he was the one who could put it all together, and that’s what counted.
The MG turned onto Wonderland Park, still climbing. The road was narrower here, and darker; the higher you went, the narrower and darker it got. No yard lights, no lights in the hillside houses. Hard to believe it was only ten minutes’ driving from here to the Strip. Living up here, you were really hiding out. Most of the time you were above the smog and it was usually a lot cooler than down below. The people were cool, too. That’s why Tony went for it in the first place.
It would be good to be home again, even for a little while. Only for a little while, of course, because once the fuzz got organized, there’d be too much heat from below.
Tony glanced at his companion. “What happens next?” he asked.
“I’ve got a few ideas about that. Wait until we get inside where we can relax.”
Tony noticed that the MG was crawling along in low now, making the turns that led up to the house at the very top almost in slow-motion. And the man was keeping an eye on every shadow, every parked car, making sure no one was watching, no one was waiting. A damn good thing, too; this was no time to start talking about futures. Play it by ear.
Now his ear told him that the dogs had heard the car coming. They were growling behind the wall. The MG pulled up in front of the driveway and halted, motor running.
The man reached into his jacket pocket and tossed a keychain into Tony’s lap. “You won’t have to go over the wall,” he said. “I found these inside your desk.”
Tony opened the door and slid out. He could hear Tiger and Butch whining and sniffling, hear their claws scratching and scraping the wall as they got excited. Well, he was excited, too; just seeing the house was enough after all this time. He must have missed it more than he’d known.
Tony glanced at the man. He still sat behind the wheel. “Aren’t you coming in?”
“Not until I put the car in the garage. Somebody sees it parked on the street tomorrow, they might get ideas.”
Good thinking. Tony circled his approval with thumb and forefinger, and the man nodded.
“You go ahead in and see if you can keep those dogs quiet.”
Tony walked over to the gate and opened it. Even the feel of the key turning in the lock was somehow comforting and familiar.
He moved inside the patio, closing the gate behind him as the dogs snarled. Over the noise he heard the sound of the MG’s motor, revving up and pulling away. But before he could think about it, Tony turned and saw Tiger and Butch. To his surprise, they were unchained, and they were racing towards him, fangs bared and dripping, red eyes glaring in the moonlight. Then the moonlight was blotted out as they leaped. Tony screamed and turned, but it was too late.
CHAPTER 15
T he earth rotates on its axis in four minutes less than twenty-four hours. It orbits around the sun at approximately eighteen and a half miles per second, while at the same time whirling through space at a speed of more than ten thousand miles an hour.
Lieutenant Franklyn Barringer accepted all this because the scientists said it was so. Accepted, but did not truly believe.
Sitting behind his desk with both feet firmly on the floor, he could not completely comprehend he was actually spinning around in a circle on a ball that was simultaneously revolving around another sphere at a dizzying pace, while at the same time whizzing up or down or sideways. And yet, he told himself, it’s happening, it’s a demonstrable fact even if it seems incredible. So one accepts the evidence and dismisses it.
The trouble is, there’s some evidence, equally incredible, which can’t be disposed of so easily. Such as the portfolio accumulating on Barringer’s desk this morning; the memos of phone calls, the taped transcriptions, the reports.
“All right,” he muttered. “So I’ve got to accept it. I still can’t believe—”
“And you want me to convince you, is that
The MG turned onto Wonderland Park, still climbing. The road was narrower here, and darker; the higher you went, the narrower and darker it got. No yard lights, no lights in the hillside houses. Hard to believe it was only ten minutes’ driving from here to the Strip. Living up here, you were really hiding out. Most of the time you were above the smog and it was usually a lot cooler than down below. The people were cool, too. That’s why Tony went for it in the first place.
It would be good to be home again, even for a little while. Only for a little while, of course, because once the fuzz got organized, there’d be too much heat from below.
Tony glanced at his companion. “What happens next?” he asked.
“I’ve got a few ideas about that. Wait until we get inside where we can relax.”
Tony noticed that the MG was crawling along in low now, making the turns that led up to the house at the very top almost in slow-motion. And the man was keeping an eye on every shadow, every parked car, making sure no one was watching, no one was waiting. A damn good thing, too; this was no time to start talking about futures. Play it by ear.
Now his ear told him that the dogs had heard the car coming. They were growling behind the wall. The MG pulled up in front of the driveway and halted, motor running.
The man reached into his jacket pocket and tossed a keychain into Tony’s lap. “You won’t have to go over the wall,” he said. “I found these inside your desk.”
Tony opened the door and slid out. He could hear Tiger and Butch whining and sniffling, hear their claws scratching and scraping the wall as they got excited. Well, he was excited, too; just seeing the house was enough after all this time. He must have missed it more than he’d known.
Tony glanced at the man. He still sat behind the wheel. “Aren’t you coming in?”
“Not until I put the car in the garage. Somebody sees it parked on the street tomorrow, they might get ideas.”
Good thinking. Tony circled his approval with thumb and forefinger, and the man nodded.
“You go ahead in and see if you can keep those dogs quiet.”
Tony walked over to the gate and opened it. Even the feel of the key turning in the lock was somehow comforting and familiar.
He moved inside the patio, closing the gate behind him as the dogs snarled. Over the noise he heard the sound of the MG’s motor, revving up and pulling away. But before he could think about it, Tony turned and saw Tiger and Butch. To his surprise, they were unchained, and they were racing towards him, fangs bared and dripping, red eyes glaring in the moonlight. Then the moonlight was blotted out as they leaped. Tony screamed and turned, but it was too late.
CHAPTER 15
T he earth rotates on its axis in four minutes less than twenty-four hours. It orbits around the sun at approximately eighteen and a half miles per second, while at the same time whirling through space at a speed of more than ten thousand miles an hour.
Lieutenant Franklyn Barringer accepted all this because the scientists said it was so. Accepted, but did not truly believe.
Sitting behind his desk with both feet firmly on the floor, he could not completely comprehend he was actually spinning around in a circle on a ball that was simultaneously revolving around another sphere at a dizzying pace, while at the same time whizzing up or down or sideways. And yet, he told himself, it’s happening, it’s a demonstrable fact even if it seems incredible. So one accepts the evidence and dismisses it.
The trouble is, there’s some evidence, equally incredible, which can’t be disposed of so easily. Such as the portfolio accumulating on Barringer’s desk this morning; the memos of phone calls, the taped transcriptions, the reports.
“All right,” he muttered. “So I’ve got to accept it. I still can’t believe—”
“And you want me to convince you, is that
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