But the ten A.M. appointment was a bad sign. It meant that he would be first on

The appointment list, that he would not be invited to lunch. It meant that Woltz

Held him in small worth. Goff had not been threatening enough, probably because

Woltz had him on his graft payroll. And sometimes the Don's success in keeping

Himself out of the limelight worked to the disadvantage of the family business, in

That his name did not mean anything to outside circles.

His analysis proved correct. Woltz kept him waiting for a half hour past the

appointed time. Hagen didn't mind. The reception room was very plush, very

Comfortable, and on a plum-colored couch opposite him sat the most beautiful

Child Hagen had ever seen. She was no more than eleven or twelve, dressed in a

Very expensive but simple way as a grown woman. She had incredibly golden hair,

Huge deep sea-blue eyes and a fresh raspberry-red mouth. She was guarded by a

Woman obviously her mother, who tried to stare Hagen down with a cold

Arrogance that made him want to punch her in the face. The angel child and the

dragon mother, Hagen thought, returning the mother's cold stare.

Finally an exquisitely dressed but stout middle-aged woman came to lead him

Through a string of offices to the office-apartment of the movie producer. Hagen

Was impressed by the beauty of the offices and the people working in them. He