The Bootleggers Read Free Page B

hour later, Stone zigzagged his way through the maze of tables and chairs.
Many of them had been overturned by customers when they scurried toward the exits after the
explosion. Close behind Stone were the three owners of The Bootleggers, being shepherded by
McKeever and another uniformed officer. Everyone but Stone continued toward the Back Room.
He headed straight for Maurice and me.
    We sat perched on adjoining stools at the bar, each of us nursing a mixed drink. At
the end of the bar, Margot's blond head rested sleepily on the polished wooden surface. The
bartender, a bodybuilder with black hair and a thick moustache, was entertaining himself by
stacking shot glasses into little pyramids. Across the room, the DJ was staring forlornly at the
remains of his water-soaked electronic gear. The last of the patrons had been questioned and
released, after the officers collected names, addresses and any other information they could
gather.
    Stone looked haggard and weary, but there was still fire in his eyes as stormed over
to where we were sitting. "Why did you leave—"
    "I needed to use the men's room," I lied. "I still do. But your merry men refuse to let
anyone go downstairs."
    "Me, too," Maurice chimed in, making a show of squirming uncomfortably on the bar
stool. In point of fact, over the course of the evening, we had both sneaked into the little private
bathroom located in the Back Room, but there was no way Stone could know that.
    "Tough!" he snarled. "The basement is off limits."
    I swiveled slowly and deliberately. "Let us use the men's room. From what I've
picked up sitting here, it's nowhere near the site of the bomb. Don't make a second foolish
mistake tonight."
    Catching the edge in my voice, Stone regarded me for a full fifteen seconds. Then he
jerked his head toward the staircase. "Go on, White. Larsen, you stay here. You can go when he
gets back."
    Maurice and I avoided exchanging glances. If Stone got even an inkling we were up
to something, he'd stop us dead in our tracks. Maurice carelessly grabbed his ski parka and
headed toward the stairs that led down to the basement.
    Stone leaned against the bar while I nursed my drink. After a while, I said, "I assume
you haven't found the missing object?" Since there were other people around, I deliberately
didn't say what object I was referring to.
    "You know damn well we haven't."
    "Too bad," I said in a sympathetic tone. I glanced meaningfully at my wristwatch.
"You're running out of time." Trying to make it sound casual, I commented, "Incidentally,
Maurice and I have a brief due on Thursday in Federal court. We'd like to use tomorrow morning
to—"
    "Tough! You stay put."
    Again, I gazed at my wrist watch, this time for a full ten seconds. "Tick tock, tick
tock."
    Knowing Stone, I figured he was going to explode at me. Instead, he just stood there,
looking agonized. That was a sign of how desperate he was getting. "It has to be here! One of
those three scumbags killed that busboy."
    "Tick tock, tick tock."
    "Stop that!" he said.
    Heaving an elaborate sigh, I said, "All right. I suppose I'm going to have to solve
another one of your cases for you." I added, "If, that is, you'll agree to let us go home. Especially
Maurice. I need him to pull our exhibits together."
    He worked his jaw three times before asking, "You know which one of those three
did it?"
    I smiled. "Have you thought about where the transmitter was when the bomb went
off?"
    "Of course, I have. It could have been anywhere."
    "Not anywhere," I said. "The murderer would want to be at a nice, safe distance.
Otherwise, he might blow himself up—or get trampled in the ensuing chaos. But he also had to
know when to set it off."
    Stone eyed me suspiciously. "Keep talking."
    I gestured toward the glass in front of me. "I'm having scotch and water. Would you
care to join me?"
    His face colored and he grabbed my shirt, pulling me to my feet. "Why you—"
    I didn't move a muscle. "Let go of me, Stone."
    He held