I need to have some clothes dry cleaned.” The desk clerk at the Pickering nodded and yawned. “And if you don’t mind, what time is it?” Longarm asked. The clerk pointed toward the wall-hung regulator clock to the right of the hotel desk. It was only nine-thirty in the morning, much too early to be seen calling on Helen. “Thanks.” Longarm wearily climbed the stairs and let himself into his room. He barely had time to strip off his clothes before the boy showed up at his door to collect them. “I’m sorry, but I forgot to mention to the clerk, I need a tub and some bathwater too. And soap. I didn’t bring my own.” “All right, sir. I won’t be long with your water. The tub is in the closet just down the hall there.” The boy pointed and left, carrying Longarm’s filthy clothes wadded into a bundle. Longarm wrapped a towel around his waist and trudged down the hall to locate the copper tub and drag it back to his room.
