Worst Fears Realized

Sarah; she rewarded Dino with a kiss on the cheek. “Elaine,” Stone said, “you remember Sarah Buckminster, don’t you?”
    “Sure; long time,” Elaine said. She turned to Dino. “I heard about last night,” she said.
    “How the hell did you hear about that?” Dino demanded. “It hasn’t been in the papers.”
    “I got my sources,” Elaine replied.
    “Yeah, you probably know more about the case than I do.”
    “I probably do.”
    “Maybe you can tell me where to find the perp?”
    Elaine leaned over, and whispered conspiratorially, “Try Central Park.”
    “I had a visit from one Tom Deacon today,” Stone said.
    “What the fuck didhe want?” Dino asked.
    “He’s apparently taking over your case.”

    “He should live so long,” Dino snorted.
    “He questioned me at some length, while his partner took notes, then he accused me of murdering Susan Bean.”
    “Who’s Susan Bean?” Sarah asked.
    “A dead person,” Elaine explained.
    “Why did you murder her?” Sarah asked Stone.
    “Oh, just for the hell of it,” Stone said. “I murder two or three women a month, if I’m not too busy.”
    Sarah turned to Elaine. “You think I should move out?”
    “I didn’t know you’d movedin, ” Elaine replied. “It’s nice that Stone can get laid again.”
    Sarah burst out laughing. “Has it been a while?”
    “Oh, yeah,” Elaine said. “I can’t tell you what a pain in the ass he’s been.”
    “I havenot, ” Stone protested.
    “He’s kinda got that glow again, you know?” Elaine said to Dino.
    “Yeah,” Dino replied, “he’s all pink in the cheeks again.”
    “I’d like to think I’m the only person here who’s seen his cheeks,” Sarah said, “and they’re really quite a lovely shade of pink.”
    “So are yours,” Stone said, clinking her glass with his.
    “Why do you think Deacon is poking his nose in?” Dino asked.
    “Wouldn’t you think Martin Brougham was behind it? After all, Susan was one of their own.”
    “That’s not a good enough excuse,” Dino said.

    “He told me that Susan used to be a regular here, at the bar. Did you know her, Elaine?”
    Elaine shrugged. “Who can keep track of all those people at the bar? They come, they go, they get murdered.”
    “She was friends with a woman named Jean Martinelli.”
    “HerI know,” Elaine said. “I threw her out of here when she used to get drunk and start annoying people at the tables.”
    “She apparently works at the DA’s Office, too,” Stone said. “Deacon seems convinced that I knew Susan before the other night, that I’d seen a lot of her in here. I told him I had no memory of her.”
    “She used to be fat,” Dino said.
    “You knew her before, then?”
    “I testified in trials that she was prosecuting—two or three times, I think. She lost a hell of a lot of weight and started doing things to herself, you know? Maybe that’s why you don’t remember her.”
    “Remember Van Fleet?” Stone asked.
    “I believe I shot him dead,” Dino said. “How could I forget?”
    “Well, I defended Van Fleet on some minor charge, once, and Deacon said Susan was assisting the prosecutor, a guy named Haverty.”
    “Could be,” Dino said. “I think she was in the DA’s Office since she got out of law school.”
    “You think you could give Brougham a ring and tell him I didn’t murder Susan?”
    “Well, I guess if I were completely convinced of that, I could.”

    “Do it tomorrow, Dino; I don’t want those people to start leaking to the press that I’m a suspect.”
    “Maybe I’ll do it right now,” Dino said, nodding toward the door.
    Stone turned to see Martin and Dana Brougham coming through the front door.

18
    STONE WATCHED AS ELAINE MADE HERway through the crowd to meet Martin and Dana Brougham. They were obviously asking for a table, but the place was jammed. Then Elaine was pointing at Stone’s table.
    “Dino, I think Elaine is suggesting they join us,” Stone said.
    “Be interesting to see their reaction,” Dino said.
    Their reaction was to nod yes.
    “What the hell,” Dino said. “Now is as good a time as any.”
    “Why would they want to sit with us if Brougham thinks I murdered Susan?”
    “I guess we’ll find out,” Dino said, as the couple made their way to the table.
    Sarah turned to Stone. “Later, I hope you’ll take the time to explain to me what the fuck is going on.”
    “I will,” Stone said, as he got to his feet.

    “Hi, Dino,” Martin Brougham