The lobby held just two elevator banks, mailboxes, and locked, unmarked doors, but there was a wide stairway on the left. One flight up, a sign on an entrance door advertised 'Edward Harris - Bail Bonds.' The office, like the building itself, looked like something from the nineteen forties. The movie The Maltese Falcon came to mind. I could almost imagine bumping into Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre on their way out to a saloon to grab a liquid lunch during a break in filming. Two women and a man, all three speaking on phones, sat at desks behind a chest-high counter. I took a seat in one of the cheap, vinyl-covered chairs placed against the wall that faced the counter to wait until one of the three was free. After several minutes, one of the women stood up and approached the counter. She was middle-aged and it appeared she had long ago ceased to care about maintaining a meticulous appearance, but at least she was wearing modern clothing.
