Kisser (2010)

night.”
    “That’s sweet of you, but since you didn’t get your two cents in, we’ll have to go with it as it is.”
    “You can call Brian and suggest a new plan.”
    “He wouldn’t go for it.”
    “At least you’d have your ass covered if this goes wrong.”
    “Well,” she said, “there’s a lot to be said for having your ass covered.”
    “Call him,” Stone said.
    Mitzi took her plate and went into another room.
    Rita took a sip of her coffee and looked at Stone over the brim of the cup. “Now she’s going to be all pissed off,” she said. “You’re spoiling her party.”
    “I’m trying to protect her from Brian Doyle,” Stone said.
    “You think she needs protecting from her boss?”
    “Brian is a . . . mercurial guy, and if this goes wrong, he’s not going to take the blame.”
    “And if it goes wrong, what happens to Hildy Parsons?”
    “There’s that, too,” Stone said. “And that’s my principal interest in all this.”
    “Mine, too.”
    Mitzi came back into the room. “Brian says to go ahead with the buy but not to bust Sharpe, just let him walk out with the money.”
    “Are the bills marked?”
    “If they are, Brian didn’t tell me.”
    “I wouldn’t be surprised if Sharpe owns an ultraviolet light,” Stone said. “He’ll be looking for marks.”
    “Too late to change plans now,” Mitzi said. She went to the big Sub-Zero fridge, opened the freezer, and took out a large plastic bag.
    “That’s your safe?” Stone asked.
    “I’ve got a real safe,” Rita said. “My jewelry’s in it, but there’s room for that, too.”
    Stone took the bag and fished out a bundle of hundred-dollar bills. He flipped through them like a deck of cards. “I can’t see anything. I don’t suppose you have an ultraviolet light?”
    “Nope,” Rita said.
    “Where’s the safe?”
    “In the study,” Rita replied.
    “Why don’t you put this in the safe and let Sharpe see you take it out? It’ll be good for his morale.”
    “What would be good for his morale is for me to fuck him,” Mitzi said. “He’s already made a big pass at me, and I’m expecting more of the same this morning.”
    “Slap him hard across the chops,” Stone said.
    “I think that would just make him mad.”
    “Rita, does the phone system in the apartment allow you to call between extensions?”
    “Yes.”
    “What’s the extension number for the study?”
    “Eleven.”
    “Okay, Mitzi,” Stone said, “I’m going to give you three minutes with Sharpe, then call that extension. Answer it, say, ‘Send him up,’ and tell Sharpe your driver is on the way up.”
    “Okay.”
    “What if she’s unable to answer the phone?” Rita asked.
    “Then I’ll interrupt you,” Stone said. “By that time you should have completed the deal. Make sure you do that immediately after he arrives. Tell him you have to be somewhere. Make up something.”
    “What if Sharpe wants to meet your friends from Charleston?” Rita asked.
    “I’ll tell him they’re just in town for the day and have a full schedule,” Mitzi replied.
    “I’m sure you can handle anything he throws at you,” Stone said.
    “I’m moved by your confidence in me, sir,” Mitzi said, curtseying.
    Rita spoke up. “If he throws his dick at you, there’s a large pair of scissors on the desk in the study.”
    “Always use the right tools,” Mitzi said. “That’s what my daddy always told me.”
    The phone rang, and Rita answered. “Send him up,” she said.
    Stone looked at his watch. “Already?”
    “It’s Tom,” Rita said. “Don’t have a heart attack.”
    “What do you want me to do?” Emma asked.
    “Put on your maid’s uniform, just in case Sharpe comes to the kitchen.”
    Emma put down her coffee cup and left the room. “Be right back,” she said.
    Mitzi looked at Stone. “You’re more nervous than I am,” she said.
    “I have a better imagination than you do,” Stone replied. “I can think of a dozen things that can go wrong.”

39
    TOM ARRIVED AND WAS GIVEN a croissant and some coffee. “Are you playing in this game?” he asked Stone.
    “Only if I’m needed from the bench,” Stone replied.
    Emma returned to the kitchen wearing a maid’s uniform, but not the one she had worn when she served canapés. The skirt was short, the stockings were black fishnet, and the bodice was tight and featured lots of cleavage.
    Stone burst out laughing. “Can you come and play maid at my house?” he asked.
    “Emma,”