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The registration desk ran the width of the lobby, but there was no one in evidence No reception clerk, no bellman, no painters at work The silence had a quality about it that causedthe second-floor gallery There was no one visible Shadows hung a the eaves like spiderwebs Wide, carpeted hallways extended on either side of the desk back into the gloomy depths of the hotel I waited a decent interval in the silence No one appeared I pivoted, doing a one-eighty turn while I surveyed the place Tiht

Casually, I a no sound on the densely carpeted floors Halfway down the hall, glass-paned doors opened into a vast se room with a wooden floor, furnished with countless round oak dining tables andladder-backed chairs I crossed to the bay s on the far side of the roolass, I saw the tennis players leave the courts, headingdoors down to th of the room and peered into the hotel kitchen A dull illuainst the expanses of stainless-steel counter Stainless-steel fixtures, chrome, old linoleum Heavy white crockery was stacked on open shelves The rooht have been a museum exhibit-the "moderne" style revisited, the kitchen of the future, circa 1966 I moved back toward the corridor The le for ed crack, I saw Mrs Dunne pass in a tennis outfit, racket under one ars about as shapely as a pair of Doric columns, capped by the rily fro one calf like a vine Not one strand of her white-blond hair was out of place I assuone in a flash, voices receding The only impression I had of him was of curly white hair, pink skin, and portliness

As soon as they’d disappeared fro place and returned to the lobby A woistration desk Her gaze flicked toward the corridor when she saw e, but she was apparently too schooled in proper desk-clerk behavior to quiz me about where I’d been

"I was just having a look around," I said "I may want to book a room"

"The hotel’s closed for three ain April first"

"Do you have a brochure?"

"Certainly" She reached under the counter, auto one She was in her thirties, probably with a degree in hotelher professional training in a place that slanced at the pamphlet she’d handed me, a match for the one I’d seen at the motel

"Is this Dr Dunne around? I’d like to talk to him"

"He just came in from the tennis courts You must have passed him in the hall"

I shook my head, baffled "I didn’t see anyone"

"Just a "

She picked up an in-house telephone, turning away from me so I couldn’t read her lips while she murmured to someone on the other end She replaced the receiver "Mrs Dunne will be right out"

"Great Uh, do you have a rest room close by?"

She pointed toward the corridor to the left of the desk "Second door down"

"I’ll be right back"

I was telling a little fib The ht I race-walked down the corridor to the far end where it met a transverse corridor with administrative offices on either side All of them were empty except for one A nice brass plaque identified it as Dr Dunne’s I went in He didn’t sees, and I could hear the patter of a shower being run behind a door marked Private I took the liberty of a stroll around his desk while I waited for hi his papers, but there was nothing of interest A detail man had been there and had left so literature The glossy color enlargee as the planet Jupiter Oh, barf Picture that sucker sitting in your gut

The file cabinets were locked I had hoped to explore his desk drawers, but I didn’t want to push et cranky when you snoop around like that I cupped one hand to oing to have a little chat