“What a miserable bunch of nitwits you are,” Silvia said. She was curled up on the couch with her cat, drowsing, staring not at her subjects but into the glowing coals of the dying fire. Other than the crackling and hum of the fire, there were few other sounds. Occasionally the distant whine of a siren on the street below reached up the heights of the tower and seeped through the triple glazed windows and drapes, but otherwise, aside from someone’s suppressed whimpering, the room was as silent as a tomb.
Suddenly the doorbell chimed and Silvia, as if she was expecting someone, walked to the door, pulling her thin wrap around her. She opened the door and saw James the security guard, standing there.
“James,” Silvia said with enthusiasm. “You’re just in time to either join the trio over t
