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kind.
    I sat down and looked at nothing much. Shirley had eaten half her salad and none of her chicken. But the second bottle of wine was nearly empty. I caught a couple of people peeking over at me, wondering who would be lunching with her! I'd have to come here with Susan and try to recoup. The long dining room was impressive. Along the front, picture windows looked out onto Huntington Ave." and across at the Prudential Center. The bar was across the far end of the room, and the ceiling was two stories high. The kitchen was, apparently, at the top of a flight of stairs to the right of the hostess station, which must have been an added benefit for the wait staff. Earn a living while developing the quadriceps of a long jumper.
    The maitre d' came to my table. His brass name tag said Jose.
    "Excuse me," Jose said. He spoke with the silken hint of an accent.
    "I'm afraid your companion has had a small accident in the ladies' room."
    "She pass out?" I said.
    "I'm afraid she has, sir," Jose said.
    "But unfortunately not before she was sick."
    "Okay, Jose," I said.
    "Keep the other ladies out of there for a couple minutes and we'll get her out."
    "Jose," the maitre d' said.
    "I'm Brazilian. In Portuguese you pronounce the J."
    "Jcs," I said, and went to the front door of the restaurant and gestured at her driver. Jackie was more alert than I had thought.
    He came rolling out of the car very quickly, with his hand inside his coat. He was a tall rangy kid, with a lot of black hair cut short on the sides, left long on the top.
    "She passed out in the ladies' room," I said.
    He took his hand out of his coat.
    "You give her something to drink?"
    "Some wine," I said.
    Jackie nodded.
    "Probably two bottles, right?"
    I nodded.
    "Which way?" Jackie said.
    We went into the ladies' room and found Shirley asleep on the floor in one of the stalls, her cheek resting on the toilet seat, her white thighs exposed by the skirt that had hiked up above her hips. She looked like a clumsy little girl who'd eaten too much Halloween candy. I wanted to put my coat over her, or something.
    "Goddamn it," I said.
    Jackie pushed past me. He straddled her, got his arms around her waist, and hoisted her up.
    She mumbled something that sounded like "hey."
    Jackie turned her toward the sink.
    "Clean her off," he said to me.
    I wet one of the hand towels and did the best I could. She wasn't cooperative but she was too zonked to put up much resistance. I used a second towel to finish the cleanup and a third to dry her off.
    "Okay," I said.
    "Want me to take an arm?"
    Jackie shook his head.
    "Easier I just do her around the waist like this. You can go ahead and open doors."
    "Done this before, I gather."
    Jackie didn't say anything but he let his eyes roll upwards in their sockets for a moment. We got her through the restaurant, out the door, and into her father's car. She slumped over when Jackie put her in the backseat. He went around to the front, got in behind the wheel, nodded at me, power-locked the doors, and drove her away.
    I went back in to pay the check.
    "I hope the lady is all right, sir," Jose said.
    I gave him my American Express card.
    "I don't think she'll ever be all right," I said.
    "But she'll be no worse for this experience."
    Jose went away with my card.
    No wonder they didn't like her to drink wine at lunch.

CHAPTER 9
    I feel like Chester the Molester," I said to Susan.
    We were walking Pearl the Wonder Dog along the Charles River, on the Esplanade, near the Hatch Shell.
    "Getting a young woman drunk and pumping her for information?"
    "Yeah," I said.
    "Are you familiar with the term "Consenting Adult'?" Susan said.
    I nodded. Susan was wearing black high top sneakers, black sweats, a black baseball cap with the words "Community Servings" printed in 'white over the visor, and a yellow all-weather jacket which said "DKNY Athletic" in black letters on the back.
    "Did you find out things that will help you?"
    "I found out that her husband handles