The Text

"Which brings us to our text for tonight," Macarthur threw in, knowing the segué was lame but going for it anyway. "A story about espionage and detection. A tale of murder and communication, coincidence and crossed identities. A narrative essay on necessity and the nature of time."

"Garbage," Victor sniped. "Drivel. The Garden of Forking Bullshit. More like totally unnecessary and a huge waste of time. I think Urquhart is afraid to show up because he might have to hear how stupid his reading list is."

"At least Victor is consistent," Amanda observed. "He hates everything."

"I dunno," Jude Busch confessed. "I thought the story sucked, too."

"Aw, gee," said Macarthur.