“Could you book me a table there at eight?”

“Of course, sir; for how many?”

“Ah, two.”

“I’ll book it and call you back if there’s any problem.”

“Thanks; I’ll stop by the desk on the way out and pick up the address.” He hung up, thought for a moment, then dug in his pocket for a number and dialed it.

“Hello?”

“Betty? It’s Stone.”

“Hi there; I was just thinking of you.”

“Telepathy at work. You free for dinner this evening?”

“Sure.”

“Where do you live?”

“In Beverly Hills; why don’t I meet you at the Bel-Air?”

“Seven forty-five?”

“Perfect. I’ll meet you in the car park. You want me to book something for us? I can always use Vance’s name.”

“Not necessary; I’ll see you at seven forty-five.” He hung up and started to get dressed.

Betty climbed into the passenger seat and gave him a wet peck on the cheek. “Where are we going?”

“A place on Santa Monica called Grimaldi’s.”

“Don’t think I’ve ever heard of it,” she said, “and I didn’t think there was a restaurant in L.A. I’d never heard of.” She looked at the address on the card in his hand. “That’ll be somewhere down near the beach; let’s take the freeway.”

Stone followed her directions, and they found the restaurant, its entrance tucked in a side street off Santa Monica.

“How’d you hear about this place?” Betty asked as they approached a glass door, which was covered with credit card stickers.

“I’ll tell you later,” he said, opening the door for her.

They descended a staircase which emerged into a large basement dining room, half full of diners, with low ceilings and elaborate decor-textured wallpaper and heavy brocade drapes much in evidence. Stone gave his name to the headwaiter, and they were shown to a banquette table in the middle of the room, where they sat beside each other with their backs to the wall.

“The decor is right out of the fifties,” Betty said, looking around her. “It looks like a set from an old black-and-white Warner Brothers movie.” A waiter appeared, took their drinks order, and left them a heavy velvet-bound menu. “This thing must weigh ten pounds,” she said.

Stone opened the menu and was astonished at the range of dishes, which were from every region of Italy. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this,” he said. The waiter came with their drinks. “Give us a few minutes,” Stone told him. “It’s such a big menu.”

“Would you like some recommendations?” the waiter asked.

“Please.”

“The specialty of the house is the rabbit in a cream sauce, and any of the pastas are excellent.”

“Thanks,” Stone said. “I’ll try the rabbit.”

“I’ll try the pasta,” Betty said, grimacing. “Which one.”

“The bolognese is good,” the waiter replied.

“Fine.”

“Shall I leave you the wine list?”

“Suggest something,” Stone said. “A big wine.”

“Try the Masi Amerone, the ’91.”

“Sold.”

“Something to start?”

“A Caesar salad,” Stone said.

“Make it two,” Betty echoed.

The waiter departed, leaving them with their drinks.

“Okay, so how did you come up with this place?” Betty asked.

“Arrington called me from here earlier this evening.”

“But she’s still in Virginia,” Betty said. “I made her flight reservations.”

“I’m going to have to trust your discretion.”

“Sure.”

“She’s not in Virginia; she disappeared nearly a week ago.”

“What?”

“Vance called me and asked me to come out here and find her.”

“Disappeared?”

“That’s right; he doesn’t know where she is.”

“I can’t believe this could have happened and I wouldn’t know about it.”

“He’s keeping it very quiet, because he doesn’t know what’s going on.”

“She just ran out on him?”

“He doesn’t know; she hasn’t been in touch with him.”

“And she called you?”

“Arrington must have read the piece in the trade paper; that’s why Vance invited the reporter to the party.”

“Well, I must say, I thought there was something weird about that; it was very unlike Vance. What did Arrington say to you?”

“I was in the shower; the hotel operator got the calling number from caller ID.”

“Well, this is very mysterious, isn’t it?”

“It certainly is.” Stone looked around the restaurant at the other diners. “Wait a minute,” he said, half to himself.

“What?”

“You notice anything about the other customers?”

Betty looked slowly around the restaurant. “I guess a lot of them look Italian. That speaks well of the restaurant, I suppose.”

“It’s a wiseguy joint,” Stone said, keeping his voice low.

“You meanMafia?”

“Not so loud. That’s exactly what I mean. It’s just like a New York wiseguy joint; justlook at these people.”

“Well, the women are a little flashy.”

“Yes, they are.”

“And I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many Italian suits outside of Rome.”

“Right.”

“Does this make me a racist pig or something?”

“No, it just makes you observant. I’ll bet half the faces in this place are in the mug books down at the LAPD.”

“But what could Arrington possibly have to do with the Mafia?”

“I don’t know, but there’s got to be some kind of connection.” As he spoke, Stone looked up and saw four men coming down the stairs into the dining room. “Look who’s here,” he whispered.

She followed his gaze. “You know those guys?”

“One of them,” Stone said. “I met him at Vance’s.”

Stone pretended to consult the wine list, covering his face. “Don’t look at him,” he said. “I don’t want him to see me.”

“Look at who?” Betty asked. “I can’t see a thing.” She leaned back and looked behind him. “One of those backs looks familiar,” she said.

“His name is Ippolito.”

“I remember his name on the invitation list, but he was the only one I didn’t know.”

“Stop craning your neck.”

“It’s okay, he’s sitting at the round corner table with his back to us.”

Stone peeked over the wine list. “Do you know any of the other three?”

“Nope; they don’t even look familiar. A lot of beef on the hoof, though.”

The waiter arrived with their salad, and they tucked into it.

“This is the best Caesar I ever had,” Betty said.

“If the goombahs can’t make a Caesar salad, who can?”

“It isn’t an Italian dish, you know.”

“I thought it was.”

“Nope, it was invented by a Mexican at some famous restaurant in Acapulco, or someplace like that. I can’t remember his name.”

“Caesar, maybe?”

“Nobody likes a smartass, Stone.”

Their main courses came, and Stone tasted the wine. “Absolutely perfect,” he said to the waiter.

“Of course,” the waiter replied, pouring the wine.

Stone tasted the rabbit. “Words fail me,” he said.

“Me, too,” Betty said, tasting her pasta. “Why does nobody know about this place?”

“We like it that way,” the waiter said, then he left them alone.

“I think everybody knows about this place that they want to know about it,” Stone said.

“God, the wine is good!”

Stone made a note of it. “I want some for home,” he said.

“I want the chef for home,” Betty cried, stuffing more pasta into her mouth. “I could make him very happy.”

“Heads up,” Stone said. “One of them is coming this way.” He addressed his rabbit as the man walked past and entered a hallway at the rear of the restaurant. “He was looking right at me; do you think he recognized me?”

“Really, Stone,” she replied, “he was looking atme. ”

“Oh. I wonder what’s in the rear hallway.”

“The men’s room. See the sign?”

“Oh.”

Stone watched as the man returned to his table. “You’re right, he was looking at you.”

“I’m accustomed to that,” she said, twirling the last of the pasta on her fork. “That is the first time in ten years I have finished a whole meal in a restaurant,” she said, swallowing. “If you bring me here again I’ll be able to audition for Roseanne’s replacement.”