Kisser

STONE WOKE UP, exhausted again. He was going to have to get some real rest, he thought, as he swung his legs over the side of the well-mussed bed. He could smell bacon frying.

Mitzi had left him a razor and toothbrush in her bathroom. He shaved, showered, and then looked for his clothes. Nowhere in sight. He found a robe in a closet and walked down to the kitchen. Rita was cooking, and Mitzi was ironing. A woman he didn’t know was sitting at the counter having coffee.

Rita laughed. “You’d be even more tired if I’d known you were in the apartment.”

“Good morning,” Stone said to the attractive young woman at the counter.

“Oh, Stone,” Rita said. “This is my friend Emma Suess. She served you canapés the first time you were here, in the maid’s uniform?”

“How do you do,” Emma said, extending a hand. “I’m not really a maid; I’m an actress. I was playing the role of maid that night.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Emma,” Stone said. He wondered what other roles she played around the house.

Mitzi handed him his freshly ironed shorts and shirt. “I’ll be done with your suit in a minute.”

Stone got into them, then his pants, when she had finished.

Rita put eggs and bacon on the counter, and they all ate with gusto.

“So,” Rita said, “you’re going to put away Mr. Derek Sharpe this morning.”

“We’ve got the guy boxed, Stone. Why do you sound so discouraged?”

“I’m not discouraged. I just don’t know what you and Sharpe said to each other last night and if it’s going to translate into a successful prosecution. One thing drug dealers always have is plenty of cash for the best lawyers.”

“Once we nail him with the goods, he’ll cop a plea, and we’ll put him away for ten years.”

“The Rockefeller laws have been repealed,” Stone said, “or hadn’t you heard about that? A conviction doesn’t mean an automatic ten-year sentence anymore; the judge is going to have discretion.”

“I talked to Brian this morning,” Mitzi said. “The minute we’ve got the cuffs on Sharpe they’ll be in his building with a search warrant, and we’ll find his stash. I’ll bet it’s a lot.”

“I’ll bet it’s not in the building,” Stone said. “Sharpe is not stupid. I think you’d do better to let this morning’s arrest slide, then set up another one in a few days and nail him then.”

“That’s sweet of you, but since you didn’t get your two cents in, we’ll have to go with it as it is.”

“At least you’d have your ass covered if this goes wrong.”

“Well,” she said, “there’s a lot to be said for having your ass covered.”

Rita took a sip of her coffee and looked at Stone over the brim of the cup. “Now she’s going to be all pissed off,” she said. “You’re spoiling her party.”

“I’m trying to protect her from Brian Doyle,” Stone said.

“Brian is a . . . mercurial guy, and if this goes wrong, he’s not going to take the blame.”

“There’s that, too,” Stone said. “And that’s my principal interest in all this.”

Mitzi came back into the room. “Brian says to go ahead with the buy but not to bust Sharpe, just let him walk out with the money.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Sharpe owns an ultraviolet light,” Stone said. “He’ll be looking for marks.”

“Too late to change plans now,” Mitzi said. She went to the big Sub-Zero fridge, opened the freezer, and took out a large plastic bag.

“I’ve got a real safe,” Rita said. “My jewelry’s in it, but there’s room for that, too.”

Stone took the bag and fished out a bundle of hundred-dollar bills. He flipped through them like a deck of cards. “I can’t see anything. I don’t suppose you have an ultraviolet light?”

“Why don’t you put this in the safe and let Sharpe see you take it out? It’ll be good for his morale.”

“What would be good for his morale is for me to fuck him,” Mitzi said. “He’s already made a big pass at me, and I’m expecting more of the same this morning.”

“Rita, does the phone system in the apartment allow you to call between extensions?”

“Okay, Mitzi,” Stone said, “I’m going to give you three minutes with Sharpe, then call that extension. Answer it, say, ‘Send him up,’ and tell Sharpe your driver is on the way up.”

“What if she’s unable to answer the phone?” Rita asked.

“Then I’ll interrupt you,” Stone said. “By that time you should have completed the deal. Make sure you do that immediately after he arrives. Tell him you have to be somewhere. Make up something.”

“What if Sharpe wants to meet your friends from Charleston?” Rita asked.

“I’ll tell him they’re just in town for the day and have a full schedule,” Mitzi replied.

“I’m sure you can handle anything he throws at you,” Stone said.

“I’m moved by your confidence in me, sir,” Mitzi said, curtseying.

Rita spoke up. “If he throws his dick at you, there’s a large pair of scissors on the desk in the study.”

“Always use the right tools,” Mitzi said. “That’s what my daddy always told me.”

The phone rang, and Rita answered. “Send him up,” she said.

“It’s Tom,” Rita said. “Don’t have a heart attack.”

“Put on your maid’s uniform, just in case Sharpe comes to the kitchen.”

Emma put down her coffee cup and left the room. “Be right back,” she said.

Mitzi looked at Stone. “You’re more nervous than I am,” she said.

“I have a better imagination than you do,” Stone replied. “I can think of a dozen things that can go wrong.”