Stuart Woods_Stone Barrington 12

said, “You saw the guy at the soda fountain, right?”
    â€œSort of. You know him?”
    â€œYeah, and so do you. We busted him for more than a hundred burglaries about seven, eight years ago, back when you were earning an honest living.”
    â€œHarold Rhinehart? That was him?”
    â€œYeah. He has a beard now, and his hair is shorter, but that’s the guy.”
    â€œHow much time did he get?”
    â€œHe plead out for five to seven, which means he could have been out two and a half years ago, if he kept his nose clean in the joint and really impressed the parole board. You had any burglaries up here?”
    â€œNot that I’ve heard about, but I’ll ask Rawls; he seems to know everything that’s going on. Maybe Rhinehart took his ill-gotten gains and retired up here.”
    â€œI doubt it,” Dino said. “The guy was a pro, but he was obsessive about stealing. I don’t think there are any New York State parole officers on this island, either. If he got out in half his sentence, he should be reporting to a P.O. every week.”
    â€œDino, you’re a wonder; you’ve been here fifteen minutes, and already you’ve spotted a perp.”
    â€œThey’re everywhere,” Dino said. “Maybe I’ll just clean up this burg while I’m here.”
    â€œHow long can you stay?”
    â€œI got a lot of vacation time built up; we’ll see.”
    â€œHow’s it going with Mary Ann?”
    â€œEverything’s squared. We’re just waiting for a judge to sign off on the agreement and give us a decree, then I’ll be a free man.”
    â€œHow do you feel about that?”
    â€œRelieved.”
    â€œNo regrets?”
    â€œCan’t think of any. It wasn’t like it was a marriage made in heaven, y’know. If the kid hadn’t been in the picture, we’d have screwed each other for a few months and called it a day the first time she complained about something. She knew it, I knew it.”
    â€œAny luck on the apartment hunt?”
    â€œYeah, I found a nice six on Park in the sixties.”
    â€œSounds expensive.”
    â€œBy the time it’s done up I’ll have a couple mil in it.”
    â€œSounds nice.”
    â€œHad to be; the court has to approve it for Benito’s visits.”
    â€œWhen do you close?”
    â€œYesterday,” Dino said. “Things move fast when it’s an all-cash deal. I’ve already got a designer working on the renovations and buying me some furniture.”
    â€œYou’re going to let a designer furnish the place?”
    â€œJesus, Stone, you think I give a shit about furniture? I told her, make it nice for the kid so the court will sign off on it. She’s going to get it painted, put in some new stuff in the kitchen and get the floors refinished. I’ll be in it in a month.”
    â€œDino, it’s New York; nothing happens in a month.”
    â€œThis designer lady is a real hard-ass; she’ll get it done. She’s already got her people lined up, and she gets paid more if it’s ready on time.”
    â€œAnd you’re letting her pick out everything ?”
    â€œI picked out the TVs and the stereo and my chair for the den. The rest is up to her.”
    â€œGood luck.”
    â€œListen, I’m a better judge of people than I am of furniture. Anyway, it’ll piss off Mary Ann if I’m in a really nice place, and I’ll enjoy that.”
    They drove in silence until they got to the house and started unloading Dino’s bags.
    â€œI just thought of something,” Dino said.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œHal Rhinehart.”
    â€œWhat about him?”
    â€œI heard a pretty good rumor one time from a guy on the organized crime task force that Rhinehart was doing some contract hit work, but they could never nail him.”
    That stopped Stone in his tracks. “Why don’t you get on the phone and find out whether Rhinehart has jumped parole?”

20
    D INO PUT THE PHONE DOWN. “Rhinehart must have a very smart lawyer; he did a deal that allows him to live up here and report in by phone every week.”
    â€œAnkle bracelet?”
    â€œI didn’t ask,” Dino said, “but he could be out of range up here.”
    â€œPut your stuff in the guesthouse, then let’s go see Rhinehart.”
    â€œYou know where he lives?”
    â€œNo, but I know how to find