CHAPTER TWO
The restaurant was on First Avenue, midtown, right on the corner. As if fixing it in his sights, the cabdriver aimed the taxi at its wide glass doors. With a squeal of acceleration, which signaled the light had changed from red to green, Doug was thrust back against the grimy vinyl seat. The cab leaped forward like a springing animal, darting out ahead of the heavy noontime traffic. In a straight diagonal line which took them from one side of First Avenue to the other, the driver brought his cab to a sudden, bone crunching standstill, directly in front of the restaurant.
Turning casually, the thick-faced driver grinned at Doug through the thick plastic partition which separated the front and rear of the cab.
"Buck eighty-five."
Doug exhaled tightly, but forced himself not t
