S tone and Arrington were having breakfast in bed when Peter appeared, wearing a parka over a sweater and jeans, and carrying a leather tote bag. “Good morning,” he said, “I’m off to school.”
“Sweetheart,” Arrington said, “are you sure you don’t want us to drive you?”
“Oh, come on, Mom, I’m way beyond that. I’ll get the bus and walk a couple of blocks. I can’t be seen arriving at the front door in a Bentley.”
“He’s right, you know,” Stone said. “Did Joan give you your Metrocard, Peter?”
“Yep, I’m all set.”
“You need lunch money?”
“You gave me a hundred bucks a few days ago. I haven’t eaten my way through that, yet.”
“Okay, sport, go get ’em.”
Peter gave them a little wave and left.
“God,” Stone said, “I never thought I’d be sending a kid off to school.”
Arrington laughed. “Thank your lucky stars that you never had to change his diapers.”
“I thank my lucky stars.”
“What are we doing for dinner?”
“Meeting Dino and Ben at Elaine’s, what else?”
“You’re right, what else?” she said.
Kelli Keane and her friend from the mayor’s office, Bruce Sirowitz, arrived at Elaine’s at eight-thirty, and were given a decent table along the main wall, but near the back of the restaurant.
“Good work,” she said.
“It’s not my first time here,” Bruce replied.
They ordered drinks, and Kelli leaned out into the aisle and looked again at the tables up front. “They’re not here yet,” she said.
“Who’s not here?”
“Dino Bacchetti and Stone Barrington.”
“Bacchetti from the Nineteenth Precinct? He’s one of the mayor’s favorite cops.”
“He was at that wedding at what’s-his-name’s house on Christmas Day, wasn’t he?”
“Kelli, don’t start that again.”
“It was Barrington who got married that day.”
“You don’t know that. You know only that he got a license earlier.”
“It makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is who his wife is.”
“It was on the marriage license, wasn’t it?”
“Yes: Christine A. Carter. She’s a blank on Google for fifteen years. Wrote magazine pieces, did a profile of Vance Calder for the New Yorker. I think she may have married him.” She grabbed his wrist and squeezed. “I was right; here they come.”
Barrington, Bacchetti, a beautiful blonde, and two late-teen boys came into the restaurant together. The adults were seated up front, but the boys were given their own table farther back, a couple of tables from where Kelli and Bruce were seated.
“I think Mrs. Barrington was married to Vance Calder,” Kelli said.
“That’s quite a leap, given what you’ve got,” Bruce replied. “Anyway, she’s too young to have been married to Calder. He was in his seventies when he died, and that was years ago. I mean, look at her.”
“Wouldn’t be the first May-September romance in Hollywood,” Kelli said.
“Why are you obsessed with this?” Bruce asked.
“I’m thinking of doing a biography of Vance Calder,” she said.
“Good God, why?”
“Because there hasn’t been one for more than twenty years, and a lot happened to him late in life, like getting married, having a kid, and getting murdered. Did you know his wife was a suspect?”
“Where did you hear that?”
“From Prunella Wheaton.”
“How do you know her?”
“We work at the same paper, on the same floor,” she pointed out. “I just introduced myself, and we had a conversation about Vance Calder. She told me she fucked him, and that he was the best lay she ever had. She used exactly those words.”
“And she looks like such a lady.”
“She’s a tough old bird,” Kelli said.
“I don’t doubt it.”
“Excuse me for a moment,” Kelli said. She got up and walked over to where the two boys sat, drinking Cokes. “Hi, fellas,” she said. “My name’s Kelli. What’s yours?” To her surprise, both boys stood up.
“Hi, I’m Ben,” one of them said. “This is-”
“Joe,” the other said quickly.
“Glad to meet you both. Tell me, guys-”
Then Frank, one of the headwaiters, was positioning his large frame between Kelli and the table. “No, Kelli,” he said. “You don’t bother the customers.”
“Take it easy, Frank,” she replied, returning reluctantly to her own table.
“You’re lucky Elaine isn’t here yet,” Frank said, then walked away and positioned himself near the boys’ table.
“What was that all about?” Bruce asked.
“That was about me doing my job,” she replied.
“Well, stop doing your job,” Bruce said. “I don’t want to get thrown out of here and eighty-sixed.”
Two tables down, Ben said, “How come you told her your name is Joe?”
“She’s press,” Peter said. “I could have spotted her when I was six. Don’t ever talk to her.”
“Gee, I’d like to jump her,” Ben said.
“And she’d probably let you, for a story,” Peter replied. “But you’d regret it.”
“I don’t think so,” Ben said, sneaking another peek at her legs.
“Ben, you’re going to have to learn how that game is played,” Peter said. “You’re going to see a lot of it when we’re in the film business.”
“If you say so,” Ben replied.
“Didn’t you see what Frank just did? He rescued you from making an ass of yourself. You watch Gianni and Frank; they know who’s who around here.”
Frank came over. “I’m sorry about that,” he said.
“Who is she?” Ben asked.
“Kelli Keane. She works on Page Six at the Post. ”
“Didn’t I tell you?” Peter said.
“What did she ask you?” Frank asked.
“She wanted our names,” Peter said. “I lied to her.”
“You’re a smart boy,” Frank said, then went to meet some customers.
Ben sighed. “You were right,” he said, “but I’d still like to jump her.”