I laughed. “A fuse blew a few minutes before you showed up. We can go over to Arnie’s Steak Joynt if you want some light.” I wouldn’t have minded getting a good look at him myself.

He shook his head. “No, we can stay here.” He fidgeted around some, then sat in one of the visitors’ chairs.

“You got a name?” I asked, to fill in the pause while he collected his thoughts.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” he said, fumbling in his wallet. He pulled out a card and passed it across the desk. I held it up to read in a flash from Arnie’s. “John L. Thayer, Executive Vice-President, Trust, Ft. Dearborn Bank and Trust.” I pursed my lips. I didn’t make it over to La Salle Street very often, but John Thayer was a very big name indeed at Chicago’s biggest bank. Hot diggity, I thought. Play this fish right, Vic, I urged myself. Here come de rent!

I put the card in my jeans pocket. “Yes, Mr. Thayer. Now what seems to be the problem?”

“Well, it’s about my son. That is, it’s about his girl friend. At least she’s the one who-” He stopped. A lot of people, especially men, aren’t used to sharing their problems, and it takes them a while to get going. “You know, I don’t mean any offense, but I’m not sure I should talk to you after all. Not unless you’ve got a partner or something.”

I didn’t say anything.

“You got a partner?” he persisted.

“No, Mr. Thayer,” I said evenly. “I don’t have a partner.”

“Well, this really isn’t a job for a girl to take on alone.”

A pulse started throbbing in my right temple. “I skipped dinner after a long day in the heat to meet you down here.” My voice was husky with anger. I cleared my throat and tried to steady myself. “You wouldn’t even identify yourself until I pushed you to it. You pick at my office, at me, but you can’t come out and ask anything directly. Are you trying to find out whether I’m honest, rich, tough, or what? You want some references, ask for them. But don’t waste my time like this. I don’t need to argue you into hiring my services-it was you who insisted on making an appointment for the middle of the night.”