The apartment was smal , unattractive and possessed of an unsettling musty odor that suggested long neglect. However, the few furnishings and personal belongings were clean and wel organized; several of the chairs and a smal side table were clearly antiques of high quality. The largest occupant of the tiny living room was a meticulously crafted maple bookcase that might as wel have rested on the moon, so out of place did it seem in the modest, unremarkable space. Most of the volumes neatly lining the shelves were financial in nature and dealt with such subjects as international monetary policy and complex investment theories.
The only light in the room came from a floor lamp next to a rumpled couch. Its smal arc of il umination outlined the tal , narrow-shouldered man sitting there, his eyes closed as though he were asleep. The slender watch on his wrist showed it to be four o’clock in the morning. Conservative gray cuffed suit pants
hovered over gleaming black-tasseled shoes. Hunter-green suspenders ran down the front of a rigid white dress shirt. The col ar of the shirt was open, the ends of a bow tie dangled around the neck . The large bald head was like an afterthought, because what captured one’s attention was the thick, steel-gray beam that fronted the wide, deeply lined face.
