"Tom," she said seriously, "there's a lot of good therapy in a kiss.
So far as I know, you needed some, and I gave it to you, freely and
gladly. I'll ... do it again ... when it's needed." Then she looked
away, shyly.
A moment later, she looked up again, her face completely composed.
"What do you suppose Garrard has on his mind?" she asked.
He told her, completely.
The scanning room was dark when they returned. Out through the
viewport the actinic glow of the buildings cast a greenish light over
the landscape, creating an eerie impression of the scene. The small
buildings, widely scattered, were a far cry from Old London of the
nineteen hundreds, with its teeming millions and its houses, cheek by
jowl.
"Where's Ed?" asked Jenna, fumbling in the dark scanning room with the
coffee tray.
"Gone."
"Gone?" she echoed. "How long ago?"
"Ten minutes or so. He should be there--"
Out, a few miles from them, hidden in the canyons of the buildings, a
burst of flame soared up. A gigantic puffball that ricochetted from the
actinic-lighted walls of the buildings and then went soaring skyward.
A pillar of fire and smoke headed for the stratosphere as the counters
clicked. The wall shields started to die out as the force of the
explosion was spent.
Lindsay snapped on the lights. He faced them, his face white.
"That," he said harshly, "was Garrard."
Grant nodded. "It wasn't in his Book," he said.
"Neither," snarled Lindsay, "was it in his Book to keep his action
secret."
"Meaning?" asked Grant.
"Who was the bright one that mentioned where he'd gone?"
"That should have been obvious," said Grant.
"Obvious or not--he's gone."
"What you're saying is that he's gone because I opened my big trap?"
Lindsay blinked. "Sorry, Jack. But I'm at wit's ends. I do wish that he
had his chance, perfect, though." He stared at Lacy.
Tom, remembering that he had been kissing the man's wife less than five
minutes before, flushed slightly and flustered. He hoped it wouldn't
show--
"Tom, that's a new brand of lipstick you're wearing, isn't it?" gritted
Lindsay.
Tom colored.
Jenna faced her husband. "I kissed him," she said simply. "I did it
as any mother would kiss a little boy--because he needed kissing. Not
because--"
"Forget it," said Ralph. "Did you know what Garrard was thinking?"
"Tom told me."
"Nice reward," sneered Ralph, facing Lacy.
Lacy dropped his eyes, bitterly.