CHAPTER FORTY
I jogged through the outer office, grabbing a visitor’s chair from against the wall on my way out the entry door. I continued to the elevator, where I pressed the call button and heard the elevator start upwards to my floor. When it arrived, the doors opened. I stuck the chair in the opening. When the doors closed, they struck the chair and opened again. The elevator was out of commission as long as the chair blocked the doors.
Built in 1922, my building was originally a bank. Bankers, being notoriously thrifty, had asked for the installation of only one elevator shaft to save money. No one had ever thought to add another. During one of the many renovations, a contractor had removed the original external fire escape and added a stairwell at one end of the building. The only
