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the elevator door opening, then shutting.
    He could have waited for her.
    Thank God he hadn’t.
    Resigned, she left the mail room and looked through what she had in her hands while she waited for the elevator to return. There were two bills, two contracts for her services, and four pieces of junk. With any luck, thecontracts contained deposits that would take care of the bills. She knew just what to do with the junk.
    She left the elevator at the fourth floor, just as one of her neighbors was about to board it. Elizabeth Davis owned a hot PR agency and had the breathless lifestyle to prove it. As always, she was dressed to the hilt. Her suit was red and short, her lipstick high gloss, her umbrella black and long. She had been using the mirror on the elevator panel to put on large gold earrings. Slipping into the elevator to finish up with the mirror there, she held the door open with a foot.
    â€œLily. Good timing.” Head tipped, eyes on the mirror, she worked at fastening the second earring. “I’m doing a bash for the Kagan for Governor Committee and need a pianist. It would be background music, not much singing, but I’ve heard you at the club, and you’re perfect.” She did look at Lily then, giving her a dismayed once-over. “Oh dear. You’re wet.”
    â€œSlightly,” Lily said.
    â€œWell, you clean up good. I’ve seen you at work, understated elegance all the way, which is what we want. The fund-raiser is two weeks from tomorrow night. We can’t pay—the budget is pathetically low—but I can almost guarantee you’ll get another job or two out of the gig because important people will be there and important people give parties, so it wouldn’t be a total loss from your point of view. Besides, Lydia Kagan would be the best thing for women in this state, so it’s in your best interest to do it. What do you say?”
    Lily was flattered to be asked. Rarely did a week go by when Elizabeth’s name wasn’t in the Post . She rantop-notch functions. Lily knew she wasn’t her first choice for this one, not at this late date, but that was fine. She liked playing at political functions. The more people there were, the easier it was to lose herself in the song. Besides, she agreed with Elizabeth’s assessment of Lydia Kagan.
    â€œI’ll do it,” she said.
    Elizabeth smiled broadly and removed her foot from the door. “I’ll put it in writing, but mark your calendar now. It’s a go. I’m counting on you.” The elevator door closed.
    Lily was running too late to feel more than a passing satisfaction. Hurrying down the hall, she let herself into her own apartment. It was a small one-bedroom that she rented directly from an owner who loved green, her favorite color, and had a kind heart, which was the only reason she could afford the location. The living room was small and dominated by an upright piano against one wall and a stuffed bookcase against another. The only other furniture was a sofa with its back to windows overlooking the mall and an upholstered chair done in a matching flowered fabric of green, beige, and white. At the shoulder of the chair, more in the tiny front hall than the living room, was a glass table that held a telephone, a lamp, and the CD player that, with the touch of a button now, picked up in the middle of a flowing Chopin. The kitchen was one wall of the living room, and the bedroom was just big enough for a double bed, but the whole apartment had been renovated, which meant that she had a modern marble bathroom with a glassed-in shower.
    That was where she headed, pulling off wet clothes,warming up under the hot spray, soaping, shampooing, and turning off the water well before she was ready, but the clock was ticking. In record time she applied makeup and blew her chin-length hair dry to give it a lift. She ate a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich, then slipped into a plum-colored dress