Chapter 156

• We arrived earlier than we needed to. Julian said it was better to get the feel of the room before things started, and I agreed, even though it meant more time to think about what we were here to do. The building looked ordinary from the outside, just another narrow front on a quiet street. Inside, the air felt different. It was warm and still, and it smelled faintly of polished wood and something floral that I could not place.
• I had dressed in a way that I hoped would draw no attention. A simple black dress, a long coat, my hair pulled back low at the nape of my neck. Julian looked me over before we left the apartment.
• “You look like someone who could buy the whole building,” he said.