The Father Hunt

I told him it was nothing much this time. "Just a little chore. A man named Floyd Vance has an office at Four-ninety Lexington Avenue. He's a counselor, but not at law, at public relations, which as you know is a much newer profession. The chore is to ring him and tell him you have a client who is thinking of engaging his services, and you would like to send a man to discuss it with him. The name of the man is Saul Panzer, whose qualifications you know about. He can go any time, the sooner the better. I'm going out, but Saul will be here to take your call. You have the name? Floyd Vance."

"I have it. What if he wants particulars?"

"You're not prepared to give him any."

"That's a good way to put it. I am certainly not prepared. Give the genius my regards."

He meant it, but he knew I knew exactly what he would put in a long footnote. I dialed another familiar number to make another request and then went up to my room for a quick shave and change. The ten minutes before breakfast hadn't been enough.

It was too hot to walk the more than two miles to East Sixty-third Street, and anyway I had told Lily I

wouid be there by eleven-thirty. It was five minutes short of that when I pushed the button at the penthouse door and got a mild surprise when Mimi opened it. When I am expected at a certain hour it's nearly always Lily who comes, I think on account of some kind of a notion she has about a maid admitting a man who has a key. I have never tried to dope it. Other people's notions are none of my business unless they get in the way. Then I got a second mild surprise. I had told Lily on the phone that I wanted to see both her and Miss Denovo, but even so, why were they out on the terrace at that hour with a pitcher of iced tea when they should have been inside working? The penthouse was air-conditioned. Was Lily actually still… To hell with it. / was working. I moved another chair over, between them, sat, accepted an offer of tea with lime and mint, and said, "Don't mind my manners, I have a busy day ahead." I turned to Lily. "We're working on a problem for Miss Denovo. We've been on it-" "Archie! No."