Proof Positive: A Joe Gunther Novel (Joe Gunther Series) by Archer Mayor Page B

the street, instinctively looking around for any suspicious signs of life. This was Manhattan, of course, so that standard had to be flexible, but the time of night helped—there was little activity of any sort visible. And it was cold. Even the hotel’s doormen were out of sight, probably smoking in the break room.
    Frank leaned back into the car and looked across the front seat. “You coming?”
    “I have a choice?”
    Frank slammed the door, muttering to himself, “We should be married, for Christ’s sake.”
    He waited for his sidekick to join him before they headed into the hotel lobby.
    They didn’t stop at the desk or pause on their way to the distant bank of elevators. They knew where they were going, even though they had never been here before. That was the whole point: to meet rarely and to do so in a new place—even a new state—every time.
    They rode to the top floor. Frank gave that much to this particular client: He knew how to live.
    The penthouse suites were in fact large apartments, so the room they were let into by a noncommunicative butler was a full-fledged lobby. Looking around, Neil let out a low whistle, which just further irritated Frank.
    The butler gestured to them to follow him, which they did through a living room, past a bar and a small kitchen, and into a dark office lighted solely by a lamp on the corner of an expansive hardwood desk. Through the windows, they could see a panorama of the city’s lights—the Milky Way brought down to earth and spread out for display.
    At the desk sat an older man in a suit, watching them. “Jonathan,” he demanded of the butler, who lingered in the doorway. “What the hell are you standing around for?”
    “Will you be wanting coffee or anything else, sir?” was the bland reply, delivered with the slightest of bows.
    The man shook his head with disgust. “I know to ask for something when I want it, for Christ’s sake.” He flicked his hand impatiently. “We’re fine. Leave.”
    “Very good, sir.” The butler disappeared, closing the door behind him.
    His employer pointed to two chairs across from the desk. “Sit.”
    Frank nodded. “Senator,” he greeted the man, and took one of the chairs. Neil remained silent as he joined them.
    “Tell me about the woman,” the senator ordered.
    “She was a dead end,” Frank reported.
    “Is that supposed to be funny?”
    Frank shook his head. “No. Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. She gave us nothing, and we tried everything we got.”
    The older man held up a hand. “Spare me. Overlooking that you came highly recommended and are costing me a fortune you aren’t earning, what are you suggesting as your next step?”
    Hoping that Neil would keep quiet, Frank said lightly, “We have a plan, but I thought you didn’t want details, unless that’s changed.”
    “They only change if you feed me a line of bullshit.”
    Frank sharpened his own tone a bit. “You asked us to find the lost ark. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be lost. We’re working our way up the line and we’re making progress. It’s not like this little project hasn’t cost us, too.”
    “You are doing your best to reduce the population, from what I understand.”
    “Senator—”
    But the latter cut him off. “Yes, yes. I get it. Fine. All I want to hear is that you’re getting somewhere. I’m sure you’ll find a way to bill me for all your inconveniences. Listen to me, Niles. This is very time sensitive. Will you get the job done?”
    “Yes,” Frank told him.
    Neil remained silent.
    The senator watched them without comment for a couple of ponderous seconds, and then dismissed them by looking away. “That’s all, then.”
    The two men filed out, led by the impassive butler.

 
    CHAPTER SIX
     
    Joe turned off the table saw and sighted along the edge of the board he’d just cut. He’d added a woodworking shop to his small rented house, which itself was attached to the rear of an old Victorian residence on Green