The doorman looked at us uncertainly.

“Are you getting my cab?” I called at him. He shrugged and went outside with his whistle.

Ferrant followed me into the chilly night. He kept trying to take my arm and I kept pushing him aside. When the cab came I climbed in and told the driver to take me to my car.

“Yeah, well, where is your car?”

“In the garage,” I mumbled, and fell asleep.

Chapter 27

On Board the Dragon Ship

When I woke up, my head pounded uncomfortably and I felt sick. Bright sunlight was coming in through a window, blinding me. That didn’t make sense—I sleep with heavy drapes pulled across my windows. Someone must have broken in during the night and opened my curtains.

Holding my head with one hand, I sat up. I was on a couch in a strange room. My shoes, purse, and jacket were lying on a glass-topped coffee table next to me with a note.

Vic

I couldn’t get you to wake up long enough to tell me your address, so I brought you back here to the Hancock. I hope you find your proof.

R.F.

I staggered across the room and out into a carpeted hallway, looking for a bathroom. I took four aspirin from a bottle in the medicine chest and ran a hot bath in the long yellow tub. I couldn’t find any washcloths on the shelves, so I soaked a heavy hand towel in the water and wrapped it around my head. After about half an hour in the water I started feeling more like me and less like a carpet after spring cleaning. I couldn’t believe I’d gotten that drunk on one bottle of wine. Maybe I’d drunk two.

I wrapped myself in a dressing gown hanging on the back of the bathroom door and went on down the hallway to find a kitchen, a small but completely equipped room gleaming in white and stainless steel. A clock hung next to the refrigerator. When I saw the time I put my head next to the face to see if it was still running. Twelve-thirty. No wonder Ferrant had left me to go downtown.

Puttering around, I found an electric coffee maker and some canned coffee and brewed a pot. Drinking it black, I recalled last night’s events—the meeting with Paige and dinner with Ferrant. I dimly remembered trying to call the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. The reason why came back to me. Sober, it still sounded like a good idea.

Using a white wall phone next to the stove, I tried the Station again. This time a young man answered. I told him I was a detective, which he interpreted as meaning I was with the police. Many people think that and it helps not to disillusion them.