Miriam glanced at Brill. “It’s a she, and I think you’ll probably like her,” she said guardedly. “It’s part of that deal we made. I need you to put her up for a few weeks, on the company—I mean, I’m paying. Trouble is, she’s from, uh, out of state, if you follow me. She doesn’t know her way around at all.”

“Does she, like, speak English?” Paulette sounded interested rather than perturbed, for which Miriam was immensely grateful. Brilliana was toying with her coffee and pretending not to realize Miriam was discussing her, on an intimate basis, with a talking box.

“Yeah, that’s not a problem. But this morning was the first time she’d ever met an electric shower, and that is a problem for me, because I’ve got a lot of traveling to do in the next few weeks and I need to put her where someone can keep an eye on her as she gets used to the way things are done over here. Can you do that?”

“Probably,” Paulette said briskly. “Depends if she hates my guts on first sight—or vice versa. I can’t promise more than that, can I?”

“Well—” Miriam took a deep breath. “Okay, we’re coming up today on the train. You going to be home in the afternoon?”

“For you, any day! You’ve got a lot to tell me about?”

“Everything,” Miriam said fervently. “It’s been crazy.”

“Bye, then.”

Miriam put the phone down and rubbed her eyes. Brill was watching her oddly. “Who was that?” she asked.

“Who—oh, on the phone?” Miriam glanced at it. So Brill had figured out that much? Bright girl. “A friend of mine. My, uh, business agent. On this side.” She grinned. “For the past few days, anyway. We’re going to see her this afternoon.”

“‘Her’?” Brill raised an eyebrow. “All the hot water you want, no need to feed the fire, and women running businesses? No wonder my mother didn’t want me coming here—she was afraid I’d never come back!”

“That seems to go with the territory,” Miriam agreed dryly.

After breakfast she chivvied Brill into getting dressed again. Her tailored suit and blouse would blend into the background just fine: another business traveler in the heart of New York. Miriam thought for a moment, then picked another jacket—this time a dressy one rather than one built for bad weather. She’d have to keep her pistol in her handbag, but she’d look more in keeping with Brill, and hopefully it would distract any killers hunting for a lone woman in her early thirties with thus-and-such features.