Surprised by the question, she looked out of the car’s window and saw the sign for 43rd Street flash by. “I’m in an Uber heading home.”
“Me, too,” Madison said. “Where’s home?”
“Upper West Side,” Aria said. She was surprised Madison asked and equally surprised she’d answered.
“That’s a coincidence,” Madison said. “Same with me. Listen, I’d like to talk to you about locating this unknown boyfriend and finding out his role in Kera’s death. The more I think about it, the more I agree with you. I mean, Kera never took drugs. Never! She hated drugs, especially because, as a social worker, she’d seen firsthand what they can do to people.”
“It’s late,” Aria said. “Maybe tomorrow we can get together. I haven’t eaten yet tonight, and at the moment that takes precedence.”
“I’ve got patients all day tomorrow,” Madison said. “And I was gonefor half a day today. Getting together tomorrow is not going to work. Where exactly are you right now?”
Aria looked out the window to catch the next cross street sign. “I’m just passing through Forty-Fifth Street and Eighth Avenue.”
“I’m on Eighth as well,” Madison said. “Just a few blocks behind you. That’s convenient, and it gives me an idea. How about we meet somewhere where you can get a bite, I can get another drink, and we can talk. The reason I’m excited to talk with you right away is that I think I have a great idea of how to find this unknown boyfriend.”
“Come again?” Aria said. Madison’s words seemed like pennies from heaven after Aria’s recent lament that she might have been at an early dead-end.
“I truly believe that if I didn’t know Kera was seeing someone, no one did. Finding him is not going to be easy, but I think I know how to do it. Are you interested?”
“Very,” Aria said. “Where do you suggest we meet?”
“Have you ever been to Nobu Fifty Seven? It’s more or less on our way at Forty West Fifty-Seventh, and it’s got a good bar and great bar food if you like sushi. Are you game?”
“I’m game,” Aria said. “See you there.” She ended the call with a smile before leaning forward in her seat. “Driver, I want to change my destination.” Settling back in her seat, she found herself wondering exactly what this great idea could be that Madison had in mind.
CHAPTER 15
May 8th
10:10P.M.
Aria’s first impression of Nobu Fifty Seven was that it was the antithesis of Cipriani Downtown. Instead of noisy, crowded, claustrophobic, and brightly illuminated chaos, she was presently standing in an expansive and subdued, subtly lit barroom with a soaring ceiling some thirty feet above. Over the bar was a huge display of thirty large sake barrels. Although Aria imagined the bar had been busy earlier, it was now a calm refuge from the day with only a bit more than a half dozen customers. Behind the bar were two attentive bartenders dressed in black. It seemed unreal to her that on the same night she was visiting two trendy establishments that she never imagined she might patronize. She’d been in New York City for almost four years and had never had the urge to set foot in either one.
Finding a section of the bar with five empty seats, she took the middle one. The bar itself was an enormous slab of wood, three or four inches thick, and finished with glossy epoxy making the surface absolutely smooth. As soon as she was seated, one of the bartenderscame over and placed a cocktail napkin in front of her. He then stuck out his hand and said, “Welcome to Nobu. My name is Alex. And yours?”
Aria looked at the proffered hand and then back up at the bartender’s smiling face. He was a man of medium height with a dark complexion, dark hair and eyes, and a short half-beard, giving him a mild but interesting Mephistophelian aura. Despite finding him intellectually attractive, she had no intention of shaking the hand of a stranger with whom she had no common interest other than being in the same place at the same time. “I want to eat something,” she said. “What do you recommend?”
Without a moment’s hesitation or evidence of chagrin, Alex retracted his hand and reeled off a bewildering number of possibilities. He ended his spiel with the question of whether Aria had any food allergies or strong dislikes.
“I like pretty much everything except entrails,” she said.
“Then I recommend the salmon and avocado roll and white fish with dried miso, provided you’re okay with sushi and sashimi.”
“Fine,” Aria said.
“Something to drink? Wine? Cocktail?”
“I’ll have a glass of prosecco,” Aria said. “What time do you close?”
“Midnight,” Alex said.
While she waited, she looked to either side. Everyone else at the bar was a couple. She looked back up at the ceiling. It seemed impossibly high since the room was higher than it was wide.
Her drink came first, and she took a sip. It was a good prosecco. She knew because she’d had bad prosecco. Glancing back at the entrance, Aria wondered how long she would have to wait for Madison’s arrival. She wasn’t happy being there, but she was still intrigued by Madison’s offer of providing a way to find Kera’s missing lover. She was the first to admit that she had absolutely no idea of what Madison was going to suggest. The only thing that had come to her mind wasperhaps there was something significant that Madison had failed to tell her at Cipriani.
Madison arrived before the food. Aria saw her the moment she came into the restaurant. Their eyes met, and Madison came quickly over to where she was sitting.
“I appreciate your willingness to meet with me,” Madison said right off the bat. “Thank you for taking the time.”
