Page 29

As soon as Herb left, Stone returned to his desk and made a call to Jack.

The line rang several times before Jack finally picked up.

“Sorry, Stone. I was on another call. How are you?”

“I’m doing well. How are you and, more importantly, Hillary?”

“I’m fine. Hillary is getting anxious to come home.”

“That’s what Sara said.”

“Oh?”

“She was just here. We have a signed divorce agreement, and if all goes well, it’ll be official by the end of the day.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard in weeks.”

“I thought you’d be happy about it. Her soon-to-be ex is in a hurry to get it behind him.”

“That doesn’t sound like the jerk I knew.”

“Have you had any recent contact with him?”

“The last time I saw him was at the wedding. Whatever else I know about him comes from a very reliable source: my wife.”

“The type of contact I’m talking about would have been done through a third party.”

“I’m sorry, Stone. I’m not following.”

“The reason he suddenly agreed to settle with Sara is because someone beat him up last week and threatened that it would happen again if he didn’t leave Sara alone.”

Jack fell silent for several seconds.

“And you are thinking I had something to do with it.”

“Only that it could be a possibility.”

“You’ve seen me in ways most have not, so I’ll grant that’s a fair point. But if I was going to do something to him, I would have done it the day she filed for divorce. I wouldn’t have let it drag on for so long.”

Stone believed him.

“Sorry, Jack. I had to ask.”

“No apology necessary. I would have done the same in your shoes. I will say, if I ever find out who did it, I’d like to shake their hand. But that’s something to worry about later.”

“How are things on the threatening message front? Have you any clue who sent it yet?”

“Unfortunately, no. If someone’s been asking questions about me, they’re not talking to anyone I know.”

“It would have been too easy if they were,” Stone said.

There was a click on the line.

“That’s Hillary,” Jack said.

“She probably wants me to pressure the medical director into releasing her.”

“Then I won’t keep you. Please tell her I’m glad she’s feeling better, but that she should trust the medical staff to know best.”

“I will, but it won’t work. Bye, Stone.”

Stone hung up, then called Dino.

“Yes,” Dino said.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, I’m free for dinner.”

“Well, I’m not. I’m having dinner with Tamlyn at Clarke’s. But you and Viv are welcome to join us if you want.”

“No Viv. Just me.”

“Would you like to join us?”

“And be a third wheel?”

“I doubt Viv would be happy if I set you up on a date. And since when has being the third wheel ever stopped you.”

“True. What time?”

“Seven, but let me check with Tamlyn first to make sure she’s okay with it. She’s the one who invited me.”

“I’ll await your call.”

“Hold on,” Stone said before Dino could hang up.

“There’s more?”

“I didn’t call you about dinner. You’re the one who brought that up.”

“That’s not the way I remember it.”

“I’m wondering if you had any luck tracking down the guys who beat up Paul Weston.”

“Why is that name familiar?”

“Sara Hirschy’s blind date?”

“The guy you walked in on while he was getting his backside handed to him?”

“The very same.”

“Hold on. I’ll check.” He put Stone on hold and didn’t return for nearly a minute.

“No one in custody yet.”

“You may want your detectives to talk to their counterparts in Chicago.”

“And why would they do that?”

Stone told him about what had happened to Leonard Yates, then said, “That’s two men being warned to leave Sara Hirschy alone, in a little over a week.”

“Does Sara know who’s behind it?”

“Sara doesn’t know about Yates, so I haven’t asked. But she didn’t have a clue who beat up Weston.”

“There is one suspect I can think of.”

“I had the same thought and already talked to Jack. He said he didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“Just because he says he didn’t do it, doesn’t mean he didn’t.”

“Think about it. Why would he target Weston? It was a blind date, which I doubt Sara even told Jack about. But even if she had, there are other ways he could have warned him off. And as for her soon-to-be ex, Jack said he wouldn’t have waited this long to knock some sense into him.”

“He makes a good case.”

“While I have you, there’s something else I wanted to run by you.”

“About Weston or Yates?”

“This has nothing to do with them.”

“If you take up much more of my time, I’ll have to send you an invoice.”

“Nice try. You’re a public servant, and I’m the public.”

“You’ve been saving that one, haven’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“How can this humble public servant help you?”

“Last week, when Fred found me knocked out, he said one of the guys who jumped me was looking at my phone.”

“Um, yeah. That’s why we checked it for prints.”

“I think I know what he was looking for. Sort of.”

“I’ll bite. What was it?”

“If you recall, the last app open was my calendar.”

“Which you couldn’t remember if you opened yourself or not.”

“I’m going with not.”

“Then he was trying to figure out your upcoming schedule?”

“Maybe, maybe not. Joan said something that got me thinking. My calendar holds a lot of information.”

“I hate to break it to you, but that’s not a new thing. And it worries me that you didn’t realize that until Joan told you.”

“She didn’t tell me. She just got me thinking—what if the guys who grabbed my phone were trying to find out something about someone I had an appointment with?”

“Like who?”

“I have no idea.”

“So, what you’re telling me is that you’ve had an epiphany that provides no useful information.”

“Do you enjoy throwing water over my brilliant insights?”

“I don’t think you want to know the answer to that.”

“Hold on. Let me take a quick look at my calendar and see if something pops out to me.”

“I do have actual police department business I need to attend to.”

“Oh, all right. I’ll tell you later if I find anything.”

“You can tell me at dinner.”

“ If Tamlyn doesn’t mind.”

“What’s to mind? She loves my company.”