am on department stationery, not everybody does everything I ask them to. Especially the FBI.”
Herbie frowned. “I don’t think I like the sound of that.”
“Gee, I’m sorry,” Dino said.
“Can you find out where Vito lives?” Stone asked Dino.
“Yeah, sure, but Trini’s more likely to be at the grocery store than at Vito’s house. Those guys never bring business home to the family, especially business like Trini.”
Stone’s cell phone vibrated. “Hello?”
“Is this Stone Barrington?”
“Yes. Who’s this?”
“This is Vito. You remember me?”
“Vito! How could I ever forget?”
Vito chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t, in the circumstances.”
“Have you got a line on Rodriguez?” Stone asked.
“I think I might,” Vito said. “You want to meet me down at my place of business in the morning?”
“I have to wait until morning?”
“Well, I’m not going to be able to do anything for you until midday, at best, but if you want to spend the night in my basement…”
“No thanks, Vito, I’ve seen enough of your basement.”
“Okay. Come down tomorrow morning about eleven, and I’ll see what I can do. You remember the address?”
“Oh, yes.”
“See you then.” Vito hung up.
“Herbie,” Stone said, “I’m afraid there’s been a little hitch in getting you the reward.”
54
HERBIE FINALLY SEEMED to take a hint and left. Lance watched him walk out of Elaine’s. “You know, that is one of the densest human beings it has ever been my misfortune to meet.”
“I have to agree,” Stone said. “And he’s one of the most annoying, too.”
“Then why do you keep messing with him?” Dino asked.
“I don’t keep messing with him. He keeps messing with me.”
“You, too, Lance,” Dino said.
“I know, I know. He was there when I needed him for a photograph, and now I can’t get rid of him. He’s convinced that he’d be perfect for Agency operations.”
“Can’t you find a suicide mission to send him on?” Stone asked.
“Herbie is the kind of guy who’d walk into a suicide mission and walk out with a smile on his face and everybody else dead, and he wouldn’t have had a thing to do with it.”
“How the hell did you ever come up with him?” Stone asked.
“An operator I know gave him to me; Herbie’s his nephew.”
“You, too? You know Bob Cantor?”
“You know Bob Cantor?” Lance responded.
“He works for me all the time.”
“Well, he has more than one client.”
“No wonder he’s busy when I call him these days,” Stone said.
“Okay,” Dino said, “what’s the deal with the phone call you just got?”
“It was Vito.”
“I got that part.”
“He says he may be able to put his hands on Trini tomorrow. He wants us to come down to his grocery store tomorrow morning.”
“You’d better take this seriously,” Dino said. “Vito Galeano is a serious guy.”
Holly spoke up. “He certainly seemed serious when he was about to shoot us and bury us in his cellar,” she said.
“Believe me, he was,” Dino replied. He turned to Stone. “What made you think to ask him to call Eduardo?”
“If I’d asked him to call the mayor, it wouldn’t have worked,” Stone said. “Come on, Dino, who else do I know who’s connected?”
“You could have told him to call me.”
“A guy’s about to shoot us, and I should tell him to call a cop?”
“I’ve known Vito since we were kids. He’s a coupla years older than me, but we went to the same school. He pulled a bunch of bigger kids off me once and slapped them around, so I always felt I owed him. Once, when he was in a tight spot, I had a chance to help, and he’s been grateful. Here’s some advice: If you know him now, next time you get in trouble with some wise guys, tell them to call Vito, instead of Eduardo. Not one in a hundred of them knows Eduardo, but they all know Vito, and they don’t mess with him.”
“I guess that’s good advice,” Stone said. He turned to Lance. “I hear you’re trying to recruit Holly to your organization on a more full-time basis.”
“Stone!” Holly hissed.
“It’s all right, Holly,” Lance said. “Stone’s family.”
“I am?” Stone asked.
“You signed up, didn’t you?”
“I guess I did at that. Holly, maybe Lance is the guy to help you with your little money problem.”
Holly turned red. “Stone, you’d better shut up right now.”
“Are you in need of funds, Holly?” Lance asked, sounding concerned.
“No, I am not,” Holly replied.
“Far from it,” Stone chipped in.
“I don’t understand,” Lance said.
“It’s better that way,” Holly replied.
“Come on, Holly,” Stone said, “who better than Lance?”
“Yes,” Lance said, “who better than me? If you have a problem, I’d like to help.”
Holly looked around the table.
“Maybe I’d better go to the john,” Dino said, half rising.
“Sit down, Dino. All right, I’ll tell you about it.” Holly went through her story. Everyone was rapt, except Stone, who seemed to have trouble not laughing.
When she had finished, Lance patted her hand. “Don’t worry about it, my dear, we’ll think of something.”
“Think of what?” Stone asked.
“Yes, what?” Holly echoed.
Lance looked around to be sure he wasn’t being overheard. “You have a large sum of money obtained from an illegal operation-money you didn’t report. You want to get rid of it in a, shall we say, profitable manner?”
“I suppose.”
“This is called money laundering, and there are a number of ways to do it.”
“I’ll bet,” Stone said.