Myer

ft envelope on Frazier's mahogany desk on

for the study thick with his residual cedar s

he cold night wind filled my coat, yet my c

booked ten minutes ago, where the driver wore

ore. No radio, no air freshener,

reement and wear a collar one le

in this city who cannot get into an ordinary taxi withou

said, watching the lit windows of the C

on the next red-eye flight back to The Union headq

ck against the leather headrest, and close

e tarmac in The Union, and I rolled my suitcase

e address of the downtown penthouse apartment w

out and walked through the lobby, giving only a brief

top floor, keyed in the passkey, and pushed

uite, I slid open the walk-in closet doors and looked

orage room and began packing my plain everyday cl

my handwritten drafts for the CUAP neural compilation

klace Frazier had bought to display me as h

hem out to the center of the living room, and walk

throat, clearing the fatigue from

ned it on; the screen was completely blank, wit

one onto the marble island and walked to the floo

cent match report and five years of suffocating marriag

penthouse key fob off the wall hook, and dr

ate elevator hall, I listened to the s

r Hodg

udy with a cup of freshly brewed black coffee in my hand,

es caught a plain, unmarked kraft envelope

nd reached out to pick up the envelope just as

on the screen and swiped to answer, immediate

g room quick! Grayce's forehead i

e study, the back of my hand struck the kraft envelo

barked at Martha Tucker, the Beta n

around right now. We're takin

epped into the study with a cl

gh the half-open study door just in time to see Martha spot the unm

bottom desk drawer, and tossed it

Martha muttering to herself as she wiped down the empty desktop