16Traffic on the Grand Central Parkway was less congested than Loreley had supposed, so she would arrive at Sonny’s place quite a bit earlier.
She left the main road and took a secondary one, driving deeper through trees and shrubs that not even the approach of winter had left completely bare. The faint rays of the setting sun exalted the orange-red colours of the leaves, and seemed to give them a life of their own.
Loreley opened the window just a c***k and breathed in the crisp air, which smelled of damp earth and wet wood. The sky was clearing again.
After passing the "Welcome to Garden City" sign, Loreley followed the directions of the GPS until she arrived at a large wrought-iron gate.
Before she had even let Sonny know she had arrived, the snap of the lock and a buzz announced th
