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The ER doctor shined the light into Stone’s eyes, then turned it off and straightened up.

“Have you ever had a concussion?”

The curtain surrounding Stone’s bed opened wide enough for Dino to step through.

“I can answer that.”

“And you are?” the doctor asked.

“Against my better judgment, his emergency contact.”

“And the commissioner of police,” Fred said.

He was standing on the opposite side of the bed from the doctor.

“As in Commissioner Bacchetti?” the doctor asked.

“That’s me.”

“I’m sorry, Commissioner. I didn’t recognize you.” The doctor’s eyes narrowed.

“You look different in person.”

“Better, I assume.”

“Doctor,” Stone said, “think carefully before you respond.”

The doctor looked between Stone and Dino.

“How about someone answer my question instead? Past concussions, yes or no?”

“Yes,” Dino said.

“More than one?”

“Also, yes.”

The doctor frowned.

“Well, you don’t look like you have one now, but if you have a history of them, it wouldn’t take much to have another. You should take it easy for the next few days.”

“I promise, I will refrain from all contact sports,” Stone said.

He touched his jaw.

“It does hurt when I talk, though.”

“I’m not surprised. Perhaps you should also try not talking for a day or two.”

“Doctor, he’s a lawyer,” Dino said.

“I’m not sure that’s possible.”

“Don’t listen to him, Doctor,” Stone said.

“I’ll do my best.”

The doctor smiled.

“Then my work here is done.”

“Does that mean I’m free to go?”

“Once the discharge paperwork is ready.”

“So, another couple hours?” Dino asked.

“I see you’ve been here before,” the doctor said.

“I’ll do what I can to expedite things.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Stone said.

The doctor exited through the curtain.

“I went to the crime scene, but you were already gone,” Dino said.

“I apologize for not waiting,” Stone said.

“But in my defense, I wasn’t totally aware of what was going on.”

“And you are now?”

“About as aware as I normally am.”

“Then why don’t you tell me how and why you got knocked out in a building in Chelsea.”

“The how is easy. A couple of punches to my head and at least one to my stomach. As for the why? I have no idea. All I know is that it was planned.”

“Don’t tell me. This has something to do with a woman, doesn’t it?”

“Two, actually, but not in the way you’re thinking.”

“I have a very vivid imagination.”

“Which you can pack right up and put back wherever you keep it. I was simply being a Good Samaritan.”

“Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

“Perhaps I can explain,” Fred said.

“When Mr. Barrington was leaving Patroon’s after your dinner, he met two young women outside.”

“So far, this is going exactly as I pictured it,” Dino said.

“One of the ladies appeared to be in distress, for what reason, I was not privy.”

“Her friend said she’d broken up with her boyfriend,” Stone clarified.

“And you were her knight in shining armor?” Dino said.

“Mr. Barrington offered to give them a ride to their apartment,” Fred said.

“They couldn’t have called for their own ride?”

“The ex-boyfriend had taken the girlfriend’s phone and the phone belonging to the other woman was dead,” Stone explained.

“And you confirmed this?”

“Well, not exactly.”

Dino stared at him for a moment, then turned his attention back to Fred.

“The women’s apartment was in Chelsea?”

“Correct, Commissioner. Or at least that’s what they told us. When we arrived, the one who’d been crying was concerned that someone might be waiting for her and her friend inside.”

“That would be the spurned ex-boyfriend?” Dino said.

“That’s what she claimed,” Stone said.

“And I suppose you offered to walk them to their apartment.”

“As any gentleman would. I followed them into a hallway where two men were waiting to jump me. I don’t remember much after that.”

“Did you get a look at them?” Dino asked.

“I direct you to my comment about not remembering much. But I do remember what the women looked like.”

“I bet you do.”

“I can give you descriptions of the men,” Fred said.

“You saw them?”

“I was waiting by the car when the women ran out from an emergency exit. That’s when I went inside and found the men looking at Mr. Barrington’s phone.”

“My phone?” Stone said.

He looked around but didn’t see it.

“Did they take it?”

“No, sir. They dropped it when they ran off. I thought it best to leave it at the crime scene for the police since it might have prints.”

“Why would they want to look at your phone?” Dino asked.

“No idea,” Stone said.

“Give me a sec,” Dino said.

He pulled out his cell and disappeared through the curtain.

When he returned a few minutes later, he said, “The phone’s been dusted, but they only found one set of prints.”

“Mine, I suppose,” Stone said.

“Yours. Do you know if the muggers were able to unlock the phone?”

“Again, I refer you—”

“Yeah, yeah. You don’t recall anything. The question was for Fred, not you.”

“I see.”

“No, you didn’t see anything. That’s the problem. Fred?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Fred said, “but it did appear they had opened it and were reading something on the screen.”

“Someone’s bringing the phone here, so we can take a look at it,” Dino said.

“Maybe you can figure out what they were looking at.”

“How would Fred be able to figure that out?” Stone asked.

“It’s my phone.”

“ That comment was directed at you.”

“And how was I supposed to know that?”

“Because, and I quote, ‘How would Fred be able to figure that out?’?”

“I suppose I can let that slide.”

“Thank you for your generosity. Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to do this to you? An unhappy client, perhaps? And before you say anything, those questions are for you.”

“All my clients are very happy, thank you.”

“What about people upset by something you did for a client?”

Stone considered it.

“Nothing recent comes to mind.”

“A jealous ex-husband or boyfriend?”

“I haven’t encountered one of those for a while.”

“But you do have a history.”

“You are well aware that I’m between relationships at the moment. Which means there are no exes who have reason to be jealous of me.”

“I’ll concede the point for now.”

“That’s very generous.”

Fifteen minutes later, a uniformed officer arrived with a plastic bag, inside of which was Stone’s phone.

Dino took the bag, thanked the officer, then handed the phone to Stone.

“Okay if I take it out?” Stone asked.

Dino nodded.

Stone removed the phone, then opened it via the face recognition lock.

His normal home screen appeared.

“Swipe back and see which app was last opened,” Dino said.

Stone did as instructed.

His calendar app appeared, showing the entire month.

“Why would they be looking at your calendar?” Dino asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Could be that they accidentally opened it when Fred surprised them. What app was opened before this?”

Stone swiped again, and his email app popped up.

“This is a bit more interesting,” Dino said.

Stone checked the sent file to see if the men had sent anything from his account, but there was nothing there that shouldn’t have been.

He checked the other files, but all seemed as it should be.

Stone thought for a moment, then said, “Fred, I know you said it looked like they’d unlocked my screen, but perhaps they were trying to figure out my code.”

“It is possible, sir,” Fred said.

“I wasn’t able to actually see the screen.”

“What we do know is that they wanted to get into your phone for some reason,” Dino said.

“If they didn’t succeed, they might try again. My suggestion is don’t go anywhere alone for a while.”

Stone nodded.

“Good point.”

“Fred, when you get a moment, I’d like you to go down to the station and work with a sketch artist while the attackers’ faces are still fresh in your mind. You can also give your statement then.”

“Understood, Commissioner.”

The curtain opened again, and a smiling nurse carrying a clipboard entered.

“I hear it’s time for someone to go home.”