(xci.)

He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

"So... Muffy? Is that your name?" he asked, casually opening the pack and putting a cigarette into his mouth.

"It is Muffy, right?"

She nodded, meekly.

He leaned against the steel table, and tossed the cigarettes on the table in front of her.

"So, Muff -- you don't mind if I call you Muff, right? -- you're Pierpont's fiancée, I hear."

Again, she nodded.

"Okay. Good to know," he mumbled, as he rummaged through his pocket. "Listen, you wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

"Is he in trouble?"
"C'mon, Muff, just tell me where he is, and you can go home."
"I- I don't know."

Chet nodded. He pulled out a book of matches, and lit one.

"You think he might be with Lorelei?"

She shook her head. "I, uh, what? What do you mean?"

Chet chuckled. He lit his cigarette, and shook out the match.

"Well, y'know, since she's in trouble. And needs saving and shit."
"I, well, um, I wouldn't know."
"Did he say anything about it before he left?"
"He just- he sort of mumbled something--"
"That's all I needed to know."

Muffy shifted her weight.

"Can I go home now?"
"What? No, of course not."