“Lamb and veal,” she said. “The chicken looks good, also. The tandoori’s nice and hot.”

“Terrific.”

“Seafood?”

“Really, don’t go to any special trouble.”

“For you, nothing is trouble.”

When she was gone, I said, “I foresee a statue with your face on it over there, under the Delhi travel poster.”

“Nah, too fat for a god.”

“The happy Buddha?”

“Wrong religion.”

“How about the elephant deity, Ganesha?”

“You’re full of knowledge,” he said. “Got any about what we just saw between Fellinger and Ms. Pleather?”

“I didn’t pick up anything romantic or sexual but they seemed comfortable with each other.”

“Coupla lawyers doing business?”

“Maybe that’s all it was. On the other hand, they both have offices in the building, why confer in the parking lot? Maybe because Sullivan had used it before when she wanted to avoid notice.”

“Getting her pleather fix.”

“Clandestine drop-offs that drew Frankie DiMargio there. Same for Kathy Hennepin, who came to drop off documents. Both were tagged as prey and maybe Sullivan played a role in it.”

“Couple of outwardly respectable types using the workplace as a hunting ground? What about Ursula?”

“Ursula didn’t need to be lured, she walked right into it,” I said. “Yes, outwardly, she was different, but something doomed her. I’m still betting on her breaking off the relationship with Fellinger.”

“Prize pet tries to escape and gets put down,” he said.

“Fellinger and Sullivan are both partners in high-level law firms, used to having authority. That fits being able to get Frankie to discontinue her cell phone account and withdraw totally. Frankie told her sister about a new person in her life. Soon after, she’s off the grid.”

“Change of slaves from Kathy to her. The novelty wore off?”

“Or Frankie ruined the game by asserting herself,” I said.

“You hurt my feelings, I stop your breathing.” He crunched a cracker to dust, brushed crumbs from his shirt. “Not only did Frankie drop her phone account; I spoke to her mother and she’s been using cash for a while. No credit cards for two years because her parents thought she couldn’t stay out of debt, found it cheaper to just give her money.”

“So maybe her allowance got augmented by her ‘new person.’ ”

“Same old story, pay to play.”

The bespectacled woman carried over a platter piled high with animal protein and placed it in front of Milo ceremoniously.

When we were alone again, he shook his head. “Time for Ganesha to feast … not sure I have an appetite.”

I said, “Don’t disillusion me.”

Midway through some marathon eating, he paused for breath. “No cameras in the damn tier. Fellinger and Sullivan would know that. You’re right, it is a perfect place for a conference about something other than work because no one spotting them would think anything out of the ordinary. And two psychos would make it easier to subdue victims.”