Stone Barrington 06-11

Besides, I like Vance.”
    “What’s not to like?” Elaine asked. “He’s handsome; he’s the biggest star in Hollywood; he’s the most charming man I ever met.” She sipped her drink. “Present company included,” she added.
    “Thanks,” Stone said. “I needed that.”
    “So, when’s the happy day?” Elaine asked. “You going to be a June bride?”
    “Monday,” Stone replied. “In Venice.”
    “This is Thursday,” Elaine pointed out. “What the hell are you doing here?”
    “We’re leaving tonight,” Stone said.
    “I got news for you. It’s after midnight, all the flights have departed.”
    “We’re taking a private jet, belongs to some friend of Eduardo.”
    “Not bad,” Elaine said, looking impressed. “That way, you get to your hotel late enough tomorrow, so you don’t have to wait for the people in your room to check out.”
    “Eduardo has a palazzo,” Dino said. “We’re being forced to stay there.”
    “You’re going, too?” Elaine asked, incredulous again.
    “He’s my best man,” Stone said glumly.
    “If I don’t go, my wife will divorce me,” Dino said.
    “She’s Italian,” Elaine pointed out. “She won’t divorce you.”
    “The Bianchi family has found a way around that,” Dino said. “Remember how Dolce got divorced?”
    “I didn’t know she was married,” Elaine said.
    “A youthful indiscretion. She married a capo in the Bonnano family when she was nineteen. It lasted less than three weeks, until she caught him in her bed with her maid of honor.”
    “So she got a divorce?”
    “Not for some years. When it was inconvenient for her to still be married, the guy turned up in New York dead. Took two in the back of the head, a classic hit.”
    “Let me get this straight,” Elaine said, turning toward Stone. “The girl you’re marrying on Monday in Venice had her ex popped?”
    “Of course not,” Stone said hotly. “That’s Dino’s theory. In the guy’s line of work, it was an occupational hazard. Anybody could have had it done.”
    “Yeah, sure,” Dino said. “Funny, it didn’t get done until Dolce decided to throw a bag over Stone’s head and lead him to the altar.”
    Stone glanced at his watch. “Dolce and Mary Ann are going to be here any minute. I want you to decide what you’re going to do, Dino; are you going to stand up for me, or not? And if you are, I don’t want to hear another word about Eduardo and his connections. You married into the family, too, remember?”
    “Yeah, with a bun in the oven and a gun to my head. If I hadn’t married her, I’d be at the bottom of Sheepshead Bay right now, with a concrete block up my ass.”
    “You love that girl, Dino,” Elaine said, “and the boy, too. You know goddamned well you do.”
    Dino looked into his drink and said nothing.
    “Make up your mind, Dino,” Stone said. He looked up to see Dolce and Mary Ann walk into the restaurant. “They’re here.” He stood up to greet them.
    “All right, all right,” Dino said. “I guess I can’t let you go over there by yourself.”
    Stone kissed the gorgeous Dolce. She was wearing a cashmere track suit and a huge smile.
    “Everybody ready?” she asked. “The car’s at the curb, all the bags are in the trunk.”
    “Everybody’s ready,” Stone said, shooting a warning glance at Dino.
    Elaine stood up and kissed everybody. “Mazel tov,” she said. “Send me a postcard.”
    “Come with us,” Stone said. “There’s room.”
    “And who’d mind the store?” she asked.
    “You’ve got plenty of help here.”
    “They’d steal me blind. Go on, get going; send me a postcard from Venice.”
    “You bet,” Stone said, hugging her.
    The foursome left the restaurant. At the curb a spectacular car was waiting.
    “What is this?” Stone asked, running a finger along the glossy paintwork.
    “It’s a Mercedes Maybach,” Dolce replied. “The first one in the country. Papa knows somebody in Stuttgart.”
    “Papa knows somebody everywhere ,” Dino muttered, collecting a sharp elbow in the ribs from Mary Ann.
    They piled into the spacious rear seats, facing each other, Pullman style.
    “Not bad,” Dino admitted, looking around. “I don’t suppose there’s a phone? I’ve gotta check in with the cop shop.” Dino ran the detective squad at the nineteenth precinct.
    “Oh, leave it, Dino,” Stone said. “They can get along without you for a week.”
    Dolce handed Dino a phone, and he began dialing. “Did you pack