Mike's was something of a dive. Not that there was anything wrong with that, of course, but Alasdair usually preferred the glossy pub feel of the Three Cups, or the more vivacious atmosphere of the Four Suits. It was habit from those days when he thought atmosphere was essential to write great literature. It wasn't; you mostly just needed to sit down and do it.

Admittedly, he was working on a Stacy Wheelock Deck mystery that was tentatively called The Secret of the Coin.

"Pretty philosophical for this time of night," he commented, if only because it seemed the thing to do. "Heavy thoughts?" Of course, they all had heavy thoughts. They couldn't help it.