Walden smirked and leaned back in his chair before crossing his legs with a grunt. “My vacation had no end date, but those new developments cut it short. Soon I was back in New York retracing my steps. I was instructed to go after anything that could contain a germ of iniquity: ex-girlfriends, gay bars near where he used to live, his old landlords, any place at all he frequented back in his finance days. Nothing was off limits.” He gave Rob a sidelong glance and then turned his attention toward the counter at the end of the mess hall and let out a booming exclamation. “Praise be! I knew that you would come through for me!”
Rob turned to find the source of the man’s sudden elation. Diane was approaching with a plate of ribs and a mix of mock resentment and slight embarrassment on her face.
