Go get us some burgers and coffee. I’ll get on the horn to Mark Hopewell. I’ll ask him for a list.””Cheese or plain?””I’m on a diet.””Plain then. And no fries?””I said I’m on a diet,...

See that?” said Lemon. “The car tracks turn off there.””How do you know it’s not the parks people on a golf cart thingie?””You don’t golf, do you, Kate?””No, I’m too young to die of boredom.

His name was Mr. Quan and he was the concierge, which explained the black suit and the lavender shirt but not the oversized bow tie in chrome-yellow silk. Perhaps nothing could.

The weed-whacker dad was helping his kid whack weeds. Dad was blitzed to the eyeballs on beer, and the kid was waving the weed whacker around like he was Luke Skywalker. It wasn’t going to...