Free The Devil's Advocate by Andrew Neiderman Page B

opens with a clicker."
    He took one out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Kevin. "You have another one in your apartment on the kitchen counter." He turned back to Miriam. "I'm sure you've noticed that this garage is heated," he said proudly and pushed the button to request the elevator. The door opened instantly, and he gestured for them to step in first.
    "How long have you and Helen been living here, Paul?" Kevin asked.
    "We moved in soon after Mr. Milton acquired it. It's been ... six years."
    "This is a very nice area in the city, isn't it?" Miriam asked.
    Paul smiled and nodded. "We're close to Lincoln Center, galleries, not far from the theater district. New York will be at your fingertips, Miriam," he said, and the elevator door opened. He held it open for them and indicated that they should go out and to their right.
    Paul stopped before 15D, which, like the other apartments, had a wide, dark oak door with a small metal mallet for a knocker.
    "How quaint," Miriam said, looking at the knocker. "I just love antiques."
    Paul took out the door keys, unlocked the door, and stepped back after swinging it open. At the opposite end of the wide foyer and visible on entering was the dining room, the gold-trimmed deep blue velvet curtains pulled back so that the row of windows was uncovered. Even on so gray a day as this, the light poured in.
    "Bright... airy,". Miriam said as soon as they entered.
    They stepped into the foyer which had hardwood floors. To the right about eight feet in was the entrance to the stepdown living room which had a white marble fireplace. The carpet, which looked brand new, was a light blue, not quite as bright as the carpet they had back in Blithedale. The room was not empty, however. In the right corner was a spinet.
    "Oh, Kev!" Miriam exclaimed. She brought her hand to the base of her throat.
    "What I've always wanted!" She stepped down the two steps into the living room and tapped the keys. "It's in tune!" She played the first few bars of "Memory."
    "Miriam can play well," Kevin explained. "We were talking about buying a piano, but we figured we'd wait until we had our house."
    "How come it's here?" Miriam inquired.
    "Belongs to Mr. Milton," Paul stated simply. He shrugged. "He always had it here."
    She ran her hand over the top of the piano lovingly and smiled. "What a wonderful surprise," she muttered.
    "Glad you'll make use of it," Paul said.
    Miriam shook her head in astonishment and continued on to the dining room. "I was going to put up paper something like this in our own dining room. In fact, I went to a store nearby and picked it out."
    Miriam glanced up at the sparkling chandelier and continued on to the long, lemon-yellow kitchen, shaking her head at the brand-new appliances, the long counter and work space. There was a large window in the breakfast nook with the same view of the Hudson River the dining room had.
    But it was the master bedroom that took her breath away. Even Kevin was speechless.
    It was nearly twice the size of their master bedroom in Blithedale, and there was a long marble vanity table built on a landing to the right of the bathroom. The mirrors extended the width of the wall.
    "Our bedroom set is going to look tiny in here, Kev. We'll need some more furniture."
    "Uh-huh!" He shifted his eyes toward Paul. "It starts already. We need this, we need that."
    "Well, we will, Kev."
    "All right, all right."
    "Don't worry about it, Miriam. Kevin can afford it now," Paul said.
    "Thanks a lot for your support, buddy."

    Paul laughed. "The same thing happened to me, my friend. My wife's still out there on a shopping safari."
    Miriam oohed and ahhed over the master bathroom with its whirlpool tub and brass fixtures and then went on to inspect the second bedroom.
    She returned declaring that whoever had lived here before had obviously made it into a nursery. "There's wallpaper with cartoon characters on the walls," she said.
    "Well, you can change anything you want to change,"