If Panko was back in Buffalo and he was still in the illicit businesses that had sent him to prison, this was an environment where he would feel at ease. He wouldn’t be likely to meet any of his business associates or the purchasers of his false identities in a place like this. It was too quiet and tasteful. It was also too expensive for an honest cop to visit very often.

While Leah watched for the return of the bartender or the approach of Panko, she also devised a plan to glance at the reservation book for the names of any of the Varga cousins. They would be even more likely than Panko to haunt nice restaurants, because during the years he was in prison, they were still here making money, and they still had no reason to think anyone might be searching for them.

Her eyes passed over a very young couple as they came in the door and then returned to them. They were both well dressed, and the girl was pretty. The maître d’ listened to the boy’s name, looked at the reservation list, and then told the hostess which table; she led them there and gave them menus. Leah tried to guess. It was too late for graduation, and there weren’t any holidays in the summer after the Fourth of July. It might be the girl’s birthday. Or it might be one of the many anniversaries that young girls feel should be marked, even if the boy didn’t seem like anything to celebrate.

Leah saw the bartender coming and accepted her gin and tonic. Then she glanced up at the mirror again and watched a waiter come to the table where the new couple was seated. They looked up from their menus to order drinks. The waiter smiled apologetically at the girl and asked what Leah knew was “Can I see some ID?”

The girl opened her purse and handed him what appeared to be a driver’s license. He looked at the picture on it, looked at her again, turned the license over, and then said, “I’ll be right back.”

The girl looked alarmed, and that interested Leah. After she had scanned the room for Panko again, she let her eyes return to the young couple. The waiter was back with an older man, who was holding the driver’s license. He handed it back to the girl and said something.

Leah slipped off her bar stool and stepped away from the bar. She was carrying her drink, and as she walked, her eyes passed over the girl, but she kept walking toward the ladies’ room.

Leah and the young girl stood in front of the big wall mirror, freshening their makeup. Leah moved her eyes slightly to her left to look at the girl’s face in the reflection. “Fake ID, huh?” She smiled. “I got caught at that.”