Critical

Laurie thanked the woman for her help and rang off. For a moment, she sat at her desk and went over the conversation. She had to admit that the call had deepened the mystery, not solved it.

Suddenly remembering the time, she leaped up from her desk and dashed for the elevator. She was afraid she had once again kept Marvin waiting despite her promise not to do so.

CARLO FOLLOWED BRENNAN out of the electronics store on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. Bre

"I'm glad to see it started to rain," Carlo said, as he revved the engine before pulling out into the traffic.

"How come?" Bre

"Because there'll be less chance of people hanging around the marina. I don't want anyone seeing us hiding the thing on the boat. You know what I'm saying?"

Bre

"Hey!" Carlo demanded. He didn't like to be ignored. "Are you listening to me?"

"Sort of," Bre

"I'm talking about the rain and the marina. I asked you if you agreed it was to our advantage it was raining."

Bre

"Well?" Carlo questioned with irritation.

Bre

"What the hell!" Bre

"I was talking to you," Carlo yelled back. "You were ignoring me. I don't like to be ignored. It pisses me off."

Bre

"Don't hit me ever again," Bre

"Then don't ignore me when I'm talking to you," Carlo snapped back.

Bre

"I'm sorry I hit you," Carlo said after a few blocks. "Being ignored is a pet peeve of mine."

"Sorry to hear that," Bre

They drove in silence for a while, to Bre

"How long will it take to be online?" Bre

"Since I just got an okay on your credit card, I'm doing it as we speak."

Bre

Turning the laptop screen in Carlo's direction, he said, "It works. It shows us heading south."

"Impressive," Carlo said. "How does it work?"

"It would take too long to explain," Bre

"That's enough," Carlo said. His lack of knowledge of current electronic devices made him feel inadequate.

As usual, the traffic was bad going across town, and the rain, as light as it was, made it worse. The driving was stop-and-go the whole way.

Carlo's cell phone startled both of them. With a bit of a struggle, Carlo got it out and checked the caller ID. Satisfied, he accepted the call, put it on speakerphone, and nestled the phone into a cubby on the center console.

"What's up?" Carlo questioned

"Nothing," Arthur MacEwan said in his high-pitched, shrill voice that drove everybody nuts. "Absolutely nothing. We've been here for over two hours, and Franco Ponti's hog of a car hasn't moved an inch."

Arthur MacEwan and Ted Polowski were parked in the back of Joh

"Have you seen the Hawk?"

"Nope. No sign of Franco. We did see Vi

"How about scarface?"

"Haven't seen Angelo, either. We're getting tired of sitting here, and I'm wondering if it's a good idea. What if they spot us?"

"You've got a point, but you heard Louie this morning. He went nuts about them knocking off that girl last night after the hit the night before. Franco and Angelo are probably sleeping off their shenanigans. He wants them followed because he's trying to figure out what's going on, and if they do it again, he's going to let that detective know it's a Lucia problem and has nothing to do with the Vaccarros."

"Holy shit," Arthur said suddenly. Then he lowered his voice. "A blue van pulled up a second ago that says So

"At least you found them," Carlo said. "Now keep track of them. And concerning your worry about being spotted: Make sure you eat a sandwich or something to justify sitting there."

"Okay," Arthur said, without much enthusiasm.

Once Carlo and Bre

Carlo parked close to the water's edge and a good distance from the marina's sole building, where all the other cars were. Wasting no time, they stepped from the car and hustled out the pier. They stopped at the stern of Full Speed Ahead.

"I'll watch while you find a place to hide the device," Carlo said. He looked back toward the building. Not a soul had appeared.

Bre