If there had been any such peculiar development in connection with the stock of the company, you wanted to get in on it, isnt that right? They were finished with their sole and contemplating dessert when Stones cell phone rang. What will you do now? Oh, I could. But the old mans scared hes gonna get laid off and my little daughters next pageant dress is gonna cost me a lot more than the last one, so I just can’t take a chance. If my old man gets laid off and Gil decides to fire my ass, my whole family’s in a world of hurt.’ Mason grinned at Della Street.Okay, Della, lets go back to our office and wait this one out. Then Ill buy you dinner. There was a back porch. In the shadows I could see return cartons of Diet Pepsi cans. A pair of skis. I flipped on the light and checked for any traces of struggle. None. There was no garage. There was also no car. Lights on, fire going, desk lamp burning and car gone. One of my men got there and saw the scratches on th» inside of that paneled closet door. He said you could where the dog had been in a perfect frenzy, trying to out. The scratches were all so fresh that there were still little splinters hanging to the places where the claw marks cut across die panels. Rather a nice house? The man called Patton said,I saw you walk back to the office with him. You were in there long enough to give him one. Mayflower bagged on me. He was not completely surprised when the route took them to Manhattan. The BMW finally stopped in front of a brownstone on the Upper East Side after sliding into a permit-only space. WASP walked up to the door, unlocked it, and went inside. No, I asked around. It seems they really just talked to you, at least more than once. And you knew Sara. Youmay be fighting to save your life, Mason warned. Youve been mixed up in a murder. You told me a story that isnt going to sound very convincing to the police. I know. But are there other ways for them to come after me? Sam told me about you finding her and then mentioned you were up here replacing some lights. He nodded his knobby bald head to the TV set above us.Id rather watch it but you know how much those bastards want to come out here and fix it? Hell, it aint more than ten years old or so. He stared down at her. She looked very small in her two-inch satin pumps. And he looked very big in his cheap suit. Stone told him all of it, and Lance sent an e-mail with James Weavers name in it. We cast a wider net than the police departments, he said, sipping his coffee. He sighed deeply, nodded again, slumped a little in his chair, and turned slightly so that he could look out the window.No, he said softly, “it isnt, is it? A waiter stepped up to the table, as if summoned..