Worst Fears Realized

of Woodman and Weld. Good day.”
    Deacon got to his feet. “Woodman and Weld? Very elegant firm. I don’t suppose they’re going to be pleased about being involved in this mess.”
    “I said good day,” Stone replied, opening the door and letting them out. He had to resist the impulse to plant his foot in Thomas Deacon’s ass as he departed.

17
    STONE LEFT HIS HOUSE AND WALKED UPthe block to where an unmarked police car was parked. He got in. “Are Anderson and Kelly in another car around here?”
    “Yeah,” the driver replied.
    “Can you reach them without using the radio?”
    “I can call them on their cell phone,” the cop said.
    “Please.”
    The cop dialed the number, then handed the phone to Stone.
    “Anderson,” a voice said.
    “Andy, it’s Stone. I’m in the other car now.”
    “I saw you.”
    “We’re going to drive away; after we’ve been gone two minutes, please ring my doorbell three times. Miss Buckminster will come out, and you can drive her to Elaine’s. You know where that is?”
    “I used to drive Lieutenant Bacchetti,” Anderson replied.

    “Make sure you’re not followed.”
    “Right.”
    Stone broke the connection, then handed the phone back to the cop. “All right, we’re headed for Second Avenue between Eighty-eighth and Eighty-ninth. Don’t go direct; I’ll watch our tail.”
    “Right,” the cop said, putting the car into gear. “You want me to use the light?”
    “Let’s be inconspicuous,” Stone said.
    They drove down to Third Avenue and turned up-town, while Stone watched every car behind them. “Go over to Park, then back to Third,” he told the detective.
    “Whatever you say,” the bored detective replied.
    They spent half an hour reaching Elaine’s. Just before they arrived, Stone called Anderson again.
    “Anderson.”
    “Andy, when you’ve dropped off Miss Buckminster, please come into the restaurant and take up a position at the bar, near the window. You know what the perp looks like, don’t you?”
    “I didn’t get much of a look at him last night,” Anderson replied, “but I’ve got the description.”
    “Keep an eye peeled for him.”
    “Will do.”
    The car stopped. “You guys watch the block for a guy matching the description,” Stone said.
    “Right,” the detectives replied.
    Stone got out and went inside. He gave Elaine a kiss, then joined Dino at their usual table.
    “Sarah coming?” Dino asked.
    “She’ll be here in a minute; Anderson is bringing her. Anything happen today?”

    “We checked with the Hamburg police for the whereabouts of Mitteldorfer’s nephew, Ernst Hausman. They checked his home address and the cigarette factory; he was at work today. Hasn’t had a day off in more than a month.”
    “What about the check of Mitteldorfer’s old neighborhood? Turn up anything?”
    “Half a dozen of the older residents remembered Mitteldorfer, but they didn’t know anything about relatives. As far as they knew, Herbie and his wife were childless.”
    “Did they talk to Herbie’s correspondent? What was her name?”
    “Eloise Enzberg. Yeah, this morning. Frightened her, it seems. She didn’t know anything; she just writes to Herbie once a week and visits him once a month. Takes him strudel.”
    “Howgemütlich. ”
    “If you say so. You know, Germantown isn’t what it used to be.”
    “What is?”
    “I mean, there’s not so many Germans anymore, just some old people. I guess their kids moved away. You remember the Gay Vienna restaurant?”
    “Sure, the one with thekalbshax. ”
    “The veal shank that looked like a giant drumstick.”
    “Yeah, that’s the one.”
    “And they had a zither player. I liked the zither music. Where was that place, exactly?”
    “You’re sitting in it,” Dino said.
    “It washere ?”
    “It finally closed, then Elaine bought the building and opened up.”

    “I’ll be damned; I never connected the two.”
    “I guess all thekalbshax lovers died or moved away.” Dino sighed.
    Elaine came and sat down. “How’s it going?”
    “Not bad,” Stone replied. “Say, do you think you could putkalbshax on the menu?”
    “What’re you, some kind of Kraut?” Elaine asked.
    Sarah bustled in, followed closely by Andy Anderson, who took up his position at the bar.
    Dino grabbed a waiter. “See the tall guy at the bar by the window? Tell the bartender to give him one scotch, no refills.” The waiter went off to do Dino’s bidding.
    Stone and Dino stood up to welcome