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Back A Small Town Save as PDF
Chapters (44)
  1. Cover
  2. Also by Thomas Perry
  3. THOMAS PERRY
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. Back Cover

There was a dark blue dress that looked elegant on her. It was short, but it flowed, and it emphasized her blond hair and long legs. The style made her feel like somebody important—maybe a diplomat. The other outfit was a pair of tight black pants, a black jacket that was cut like a sport coat, and a dark gray silk blouse. She looked at herself in the two outfits and then hung the elegant blue dress on the dressing room hook. The woman at the store said, “I hate to see you put this back. It’s perfect for you. If it’s the money, we have very flexible credit terms.”

Leah said, “It’s not the money. It’s the time. If I take them both, then tonight I’ll waste time putting on that one first. But what I’ll wear is this one.”

15

She was out for the evening and she was glad now that she had not been tempted to get the blue dress too. It was interesting, she thought, how having an unlimited supply of other people’s money made self-indulgence seem like a real option. As she walked, she let her mind settle into its police mode, and her eyes began to scan. This section of Buffalo looked promising to her. It was full of people just out of a revival of Sunday in the Park with George that was playing at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, and a lot of people were heading for bars and restaurants.

She followed a promising-looking group to Le Saucier on Delaware. The online restaurant reviews listed it as one of the best restaurants in the city. Leah was not convinced that Viktor Panko would be interested in that kind of restaurant, but she knew that most women would, and he probably knew it too.

Leah got to the door after a stream of couples and waited her turn for the maître d’ to seat her. She could see that a table for one would require a wait, so she headed to the bar. The bartender was tall, so he seemed to think they were both part of a secret society of tall people, and he took her order for a gin and tonic right away.

While she waited, she studied the room in the big mirror over the bar. She approved Le Saucier as a good place to start the evening. The food was expensive, and people were dressed well enough to assure her that the evening wouldn’t end in a bar fight.