“So, to the task at hand . . .” He pulled out his phone and found a pair of readers in a drawer. “Here’s the information my assistant Tanesha sent me. She said this is the best assignment she’s worked on during my administration. Good to know that among my staff, romance is a higher priority than affordable housing,” Timmo joked. He read off his device, “‘The museum will shut down at six, so you can move your people in to do the setup in the sculpture garden. The regular guards will be there as well as a few members of the museum staff to make sure’—and I’m quoting here—‘the crazy ladies from California don’t steal anything.’ She confirms that the abundant sushi platter from the restaurant where they had their first date will be delivered on ice by six thirty.”

“How did you, or Tanesha, pull all this off?”

“Believe it or not, I am a well-liked powerful man and people do things for me. In turn, I do things for them. And when all else fails, I pay people. Out of my own account. That sushi isn’t free, you know.”

“I’ll cover the sushi.”

“Not on your life. This whole incident will make a very humanizing chapter in my memoir, which I am pitching now. My monster advance will cover the sushi.”

“As long as your motivations are pure.”

“As the driven snow. Chase and I will arrive by car at seven. I told him this fundraiser was for a cause very personal to me, but I didn’t want it on the books. And he had to come so I’d have someone to talk to and an excuse to leave early. When we get there, I’ll bluster about and take a call or two to kill some time until I get the all clear from Tanesha that everything is set up. I’m to pretend that I may have the wrong address or the date, that’s why the museum is empty. This will be my finest acting, I promise. We’ll head to the garden to pretend to do one last check for the fundraiser, where I assume you and your Widows will be waiting.”

“Oh, no! My group is supposed to be VIP tourists there for an after-hours tour and reception. We arrive at six forty-five and go directly to the galleries upstairs to stay out of view until you and Chase are in position. We’ve hired a Noguchi expert to give us a walk through the museum so Penny doesn’t get suspicious right off the bat. And before that, we’re doing a historical tour of Queens, so it’s clear that we are all in on Queens.”