But Herbie wasn’t listening. “Hey!” he yelled, pointing at his car. A tow truck had pulled to the curb ahead of it. Herbie sprinted to the car, dove inside, got it started, and roared away from the curb, scattering parking tickets in the wind.

“I can’t believe he’s driving home,” Lance said.

“I wouldn’t have expected anything else,” Stone replied. “Lance, what did you say to Judge Goldstein?”

Lance shrugged. “Let’s just say the judge is a patriot. Nice doing business with you again, Stone.”

“Please, Lance, no more.”

“We’ll see,” Lance replied and strolled toward a black Lincoln parked at the curb with its motor running. Lance opened the door and paused. “Dinner tonight?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Elaine’s, eight-thirty.” He got into the car and it pulled away.

Stone noted that the car had a diplomatic license plate. He wanted one of those.

STONE GOT HOME around noon and went to his office. “Where’s Holly?” he asked Joan.

“Oh, she borrowed your car and went somewhere.”

Stone blinked. “She borrowed my car?”

“She said you said it would be okay, so I gave her the extra set of keys.”

“Any idea where she went?”

“Not a clue.”

Stone went into his office and signed some letters, then picked up the phone and dialed his car phone number. It rang four times before she figured it out.

“Hello?”

“Holly, it’s Stone. Where are you?”

“Sitting outside the La Boheme coffeehouse, in Little Italy.”

“You’re not going to get my car full of bullet holes, are you?”

“A brochure in the glove compartment says it’s armored.”

“Well, it is, sort of, but I’ve never actually tested the armor. I’d prefer it if you returned it in the same shape as when you drove it away.”

“Well, sure, I’ll try.”

“When, exactly, did I say you could borrow my car?”

“At dinner. Don’t you remember?”

He did not. “I guess. When are you coming home?”

“A couple of hours, if Trini doesn’t show up. If he doesn’t come for lunch, I’ll leave it until later. Can I buy you dinner tonight?”

“No, but a guy from the CIA will buy us both dinner at Elaine’s.”

“The CIA? No kidding?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“I’ve never met anybody from the CIA. This ought to be interesting.”

“I hope not. I’ve just spent an all-too-interesting morning in court because of him. I’ve learned that you don’t want interesting, where the CIA is concerned.”

“Holy shit!” Holly yelled.

Stone heard his car start. “What’s going on, Holly?”

“It’s Trini! He’s leaving the La Boheme right now and getting into a Cadillac!”

“Holly, please don’t try a car chase in downtown Manhattan. It’s not like at home in Orchid Beach.” He heard the car’s engine rev.

“I don’t think he saw me,” she said.

“Holly, don’t hang up the phone.”

She hung up the phone.

Stone was left holding a dead receiver. He hung it up and buzzed Joan.

“Yes?”

“Joan, call my insurance agent and confirm that my car is insured for any driver. If it’s not, add Holly Barker as an insured driver, and hurry.”

“Will do.”

Stone tried to think what he could do about this, and he came up with a quick answer: absolutely nothing. This hick-town cop was loose in Manhattan with his seventy-thousand-dollar car, and involved in a chase with an FBI-protected murderer at the front end of things. He buzzed Joan again.

“Yes, Stone?”

“Did you get that insurance thing done?”

“I have them on the other line now.”

“Make sure it’s effective immediately.”

It was after five when Holly returned to Stone’s house.

“Hello?” she called up the stairs.

“Come on up,” Stone called back.

Holly came into his bedroom, shucking off her coat. Daisy padded along beside her, then hopped up onto the bed with Stone, who had been reading the Times.

“Hello, Daisy,” Stone said, half expecting her to reply. She gave him a big kiss, then lay down and snuggled against him.

“She likes you,” Holly said.

“I’m relieved to hear it.” To his surprise, she started undoing buttons.

“Mind if I use your shower?” she asked, continuing to undress. “The water pressure isn’t too great upstairs.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Stone replied. “In New York, we have these water tanks on the roof, and sometimes the upper floors don’t get the best pressure.” As she continued to undress he reminded himself not to get the water pressure problem fixed.

“Water tanks? No kidding?”

“You can go up and take a look,” he said, “but I wouldn’t go like that.” She was down to a bra and panties, or more accurately, some sort of semi-thong thing. “You’d have the neighbors climbing out windows.”

“Aren’t you sweet,” she said, flashing him a big smile. She turned and went into the bathroom, reaching behind her for the bra hook while displaying the backside of the semi-thong thing and a fine pair of buns. She left the door open, but he couldn’t see her. He heard the shower turn on, though.

“How was your day?” she called from the bathroom.

“Hairy,” he replied. “A very strange morning in court.”

“You can tell me about it later,” she said.

He heard the shower door open and close.

Five minutes later, she came out, loosely dressed in his terry robe, toweling her hair. She hopped onto the bed and turned toward him, close. Daisy was between them. “So, tell me about your morning in court.”

“I had this extremely annoying client, Herbie Fisher, with whom I’ve dealt before. He was charged with-”

” The one who kicked the cop in the balls?”

“Yes, and the cop was there with his three big brothers. Their sister was prosecuting.”

“Stacked deck, huh?”

“You might say that.”

“How many years did he get?”

“Twelve months, suspended, a ten-thousand-dollar fine, and loss of his license for five years, which is a godsend to the community.”

“Suspended? Wasn’t this his second DUI?”

“Right.”

“We’re tougher in Florida. You must be some kind of lawyer.”

“I employed no lawyering skills this morning. The CIA guy fixed the judge.”

Holly lifted her head off the pillow. “You’re kidding.”

“I kid you not. Now Herbie is on a plane to Saint Thomas, and the world is a better place, except in Saint Thomas.”

“How did he fix the judge? Pay him off?”

Stone shook his head. “I don’t think Judge Goldstein is the sort who would take a payoff. Lance said the judge was a patriot.”

“Lance is the CIA guy?”

“Right.”

“So he said something to bring out the judge’s patriotic instincts?”

“Apparently.”

“What did he say?”

“I don’t want to know. By the way, did I mention that we’re having dinner with Lance?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I don’t know,” Stone admitted. “I’d just as soon not see him again.”

Holly planted a kiss on his cheek. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from the bad CIA guy.”

“I don’t know that he’s bad. I used to think so, but now I’m not sure.” He liked the kiss. He wanted to put his arm around her, but Daisy was staring right at him.

“Daisy,” Holly said, “get off the bed and lie down.”

Daisy immediately hopped off the bed and lay down beside the bed.

“Go to sleep,” Holly said.

Daisy laid her head on her paws and closed her eyes.

“Is she really asleep?” Stone asked.

“Close enough,” Holly said. She turned his head toward her and kissed him on the lips.