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"I’ve heard of it," he said "It’s an online dating site But isn’t it for Jewish people?"

"So?"

"I never knew you were Jewish"

"Look at it this way, Keller," she said "I’ Jewish than Stuart Lichtblau is to being sixty-two"

"Oh"

"He’s a er," she said, "and I gather he was sixty-one when his wife died, but that o He spent a fewfor a replacele, and ever since he’s been spending his golden years screwing his brains out"

He couldn’t say Oh again, but what else was there to say? He asked her if she’d had a good time

"Yes," she said, "and no He’s retired, he had a chain of record stores that he sold back when people still bought records, and he’s got this town house in a gated community in Aurora His bed’s the size of a tennis court, and I bet he spends ht h I can’t say ood food to eat and pricey wine to drink, and he treated o hoht about it Then he said, "What’s annoying?"

"Annoying?"

"You said what’s annoying is you were in Denver this past weekend, but…"

"Right, right I could have done it while I was there Except of course for the fact that it’s your line of work, not mine But, you know, call it irony I made a trip to Denver, and now you have tothe job"

"You have a job for me"

"Well, of course," she said "Why else would I be calling? Just to tell you I got laid by a foxy old Jewish guy?"

He dialed the nu? This is Nicholas Edwards in New Orleans We spoke last week"

"Yes, Mr Edwards"

"I hope you still have the stamps"

"Why, of course I do And I hope you’re still interested I believe I was to expect you so if we coulda trip to your part of the country early next week, and I hoped to come see you as early as this Friday, if that’s convenient"

He listened for a few ed pleasantries He found Julia in the kitchen, stirring so that smelled wonderful "Friday’s fine," he told her "Her husband’s collection is still intact, and she’s happy I’m still interested"

"And she’s in Denver?"

"Cheyenne Well, outside of it She gave me directions, and anyway I’m sure the rental car’ll have GPS"

"So you’ll fly to Denver and drive up to Cheyenne"

He shook his head "I’ll fly to Cheyenne," he said, "although I’ll probably have to change planes in Denver I’ll drive from Cheyenne to Denver, and then I’ll drive back to Cheyenne, and I’ll fly hoain have to change planes in Denver"

"Right"

"Because if anybody asks, you flew out to Cheyenne to buy a staht hoe planes"

"That’s the idea"

"Is the collection worth the trip?"

"I won’t know until I see it," he said, "but I was going to take the chance anyway"

"Before you heard from Dot"

He nodded "The husband collected for years," he said "He subscribed to a couple of publications, and he was a lifeon the sofa reading the latest issue of Linn’s when he had a heart attack and died"

"I suppose that’s not a bad way to go"

"She watched it happen That part couldn’t have been round she started getting letters ‘So sorry at your hour of grief, but we’ll et the best price for your husband’s stamps’"

"Vultures," she said

"When the first letter caured she’d deal with these people and be done with it But when all the other letters flooded in she began worrying that she’dperson They were all in such a rush to send a buyer to her hoot a little suspicious"

"So she picked soreed "Remember Mrs Ricks?"

"Was that the one near Audubon Park?"

"That’s her"