I couldn't find any fault with the house. When Alexis said that he had been re-modeling it for us, he must have had a twenty-man crew working day and night because everything was new and pristine. Chrome and white was the theme. The living room had three thrones instead of couches, each covered in white furs.

I touched a chrome candleholder with my fingertip, half-expecting to be zapped. Nothing. Only then did I relax.

We went upstairs where there were three bedroom ...