happened in town, not up here.”
“That’s good news.”
“If a siren’s ever good news.”
“Right.”
ELEVEN
That evening, conversation was a little subdued in the Broken Binding. Even Tina Montero, who was a look-on-the-bright-side kind of individual capable of facing almost anything with a lipsticked smile and a glass of chardonnay, wasn’t her usual upbeat self.
Word on the street was that Harper Stone had gone missing.
Jack, the highly professional bartender who’d been here since the Germans and was more a fixture than the walnut bar itself, leaned up against the cash register, folded his arms across his chest, and chewed his lip. “I don’t know,” he said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“People don’t just disappear that way,” said Tina.
“Especially not a capable guy like him.” He shook his head. “I mean, come on. It’s Harper Stone.”
“You don’t know,” said Tina.
Jack raised an eyebrow. “I guess you’re right. The guy could be a pansy. Or maybe he just went soft.” He patted his little belly. “We all do, sooner or later.”
“Going soft doesn’t have anything to do with disappearing into thin air.”
“I’m just saying you’d think a guy like that would know how to take care of himself, whatever happened.”
“Whatever happened. That’s the question.”
“You’re right. There’s no telling.”
“He was there one minute and gone the next.”
“Maybe somebody kidnapped him.”
Tina laughed and drained her glass. “Sure. That happens all the time around here.”
“I’m just saying.”
“You’re right. Anything’s possible.” She was quiet for a minute, thinking. “Then there’s the drugs.”
Jack wobbled his head from side to side, watching the light in the foyer change as the front door swung open and people came in stamping their feet. “I don’t know about that drug stuff. That’s just a rumor.”
“It’s all just rumors.”
“I’m saying don’t believe everything you hear, is all.”
“I’ll believe anything.”
He rubbed his jaw, rueful. “Not me. You don’t succeed in this world the way Harper Stone did without being a pretty square guy.”
“You’d be surprised.”
He refilled her glass. “You sound like you’d know.”
“Six degrees of separation and all that.”
“What do you mean by that?” Jack asked, watching Stacey head out among the tables to take orders. It was the TV crew, and if the mood in the Binding was subdued they looked ready to bring it down a little more. “What do you mean ‘six degrees of separation’?”
“You know. The Kevin Bacon thing.”
“I know that. I’ve heard about six degrees of separation.” He put the bottle back in the fridge under the bar. “How do you suppose Kevin Bacon got mixed up in that, anyhow? He’s another one.”
“Another one what?”
“Another Hollywood guy. That’s all. How’d he get mixed up in it?”
“In what?”
“In that six-degrees business.”
“I think because it rhymes, is all.”
“Really?” He tilted his head, trying it out to himself. “As simple as that?”
“As simple as that.”
“You think he knows Harper Stone?”
“Within six degrees,” she said, “there’s no question about it. That’s the whole point of the game, isn’t it? Nobody’s that much of a stranger to anybody else.”
* * *
The crew would be headed home in the morning, there was no way around that. With Stone gone wherever he’d gone, their work was finished. They all looked pretty glum. Not that anybody missed him in particular, but you didn’t expect things to end this way. It was all very dissatisfying.
Manny Seville was at one end of the long table, waving his hands around and telling Karen and Brian that he’d had another look at the footage during the snowstorm and complaining that he wasn’t sure he had enough decent stuff to make the commercial work. Brian was giving him a disgusted look that said he’d damned
“That’s good news.”
“If a siren’s ever good news.”
“Right.”
ELEVEN
That evening, conversation was a little subdued in the Broken Binding. Even Tina Montero, who was a look-on-the-bright-side kind of individual capable of facing almost anything with a lipsticked smile and a glass of chardonnay, wasn’t her usual upbeat self.
Word on the street was that Harper Stone had gone missing.
Jack, the highly professional bartender who’d been here since the Germans and was more a fixture than the walnut bar itself, leaned up against the cash register, folded his arms across his chest, and chewed his lip. “I don’t know,” he said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“People don’t just disappear that way,” said Tina.
“Especially not a capable guy like him.” He shook his head. “I mean, come on. It’s Harper Stone.”
“You don’t know,” said Tina.
Jack raised an eyebrow. “I guess you’re right. The guy could be a pansy. Or maybe he just went soft.” He patted his little belly. “We all do, sooner or later.”
“Going soft doesn’t have anything to do with disappearing into thin air.”
“I’m just saying you’d think a guy like that would know how to take care of himself, whatever happened.”
“Whatever happened. That’s the question.”
“You’re right. There’s no telling.”
“He was there one minute and gone the next.”
“Maybe somebody kidnapped him.”
Tina laughed and drained her glass. “Sure. That happens all the time around here.”
“I’m just saying.”
“You’re right. Anything’s possible.” She was quiet for a minute, thinking. “Then there’s the drugs.”
Jack wobbled his head from side to side, watching the light in the foyer change as the front door swung open and people came in stamping their feet. “I don’t know about that drug stuff. That’s just a rumor.”
“It’s all just rumors.”
“I’m saying don’t believe everything you hear, is all.”
“I’ll believe anything.”
He rubbed his jaw, rueful. “Not me. You don’t succeed in this world the way Harper Stone did without being a pretty square guy.”
“You’d be surprised.”
He refilled her glass. “You sound like you’d know.”
“Six degrees of separation and all that.”
“What do you mean by that?” Jack asked, watching Stacey head out among the tables to take orders. It was the TV crew, and if the mood in the Binding was subdued they looked ready to bring it down a little more. “What do you mean ‘six degrees of separation’?”
“You know. The Kevin Bacon thing.”
“I know that. I’ve heard about six degrees of separation.” He put the bottle back in the fridge under the bar. “How do you suppose Kevin Bacon got mixed up in that, anyhow? He’s another one.”
“Another one what?”
“Another Hollywood guy. That’s all. How’d he get mixed up in it?”
“In what?”
“In that six-degrees business.”
“I think because it rhymes, is all.”
“Really?” He tilted his head, trying it out to himself. “As simple as that?”
“As simple as that.”
“You think he knows Harper Stone?”
“Within six degrees,” she said, “there’s no question about it. That’s the whole point of the game, isn’t it? Nobody’s that much of a stranger to anybody else.”
* * *
The crew would be headed home in the morning, there was no way around that. With Stone gone wherever he’d gone, their work was finished. They all looked pretty glum. Not that anybody missed him in particular, but you didn’t expect things to end this way. It was all very dissatisfying.
Manny Seville was at one end of the long table, waving his hands around and telling Karen and Brian that he’d had another look at the footage during the snowstorm and complaining that he wasn’t sure he had enough decent stuff to make the commercial work. Brian was giving him a disgusted look that said he’d damned
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