“As I shall be very glad to see her,” he said warmly. Then he bowed in that stiff European manner that reminded of another doctor I knew—Dr. Birnbaum, my alienist friend from Vienna. Splendid, I thought. Why hadn’t I considered him before? He was a native German speaker and I remembered that he also spoke Hungarian. He could translate for me and I wouldn’t have to wait for Leopold’s bumbling attempts. Thus I quickened my step to the nearest Second Avenue El station and was soon heading south. As usual it was sweltering and uncomfortable in the carriage and I was glad when I could disembark at Eighth Street and then faced the long walk across town back to Washington Square.

Dr. Birnbaum kept a suite at the Hotel Lafayette, just off the square and across from the university. I asked for him and was met with a blank response. “I’m sorry, there is no gentleman here of that name,” the clerk said.

“But I saw him a few days ago,” I said. “Could you find out where he might have gone?”

The clerk shrugged but went through into a back office, bringing with him another young man whom I recognized. “I’m afraid Dr. Birnbaum has given up his rooms here,” he said.

“Oh, I see. Did he leave a forwarding address?”

“I’m afraid not.”

I was beginning to feel that I might explode. “Surely he left an address for forwarding his mail?”

“I understand he made arrangements with the post office.”

“Thank you,” I said through my teeth, then remembered that someone in the hotel might know. Instead of returning to the street I made for the staircase, much to the surprise of the two clerks, I expect. I knocked on Ryan O’Hare’s door and it was finally opened by a bleary-eyed Ryan, still in his emerald-green and peacock-blue robe.

“Molly,” he muttered. “Why do you always have to come to visit me so confoundedly early?”

“It’s ten o’clock, Ryan,” I said.

“As I said, confoundedly early. You know I am not at my best before luncheon.” He sighed. “Well, I suppose you had better come in. What can I do for you, or have you come to cheer me up?”

“I’ve come for information,” I said.

“You only come to see me when you need something. How callous of you,” he said. “Very well. What is it?”

“Dr. Birnbaum,” I said. “Do you know where he’s gone?”

“Never mention that man’s name to me again,” Ryan said bitterly. “We are no longer on speaking terms. I hope he’s gone to the ends of the earth. In fact I hope he falls off the end of the Earth.”

I tried not to smile, in spite of everything. “So you and he had a falling-out?”

“You knew that. He decided that I was not helpful to his reputation and his career.”