I got careless, after tailing the guy for over an hour. He seemed a little unsteady on his feet and I guessed what he’d thrown back in Gunn’s wasn’t the first he’d had that evening. Still, he seemed to know where he was going…or at least I thought so, until he turned into the park and fell onto a bench.

I waited in the rain, freezing my ass off, as umbrella-wielding citizens flapped by. Finally, he stirred and set off again. Drizzle made greasy mirrors of the sidewalk as I followed him, wondering where the hell I was hoping he would lead me. Too late, I saw him stop. I ducked into an alley while he pretended to look in a shop window, but I knew he’d heard me. The street was empty when I emerged a moment later. Damn.

Wet and annoyed, I found a phone booth and called the desk, as I should have hours ago.

“Lambone, where the hell have you been?” The boss sounded typically furious. "I need you at the Topaz. Now. "

“But…”

“But nothing. DeSibio’s back in town and I want the scoop – this is gonna be big.”