“We can’t tell. We’ll have to see how she does with her own marriage. Wait a minute.” His thoughts had leapfrogged in another direction; he touched the intercom buttom. “Mike? What did Joan eat at the movie last night?”

“Let’s see. We skipped dinner and filled up there. I had chow mein sandwiches. She had a hot dog.”

“So did everybody else who is sick today, I’m sure. Steffie had two hot dogs and she can’t leave the house. Do you want to call Schwartzwald or shall I?”

“I’d better. If I tell him that your daughter is sick, it will scare him more than if you tell him yourself.”

“You’re right. Okay.” Leland released the button. To Mrs. MacIver, he said, “That skinny character you saw this morning is trying to beat us out of our fee. We did the work and now he wants us to settle for less. His iceboxes probably broke down and he’s been selling bad meat. You and I will have better luck at lunch. On the way out I’ll tell Florence about the souvenir book and, if you care to come back to the office, you can have it then. I’m going to look at it myself.”

She stood up. “Well see. How did you know that I saw that man? He was gone before you got here.”

“We have a Distant Early Warning System in this office. I knew you were here before I left home.”

She knew that he could have said that he had guessed. Her eyes shined. “You needed a warning for me?”

“No,” he said. “For your chubby friend.”

She put her hand on her stomach, then pulled it away quickly. “Oh, Mr. Miller! I’m so conscious of this.” She shook her head, blushing. “Tell me, is the restaurant far? I have to know before we leave.”

He laughed. “You’ll make it, don’t worry.”