Lorraine flashed her Hollywood smile. “It’s marvelous. Couldn’t be better.”

The greeter nodded. “I’m so pleased. May I be of assistance to you in any way?”

“Could you get us a cab?”

He smiled. “Why on earth would you want to leave your home away from home, especially during the blackout? Why not stay here and enjoy a meal in our air-conditioned lounge? Our piano player just got here. He is taking requests.”

Lorraine wanted to scream but kept smiling. “We’re both actors. We want to feel the pulse of the city on a night like this. With any luck, one of these days we’ll be in a movie about a blackout. If we don’t go out now, what experience would we have to draw on?” She tilted her head flirtatiously.

Bowing slightly, the greeter replied, “Of course. And I do hope that, should you play such a role in the future, you mention that you were able to come back to the Treetops Hotel and relax in luxurious comfort after you completed your research.” He sounded as if he were reciting a line from a canned speech.

“I’ll make sure the Treetops Hotel is listed in the closing credits,” Lorraine laughed. “Now how about that cab?”

“At your service. Your wish is my command.”

Lorraine and Clay followed him out onto the sidewalk in front of the hotel. The only lights were from the headlights of the cars that were slowly passing by, none of them cabs. The greeter blew his whistle over and over, ever more frantically, but it was all in vain.

There were no cabs anywhere.

“Can you call us a car service?” Lorraine asked.

“I tried before for someone else. None of them are answering their phones.”

“Most luxury hotels have some sort of car that they use to transport guests around town,” Lorraine said. “Don’t you have one of those?”

The greeter looked personally wounded. “We weren’t expecting to open tonight. We have a limited staff,” he said defensively. “The employees of the Treetops Hotel are doing their best to ensure your comfort under these conditions.”

Lorraine reached in her purse and pulled out a ten dollar bill. “I know you are. We’ll walk. Don’t worry.”

The hurt look vanished as the greeter stuffed the bill in his pocket. “We look forward to welcoming you back to your home away from home.”

Not as much as I look forward to getting back, Lorraine thought. “Clay, let’s walk over to Fifth Avenue and see if we have any luck.”

“Your wish is my command,” Clay muttered as they started along Central Park South. The street was dark and fairly quiet. There weren’t many people out. On Fifth Avenue there wasn’t a cab to be had. They might as well have been standing out in a cow pasture.

“Let’s start walking,” Clay suggested.

Lorraine groaned. Within two blocks, her feet were aching again. She was wearing her five inch heels, the ones she’d put on in her hotel in England. It was hard to believe that that was less than twenty hours ago.