Chapter 88

The man was short, his body a glut of muscles, his hair thinning and sun-bleached. When he opened the door, he looked Henry over, mercilessly sizing him up, and then he smiled and said, “Come on in. My office is in the basement. I would love to have you over there. I would love to get to know you and the reason behind your visit to this my boring place.”

Henry’s skin prickled, an unease settling over him. There was something venal about the man’s thin-lipped face; he had the air of a man to whom corruption was familiar. He had the air of a man to whom kind gesture was an abomination.

“I am a pretty busy guy. By the way, I am Stone’s,” he said, gesturing to a chair in his cramped home office that smelled slightly of damp. “I assumed so from the look on your face and from the way the woman who made our lives a bit miserable out there looked at you when you arrived,” Henry said, wondering if what he had said would get him into trouble.

“You don’t have to worry about t