A steakhouse in Harrisburg, less than five hundred meters from the State Capitol Building.
The walls were adorned with outdated hunting-themed oil paintings. The heavy carpet, stained from years of cigar ash and spilled red wine, gave off a complex, indescribable odor.
Everything here exuded a kind of vulgarity belonging to the last century, deliberately maintained to cater to the tastes of the old assemblymen who had been dining here for half their lives.
If William Saint Cloud were here, he wouldn't even entertain the thought of renovating the place, because it was beyond saving.
In the private room in the back, three men were seated around a circular table.
They wore suits of outdated styles but expensive fabrics, and were using knives and forks to cut into the sizzling ribeye steaks on their plates.
They were the chairmen of three key committees in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
The Chairman of the Health Committee, Ed Murphy.
