Aces and Knaves

of going to Buchanan's office and trying to get in to see him. Not only was that highly unlikely without an appointment, I also didn't want to talk to him in the atmosphere of a business meeting, even though he knew I was Richard's son.
    I had brought shorts and running shoes in vain hope of getting a run in, but I couldn't think of a decent way to ditch Arrow. After we had decided we couldn't do anything productive for Dionysus until evening I asked Arrow what she wanted to do, hoping she would say go shopping.
    "I feel guilty not working during a work day," Arrow said, "and I'm not just saying that because you're the boss' son. But if we're going to work tonight I feel better about taking off now. Since I spent two years at Stanford I've seen most of the tourist attractions. Can we rent bicycles somewhere? I ride on the beach bike path at home all the time. The sun is out and I'd love to get some exercise."
    Cross-training on a bike was a good alternative to running. Arrow produced shorts and a tank top. She was as prepared as I was. We rented bicycles near Golden Gate Park and rode the Bay Bike Trail for miles. It follows the shoreline through some of the most scenic parts of the city. Arrow was in good shape and we worked up a sweat in the warm summer air.
    By the time we got back to the hotel I had almost forgotten why we had come to San Francisco.

    Chapter 11 JAMES
    The room phone rang while I was tying my tie. It was Arrow.
    She said, "If you're dressed, can you come over and help me for a minute?"
    I finished with my tie and went next door to Arrow's room. She opened the door to my knock. She was wearing a short black dress and black stockings. I don't like black on most women, but on Arrow it suited her coloring perfectly.
    "You look nice," she said, surveying my one suit, a dark blue pinstripe.
    "Thank you. So do you."
    It's a good thing I got that out before she turned around or I probably would have choked on the words. The back of her dress was open to the waist. Now I knew why she was holding it at the top.
    "I need you to zip me up," she said. "I have tendonitis and I have a hell of a time with this zipper."
    My eagle eye immediately noticed that no bra spoiled the smooth curve of her back. I fumbled with the zipper, trying not to touch too much of Arrow, and finally got it up. There was still a generous amount of skin showing. This was also true in the front as I saw when she turned around and thanked me.
    "I would guess that you're going to attract some attention tonight," I said, "although not necessarily from Buchanan. He seems to prefer boys these days."
    "Then you admit that I can pass as a girl."
    I admitted it and gave her my arm as we walked to the elevator, figuring it wouldn't hurt to practice my manners. Our plan was to get to Buchanan's house about eight and try to get in. I had warned Arrow that there was no guarantee of that.
    Because of the length of our bike ride we hadn't eaten dinner, just grabbed some fruit from a bowl in the hotel lobby. I recalled that there had been food available at Buchanan's and felt we might be able to make a meal there. Our fallback plan was that if we couldn't get into his house we would immediately repair to the nearest restaurant and crowd out our disappointment with food and drink.
    Parking was a problem so we took a taxi, which we caught in front of the hotel. The driver knew the way to Buchanan's without any prompting and got us there quickly.
    It was a few minutes before eight when Arrow and I climbed the steps to Buchanan's house and rang the bell.
    A voice said, "Good evening, Mr. Patterson. Could you please wait for a minute?"
    "Of course," I said.
    "How can he see you?" Arrow whispered.
    I pointed to a hole above the doorframe where the lens of a video camera was visible to careful scrutiny.
    "Oh. Well at least you're part of the in-crowd. I'm impressed."
    "That was Stan, the fellow who drove me back to the hotel. But we'll soon see how 'in' I am. I'm sure he's consulting with Buchanan." Stan had told me he only worked one night a week. This was at least his second night this week.
    It wasn't long before we heard Stan's voice again, saying, "Here is the puzzle for tonight. If five cats can catch five rats in five minutes, how many cats does it take to catch 100 rats in 100 minutes?"
    "What's that all about?" Arrow asked.
    "I forgot to tell you. Buchanan likes games and puzzles. The price of admission is to solve the puzzle. We need to think about