"Do you mind waiting?" Claudia asked. "The food here is wonderful, but it could be a while."
Jan took out her pocket watch and consulted it.
"Oh, that's elegant," Claudia exclaimed. Jan held it out for them to examine. "Was it your father's?"
Jan smiled. "No, my father is a college professor, but he came from humble beginnings. This was given to me by one of my professors when I left school. He had been falsely accused of something, and I had cleared him." She smiled. "He wanted me to stay and complete my degree, but solving that case convinced me all the more that it was time to leave."
This was why she had brought out the watch in the first place, of course, for it to be admired. She knew about as much about the train schedules as she did about the exact distance to the moon.
As they turned again to go, Jan said, "There is a very attractive redheaded woman sitting at the bar out front, drinking a club soda. She is wearing a motorcycle jacket. Please ask her to join us."
They looked surprised, but they didn't ask any questions.
A moment later, Christy came from the front of the restaurant, through the arch which separated the bar from the restaurant proper. She was carrying a club soda. There were a few other people in the restaurant by then, though I had barely registered their arrival.
Three people came in right behind Christy, an older couple with a teenage girl. She saw Jan Sleet across the room and let out a high-pitched squeal, pointing at my employer, much to the embarrassment of her (perhaps) grandparents, who made sure they took a table some distance away from ours.
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