Worst Fears Realized

lot nearly full. He found a spot and went inside. Carolyn Klemm spotted him from a seat near the fireplace and waved him over.
    “This is my husband, David,” she said.
    Stone shook David Klemm’s hand.
    “Welcome to Washington,” David said. “You’re going to love it.”
    They ordered drinks and got a menu. Stone was facing the restaurant’s entrance, and he looked up to see Captain Warkowski, from Sing Sing, enter the room, in company with a middle-aged woman. Warkowski saw him and nodded; Stone nodded back. The couple were taken to a booth in the back room.
    “Somebody you know?” Carolyn asked.
    “Not very well; I met him in passing, once.”
    “A local?”
    “No, he’s from New York State, I think; that’s where I met him, anyway.”

    “We saw the story, in theTimes about the bombing of Sarah’s opening—a terrible business,” Carolyn said. “Is she all right?”
    “Yes, she is.”
    “When can we expect to see her here?”
    “Sarah’s gone back to England; she’s planning to live there.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry; somehow I thought you would be sharing the cottage.”
    “That was the plan, but the incident at the gallery changed her mind, I think.”
    “Well, we’ll have to have a few single women to dinner,” Carolyn said. “There aren’t many around, but there are a couple of very nice divorcées.”
    “Oh, don’t bother,” Stone said.
    “No, we’d like to have you to dinner; we entertain a lot. Leave it to me.”
    They ordered dinner, and a procession of arriving diners stopped by their table. The Klemms introduced Stone to a dozen people in a matter of minutes, giving a running account of who they were. Most of them were New Yorkers, up for the weekend, like Stone.
    “Do you know anyone at all up here?” Carolyn asked.
    “Just some people from California who have a house in Roxbury.”
    “That would be the Calders.”
    “Why, yes; how did you know?”
    “I sold Vance the house about four years ago. Of course, he’s pulled it apart and put it back together since then. He’s a charming man, isn’t he?”
    “Yes, he is.”
    “How do you know them?”

    “A mutual friend introduced me to them a couple of years ago at a dinner party. Then I saw something of them in LA last year and got to know Vance a little better.”
    “Oh, I haven’t met Mrs. Calder yet; her name is Arrington, isn’t it?”
    “That’s right.”
    Dinner was served, and they began to eat.
    “I hear she’s lovely; she was a writer before they married, wasn’t she?”
    “Yes, she wrote for several magazines.”
    “And I read in the paper that they have a new baby.”
    “Right, again. You don’t miss much, Carolyn.”
    David spoke up. “You might say that Carolyn is the unofficial historian of Litchfield County.”
    “You’re going to love Vance’s house,” Carolyn said.” It’s really something.”
    “I can’t wait to see it,” Stone replied. They finished their first course. Stone looked into the back room and saw Warkowski’s companion leave the table, apparently for the ladies’ room. Stone stood up. “Will you excuse me for a moment? I’ll be right back.”
    He walked into the back room and stopped at Warkowski’s table. “Good evening,” he said. “Do you mind if I sit down for a moment?”
    Warkowski looked up at him. “Suit yourself.”
    Stone slid into the booth opposite him. “You live around here?”
    Warkowski shook his head. “Just a weekend outing with the wife.”

    “I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you the last time I was at the prison.”
    “I was pretty busy at the time,” Warkowski said.
    “Look, I know that Dino got off on the wrong foot with you, but there’s something really serious going on, and we need your help.”
    “We?”
    “Dino and I are both involved.”
    “What is it?”
    “We need to find Herbert Mitteldorfer, and quickly”
    “I’ve no idea where he is,” Warkowski replied. “He didn’t leave a forwarding address.”
    “Is there anyone you know who might have a way of contacting him?”
    Warkowski shook his head. “Nope.”
    “I’m surprised that you would so quickly lose contact with him. After all, you were pretty close, weren’t you?”
    “Not really; in my work, you don’t get close to prisoners.”
    “That’s what I would have thought, but it’s my information that Mitteldorfer handled all your financial affairs for several years.”
    Warkowski looked at him sharply. “Where the hell did you hear