Six
The taxi let me out in front of the Peraton Hotel. As I went up the steps to where the doorman waited for me, I glanced around and saw the sedan pull into a parking place a half block away. I went on into the lobby, stopping at the desk to see if there was any mail or any calls for me. There weren’t.
“I don’t suppose you’re the night clerk?” I asked the man behind the desk.
“No, sir. He’ll be here in about an hour and a half.”
“Thanks,” I said. I walked across the lobby to the bell captain. He was a short, stocky man who looked to be about thirty-five. I took a ten-dollar bill out of my pocket and folded it so the numerals still showed.
“I’d like to talk to you,” I said.
He glanced at the bill and took it all in the same movement. “That’s what I’m here for, sir,” he said.
“I und
