“Indeed,” said Meadows. “But you’d better serve the others first. Left to my own devices, I’d eat the whole thing.”

“And you know what you’d be saying tomorrow,” said Brody.

“What’s that?”

Brody lowered his voice and said gravely, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”

Meadows and Dorothy laughed, and Hooper said, in a high falsetto whine, “No, Ralph, I ate it.” Then even Ellen laughed. It was going to be all right.

By the time dessert was served—coffee ice cream in a pool of crème de cacao—Brody was feeling well. He had two helpings of ice cream, and he chatted amiably with Dorothy. He smiled when Daisy told him a story about lacing the stuffing at last Thanksgiving’s turkey with marijuana.

“My only worry,” said Daisy, “was that my maiden aunt called Thanksgiving morning and asked if she could come for dinner. The turkey was already made and stuffed.”

“So what happened?” said Brody.

“I tried to sneak her some turkey without stuffing, but she made a point of asking for it, so I said what the heck and gave her a big spoonful.”

“And?”

“By the end of the meal she was giggling like a little girl. She even wanted to dance. To Hair yet.”

“It’s a good thing I wasn’t there,” said Brody. “I would have arrested you for corrupting the morals of a maiden.”

They had coffee in the living room, and Brody offered drinks, but only Meadows accepted. “A tiny brandy, if you have it,” he said.

Brody looked at Ellen, as if to ask, Do we have any? “In the cupboard, I think,” she said.

Brody poured Meadows’ drink and thought briefly of pouring one for himself. But he resisted, telling himself, Don’t press your luck.

At a little after ten, Meadows yawned and said, “Dorothy, I think we had best take our leave. I find it hard to fulfill the public trust if I stay up too late.”

“I should go, too,” said Daisy. “I have to be at work at eight. Not that we’re selling very much these days.”

“You’re not alone, my dear,” said Meadows.

“I know. But when you work on commission, you really feel it.”

“Well, let’s hope the worst is over. From what I gather from our expert here, there’s a good chance the leviathan has left.” Meadows stood up.

“A chance,” said Hooper. “I hope so.” He rose to go. “I should be on my way, too.”

“Oh, don’t go!” Ellen said to Hooper. The words came out much stronger than she had intended. Instead of a pleasant request, they sounded a shrill plea. She was embarrassed, and she added quickly, “I mean, the night is young. It’s only ten.”

“I know,” said Hooper. “But if the weather’s any good tomorrow, I want to get up early and get into the water. Besides, I have a car and I can drop Daisy off on my way home.”

Daisy said, “That would be fun.” Her voice, as usual, was without tone or color, suggesting nothing.