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panties.”
    I said, “You think somebody cleaned up here?”
    “I don’t know,” he said. “But doesn’t a girl who’s coming to a party in a fifteen-thousand-dollar dress usually carry a purse?” Then Graham looked past my shoulder and smiled: “Well, what do you know, Petey-san? One of your admirers to see you.”
    Striding toward me was Ellen Farley, the mayor’s press secretary. Farley was thirty-five, dark blond hair cropped close to her head, perfectly groomed as always. She had been a newscaster when she was younger, but had worked for the mayor’s office for many years. Ellen Farley was smart, fast on her feet, and she had one of the great bodies, which as far as anyone knew she retained for her own exclusive use.
    I liked her enough to have done a couple of favors for her when I was in the L.A.P.D. press office. Since the mayor and the chief of police hated each other, requests from the mayor’s office sometimes passed from Ellen to me, and I handled them. Mostly small things: delaying the release of a report until the weekend, so it’d run on Saturday. Or announcing that charges in a case hadn’t been brought yet, even though they had. I did it because Farley was a straight shooter, who always spoke her mind. And it looked like she was going to speak her mind now.
    “Listen, Pete,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but the mayor’s been hearing some pretty strong complaints from a Mr. Ishiguro—”
    “I can imagine—”
    “And the mayor asked me to remind you that there is noexcuse for officials of this city to be rude to foreign nationals.”
    Graham said loudly, “Especially when they make such large campaign contributions.”
    “Foreign nationals can’t contribute to American political campaigns,” Farley said. “You know that.” She lowered her voice. “This is a sensitive case, Pete. I want you to be careful. You know the Japanese have a special concern about how they are treated in America.”
    “Okay, fine.”
    She looked through the glass walls of the conference room, toward the atrium. “Is that John Connor?”
    “Yes.”
    “I thought he was retired. What’s he doing here?”
    “Helping me on the case.”
    Farley frowned. “You know the Japanese have mixed feelings about him. They have a term for it. For somebody who is a Japan lover and goes to the other extreme, and turns into a basher.”
    “Connor isn’t a basher.”
    “Ishiguro felt roughly treated.”
    “Ishiguro was telling us what to do,” I said. “And we have a murdered girl here, which everybody seems to be forgetting—”
    “Come on, Pete,” she said, “nobody’s trying to tell you how to do your job. All I’m saying is you have to take into account the special—”
    She stopped.
    She was looking at the body.
    “Ellen?” I said. “Do you know her?”
    “No.” She turned away.
    “You sure?”
    I could see she was rattled.
    Graham said, “You saw her downstairs earlier?”
    “I don’t—maybe. I think so. Listen, fellas, I’ve got to get back.”
    “Ellen. Come on.”
    “I don’t know who she is, Pete. You know I’d tell you ifI did. Just keep it cordial with the Japanese. That’s all the mayor wanted me to say. I’ve got to go now.”
    She hurried back toward the elevators. I watched her leave, feeling uneasy.
    Graham came over and stood beside me. “She’s got a great ass,” he said. “But she ain’t leveling, buddy, even with you.”
    I said, “What do you mean, even with me?”
    “Everybody knows you and Farley were an item.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    Graham punched me on the shoulder. “Come on. You’re divorced now. Nobody gives a shit.”
    I said, “It’s not true, Tom.”
    “You can do what you want. Handsome guy like you.”
    “I’m telling you, it’s not true.”
    “Okay, fine.” He held up his hands. “My mistake.”
    I watched Farley at the other end of the atrium, ducking under the tape. She pressed the elevator button, and