“Literary,” Jimmy says.“Merchant of Venice.”
Bernstein raises an eyebrow. “Wow. A literary former flatfoot.”
“Now who’s doing the insulting?”
Bernstein sips more tea. Jimmy watches him do it, thinking the guy is as neat with his mannerisms as he is with his clothes.
“You must want something from me,” Bernstein says, “or we wouldn’t be here.”
“I need to have another meeting with Sonny,” Jimmy says. “He can pick the time and the place. He can even stop by my house and surprise me, the way he did last time.”
“Very generous of you,” Bernstein says. “But I can’t make that happen.”
“Can’t?” Jimmy says. “Or won’t even make the ask?”
“Both,” Jed Bernstein says.
“Sonny told me he thinks we can help each other,” Jimmy says. “And I’ve come up with some information that he’s going to see as helpful.”
“Pass it along to me and I’ll pass it along to him.”
“Not happening,” Jimmy says.
Bernstein grins. “Because you can’t, or you won’t?”
“Both,” Jimmy says. “But what I can share with you is this: If Sonny finds out this information didn’t get to him because of you?” Jimmy shrugs. “Well, at that point I wouldn’t want tobeyou.”
Bernstein looks down at the menu in front of him. If he’s shocked by the price of the eggs Benedict, he manages to hide it.
He looks back at Jimmy and says, “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Do it quickly,” Jimmy says.
“And you could have done all this with a phone call,” Bernstein says, “instead of driving all the way in here.”
“I like looking people in the eye,” Jimmy says. “It’s a cop thing.”
“Happy for you.”
“There is one other thing you can pass along to Sonny for me,” Jimmy says.
“And what’s that?”
“I want you to tell him that what happened to the real estate guy, and to that flower lady in Bridgehampton, can’t happen to Jane Smith’s ex-husband.”
“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Jimmy smiles across the table at him. “See there, that’s why I like to look people in the eye, so I can decide for myself when they’re full of shit.”
Bernstein gives Jimmy a bored look.
Jimmy thinks:How many fake tough guys like this have I met in my life?
“Happy for you,” Bernstein says again. “Truly.”
Jimmy says, “Tell Sonny that if anything happens to Martin Elian, he and I are going to have a problem.”
Bernstein laughs. “You think you’re going to scare off Sonny Blum?”
