Worst Fears Realized

rights.”
    Donato took a step back, then he unbuttoned his jacket and opened it so that Stone could see the pistol under his arm. “You see that?” he asked.
    “Yeah, I see it,” Stone said, unbuttoning his own jacket. “You see this?”
    Donato blinked and stepped back again.
    Stone took out his badge and flashed it. “And do you see this? It means that I can have half a dozen cops on your case with a single phone call. How would you like that? Or would you like to have the feds crawling all over your concrete business? I can arrange that, too. Are you beginning to get the picture?”
    Donato looked a little shaken. He turned and walked back to the sidewalk. “You just remember that, as long as I’m around, Dolce is a married woman,” he said. Then he crossed the street, got into a waiting car, and drove away.

    Stone went back inside, slamming the door behind him. His residence phone was ringing, and he pushed that button on his desk phone. “Hello?” he said, irritably.
    “Well, don’t bite my head off,” Dolce said.
    “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to do that.”
    “I got your note, and I’m very sad; I wanted you here when I got home.”
    “Dolce, I really needed to get home. Good news: the man who has been trying to kill Dino and me and everyone we know, is dead. He was shot while in police custody.”
    “That is good news,” she said. “Then it’s all over?”
    “No, we haven’t got Mitteldorfer, and there appears to be one other man involved. Watch the six o’clock news.”
    “Can I come over there and watch it?” she asked, her voice low.
    “Sweetheart, I need a night off. I’ve got a grand-jury appearance first thing in the morning, and I need to think about my testimony.”
    “Stone,” she purred, “just because you had a problem last night doesn’t mean you’ll have one tonight. Why don’t I come over and cook you something?”
    At the mention of cooking, Stone weakened. “Okay, let me give you the address.”
    “I have the address,” she said. “I’ll bring groceries, you do the wine.”
    “What time?”
    “Give me an hour or so.”
    “Take your time; I’m not going anywhere.”

    “I know you’re not,” she said.
    Stone returned a few phone calls, then went to the cellar and chose some wines. That done, he went upstairs and changed into comfortable clothing, switching on the bedroom TV. The story was all over the tube, with the photograph of Mitteldorfer and a modified sketch of the second Hausman. He hoped to God they would get some more calls from that. The phone rang.
    “Hello?”
    “It’s Dino; you’re back in your own house?”
    “Yeah, I figure with Erwin dead and Mitteldorfer’s picture on TV, the bad guys are in disarray, so it’s safe here.”
    “I’m glad to see you out of the witch’s bed and back into your own.”
    “Dino, Dolce is on her way over here right now, and I want you to stop saying all these terrible things about her.”
    “I haven’t said anything that wasn’t true.”
    “I like her, Dino; I’ll grant you, she can be a little overbearing at times, but I like her. I like her father, too. You may as well know that it was he who found out about the doctored tape used in the Dante trial, so we both owe him.”
    “I don’twant to owe him,” Dino said.
    “Well, that’s tough; you do, anyway, and I, for one, am glad to have all the help he can give us. I want my life back, you know?”
    “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m trying to figure out whether to bring Mary Ann and Ben home.”
    “Not yet; let’s be cautious for a few more days.Maybe the TV news story will produce some calls.”
    “By the way, we got the warrant on Deacon’s place; Andy’s going to execute it tomorrow morning, as soon as he’s out of his apartment.”
    “What do you expect to find?”
    “Probably nothing; the guy’s not stupid enough to take the knife home. But we’ve got to make the effort. The fact that he was around the corner when Susan was killed isn’t enough.”
    “Why don’t you brace Mick Kelly, too?”
    “Good idea; I’ll have him picked up at the same time as Deacon.”
    “Tomorrow morning, call me on my cell phone if you find out anything; I’d like to have as much ammunition as possible when I testify.”
    “Sure.”
    “Oh, by the way, Johnny Donato was here this afternoon.”
    “Oh, Jesus,” Dino said. “You see what happens when you ignore my advice?”
    “Tell me what you know about the guy, Dino.”
    “Well,