Here was how it worked in the world of the affair: there was a big, anonymous hotel one town away. The hotel serviced business travelers. It was not pretty, but it was not lifeless, either. It was arranged around a man-made lake, and the lake and its scrubby landscaping drew great blue herons, American kestrels, house sparrows, Northern cardinals, five species of warblers. Inside, an appealing blankness: you could fill it with whatever you wanted.
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