He thought he’d walk around a little bit, maybe hang around the St. Francis or Union Square, have a drink or two to kill time. He finished bathing and shaving in the bathroom, then walked back down the hall to his room. He’d run a comb through his thick black mass of wavy hair and was getting dressed in a dark blue single-breasted suit when the phone rang. It was Maria. “Tony?” “Yeah, honey. Who else you think’d be here?” She laughed, then said, “Tony, I’m sorry, but I can’t meet you at one. Something’s come up.” “The hell, I’m akeady gettin’ dressed up. What’s the matter?” “1 got to go to a party. It’s a real good thing for me—it’s up at Sharkey’s. You know, I mentioned him, he’s one of the big fellows. I’m lucky to get to go, Tony. There’s going to be four of us girls there, and Castiglio—he’s Sharkey’s man that’s got my district—told me they wanted the prettiest girls, and I’m supposed to be one of them.”
