answering the phone. "Would you like to come by the office to talk?"
I blinked, surprised at the warmth in her voice. I expected her to be surly and insulting, or even cautious. "Yes, that would be great."
"If you could come now, it would fit well into my schedule. I have a meeting at three."
"I'll get a cab and join you..."
"Don't trouble yourself," she interrupted, "just tell me where you are and I'll send a car over. Austen said I should assist you in any way you need."
"Thank you!"
By the time I stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the agency, a black town car with tinted windows was idling at the curb. A man with black hair and a neat beard, dressed in a black suit and narrow black tie, stepped out and opened the door for me. "Ms. Graves?" he said, indicating he already knew my identity and was inviting me to get into the car.
"Thanks," I said, eager to enter as elegantly as I could, which would have gone so much better if I hadn't hit my head on the ceiling. The chauffeur pretended not to notice as he shut the door. While I buckled my seatbelt, he climbed into the driver's seat.
"If you would like some water or another beverage, you will find an assortment inside the central panel," he said, merging into the traffic before I could blink.
"Are you Austen's personal chauffeur?" I asked.
"I work exclusively for the firm but I am not his personal chauffeur as such," he explained. "The firm retains a small number of vehicles for the use of staff and clients when situations are not conducive for public transportation."
"Do you ever drive Austen?"
"Many times."
"What do you think of him?"
"He's a good boss," he said without hesitation.
"In what sense?"
"He remembers my name and never talks down to me. He even offered me other, more lucrative opportunities but mostly, I just like driving."
"What kind of opportunities?"
"He hired a tutor for any members of the staff who don't have a GED. I got mine. Some decide to take more college classes, which he also encourages, but like I said, I prefer driving. I'm good at it and I like being around cars."
"Have you met his wife, Sophie?"
"Ms. Halliday said you might ask that. I have. A lovely lady. A little shy. She helped my daughter with her art homework on several occasions."
"That was nice of her."
The chauffeur smiled. "She thought it was nice of my daughter to let her help. Mrs. Takahashi knows a lot about art. My daughter wishes her high school teachers were more like her. Here we are. Ms. Halliday will meet you in the lobby." The car drew up alongside a glass-fronted building with a central revolving door. The chauffeur got out and opened the door for me. Mercifully, this time, I managed not to whack my head. I thanked him for the ride and he smiled and nodded.
A few people milled around the lobby, looking relaxed, dressed in slacks and informal shirts and blouses. I didn't see any ties but a lot of smiles. I got the feeling this was a happy place to work, which made it better than ninety percent of the firms I temped for.
A tall woman, her black Afro peppered with gray and held back by a black band, was wearing mulberry pants and a pale pink blouse. She waited for me by the keycard machines that allowed access to the main building. She smiled when she saw me and walked forward, her hand outstretched. "Ms. Graves, thank you so much for coming. I appreciate your swift response on such short notice. I'm Katrina Halliday."
"It's no problem at all," I said, warming to her friendly demeanor and fabulous taste in clothing.
"I hope I can answer your inquiries. Austen has kept me pretty well informed of your investigation. I told him we should probably have spoken sooner but his mind has, naturally, been focused primarily on Sophie's wellbeing."
"You only came up as someone to speak to very recently," I told her as she swiped us through the machine. We took the stairs to the second floor and I followed her along a light-filled corridor.
"Austen mentioned his brother-in-law's accusations. I probably shouldn't have laughed but I did." She ushered me into an office and closed the door. Like the rest of the building, the walls were white, the carpet medium gray, and two wide windows overlooked a courtyard. A wall of glass with a door in the center,