Worst Fears Realized

course, preventsshattering. I can give you the name of a man who installs it, if you like.”
    “Based on what I was told when I had the glass installed, I’m perfectly satisfied that, as it is, it will offer excellent protection.”
    “As you wish,” Stone said, fingering the thick curtains that lined the window. “What are these made of?”
    “Just ordinary wool. I pull them sometimes when we’re doing installations, and the gallery looks messy.”
    “I see. Sarah said you’ve sent out a large number of invitations.”
    “Yes, indeed; to my A-list.”
    “Are you keeping a record of acceptances?”
    “Yes, but you should understand that people will often show up without having responded to the invitation.”
    “In that case, could you let the officer on the door have your mailing list, so that he can check off arrivals?”
    Bergman frowned. “I wouldn’t like to do anything that will delay the entrance of guests; I wouldn’t want them lined up down the block while someone searches a list of twelve hundred people for names. What if it rains?”
    “I see. Tell me, do you have an employee who would recognize most of your list on sight?”
    “I have my wife,” Bergman said. “I, of course, must move around the crowd, but she could stand near the door early on, while guests are still arriving. If there is a strange face, she could make a signal tothe policeman, I suppose, but I wouldn’t want her there all evening.”
    “I think that’s a good idea,” Stone said. “The policeman will have a sketch of our suspect, but we can’t be sure how accurate that is.”
    “I’ll speak to my wife,” Bergman said. “I assume that someone will be with Sarah the whole time.”
    “I will be with her,” Stone said.
    “Are you a policeman, Mr. Barrington? You certainly don’t look like one.”
    “No, but I used to be. I’m an attorney, now; my interest in Sarah is personal. What’s upstairs?”
    “Accounting, shipping, and clerical,” Bergman replied. “The fire exit and all the windows are heavily reinforced against outside entry.”
    Stone’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He held out a hand to the gallery owner. “Thank you, Mr. Bergman,” he said. “I won’t take up any more of your time.”
    “Not at all,” Bergman replied, shaking his hand. “We have a mutual interest in Sarah’s safety. Good day.”
    “Good day.” Stone turned toward the door, reaching in his pocket for the phone. “Hello?”
    “It’s Dino. We need to talk.”
    “How about lunch? I’m just down the street from La Gouloue.”
    “Ten minutes,” Dino said, then hung up.
    Stone put the phone back in his pocket, walked outside, and headed uptown.

25
    LA GOULOUE WAS A FASHIONABLE MADISONAvenue restaurant with a clientele of beautiful people and people who wished to be seen in the same restaurant with beautiful people. Stone wasn’t a regular, but he got a decent table. Dino arrived a minute later. When they had ordered drinks and lunch, Stone looked at his friend, who seemed concerned.
    “What’s up, Dino?”
    Dino sipped his mineral water. “You remember Eloise Enzberg?”
    “Who?”
    “Mitteldorfer’s regular correspondent, a woman he used to work with.”
    “Oh, yes; you had her checked out after our meeting at Sing Sing, didn’t you?”
    “Yeah; she told us nothing, and neither did her neighbors.”
    “What’s up with her?”

    “Nothing, anymore.”
    “What?”
    “They pulled her body out of the East River this morning. She was once a government employee, so her prints were available.”
    “Any suspects?”
    “Just the one.”
    “Why would he kill her?” Stone asked.
    “Maybe he used her, then dumped her.”
    “Used her for what? He was in prison, remember?”
    “Yeah, I know, and I don’t have an answer to your question.”
    “How did she die?”
    “Her throat was cut.”
    “That sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”
    “All too familiar. There’s something else.”
    “What?”
    “She was wearing a Chanel suit.”
    “Maybe she was a wealthy lady?”
    Dino shook his head. “She apparently took early retirement from her job last year, and she lived on her pension. I don’t see how it could have been very much.”
    “So a Chanel suit would have been out of the question?”
    “Yes, unless she got lucky in a secondhand shop.”
    “Who’s to say she didn’t do just that? I’m sorry, but it just doesn’t make sense for Mitteldorfer to kill a woman who had been kind to him for