was
he was actually seeing. “Seems all I do is thank you,” he whispered finally.
“No problem,” I said. It was then that I noticed the
disgraceful state of my skirt. I worked for almost a minute brushing off the
nonexistent lint, and straightening the already straight pleats.
“Look, Andrew,” I continued. “There’s no way he can get away
with this. The people in the lab will vouch for you.”
“Yes, but who would you believe, a bunch of probably-bribed
grad students or J.P. Harrison? No one else at the University really knows much
of anything about my work. I told you, I’ve been keeping it under wraps. “
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
“So, how can I help?” The words slipped out quite naturally.
I didn’t really even hear them until Andrew turned to stare at me.
“You know,” he said. “You are really something.”
“Ah, shucks, mister. You’ll turn my head.”
“I’m serious. I’m also very grateful, but you’ve already
done more than enough.”
“I’ve done nothing,” I said. “There must be something else.”
“No nothing.”
“I really don’t mind.”
“Melanie, no!” He stopped, swallowed and looked quickly
around the cabin. The buzz of conversation didn’t pause, the flight attendant
continued with the hors d’oeuvre tray down the aisle. The sound of the engines
and the air rushing outside had covered his voice.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to shout at you. It’s
just that it’s too dangerous.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think...”
“That’s right! You don’t think!” he whispered. He turned
away, took a deep breath, and then turned back to me, speaking slowly and
deliberately. “You see, you’re right. The story is ludicrous. J.P. knows that
it might take time but eventually the evidence is going to clear me. I may not
be able to convince everyone, but I can clear myself with the police. He never
planned to have to get away with that story. He knows that ever since grad
school, I’ve always been the first one in in the morning. It’s when I work
best. Never get in later than 6:30. I was supposed to be in the lab this
morning, not Lance. Don’t you see? If you hadn’t been there, Lance would be dead
right now, and on an ordinary morning, it would have been me, and not Lance
lying there.”
“Oh, my god,” I breathed. In all that had happened, in all
my ups and downs believing this or that, never in my wildest fantasies had the
idea of murder crept in.
“When you left this morning, when the fire captain came up
to question me, he told me that they’d received a phone call from J. P.” He
rubbed his hands down his jeans and gripped his knees. “And he told me what he’d
said.”
He stopped, cleared his throat, and then continued. “The
thing is, the only way J. P.’s going to get through this intact is to finish
what he tried to do this morning.”
I leaned forward. “All the more reason you should let me
help you.”
“Good god, girl! Why in the world would you want to get
mixed up in this mess? What do you think you know about handling something like
this?”
“What, and you’re an expert?” I whispered, suddenly furious.
“You deal with hired assassins every day? Or maybe you just trained for it.” I
lifted my chin, tossed my head haughtily and threw in a preppie accent. “‘But
of course, Dad and Mums insisted that Buffy and I pick up courses in Dodging
Bullets, Hiding Out, and Evading the Mob.’ Molecular Biology major, minor in
Trained Killers?”
“And I thought you were so quiet. What a mouth.” He arched
an eyebrow at me and fixed me with the exact same expression of cynical humor
that I’d seen not six weeks before in a layout on the people page of Time.
And yes, ladies and gentlemen,
there she goes again! Isn’t she marvelous! At the drop of a hat she can turn
her face three shades of red! Come one! Come all!
I shrank back in my seat. “I’m sorry,” I said. “Sometimes I
think my tongue
he was actually seeing. “Seems all I do is thank you,” he whispered finally.
“No problem,” I said. It was then that I noticed the
disgraceful state of my skirt. I worked for almost a minute brushing off the
nonexistent lint, and straightening the already straight pleats.
“Look, Andrew,” I continued. “There’s no way he can get away
with this. The people in the lab will vouch for you.”
“Yes, but who would you believe, a bunch of probably-bribed
grad students or J.P. Harrison? No one else at the University really knows much
of anything about my work. I told you, I’ve been keeping it under wraps. “
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
“So, how can I help?” The words slipped out quite naturally.
I didn’t really even hear them until Andrew turned to stare at me.
“You know,” he said. “You are really something.”
“Ah, shucks, mister. You’ll turn my head.”
“I’m serious. I’m also very grateful, but you’ve already
done more than enough.”
“I’ve done nothing,” I said. “There must be something else.”
“No nothing.”
“I really don’t mind.”
“Melanie, no!” He stopped, swallowed and looked quickly
around the cabin. The buzz of conversation didn’t pause, the flight attendant
continued with the hors d’oeuvre tray down the aisle. The sound of the engines
and the air rushing outside had covered his voice.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to shout at you. It’s
just that it’s too dangerous.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think...”
“That’s right! You don’t think!” he whispered. He turned
away, took a deep breath, and then turned back to me, speaking slowly and
deliberately. “You see, you’re right. The story is ludicrous. J.P. knows that
it might take time but eventually the evidence is going to clear me. I may not
be able to convince everyone, but I can clear myself with the police. He never
planned to have to get away with that story. He knows that ever since grad
school, I’ve always been the first one in in the morning. It’s when I work
best. Never get in later than 6:30. I was supposed to be in the lab this
morning, not Lance. Don’t you see? If you hadn’t been there, Lance would be dead
right now, and on an ordinary morning, it would have been me, and not Lance
lying there.”
“Oh, my god,” I breathed. In all that had happened, in all
my ups and downs believing this or that, never in my wildest fantasies had the
idea of murder crept in.
“When you left this morning, when the fire captain came up
to question me, he told me that they’d received a phone call from J. P.” He
rubbed his hands down his jeans and gripped his knees. “And he told me what he’d
said.”
He stopped, cleared his throat, and then continued. “The
thing is, the only way J. P.’s going to get through this intact is to finish
what he tried to do this morning.”
I leaned forward. “All the more reason you should let me
help you.”
“Good god, girl! Why in the world would you want to get
mixed up in this mess? What do you think you know about handling something like
this?”
“What, and you’re an expert?” I whispered, suddenly furious.
“You deal with hired assassins every day? Or maybe you just trained for it.” I
lifted my chin, tossed my head haughtily and threw in a preppie accent. “‘But
of course, Dad and Mums insisted that Buffy and I pick up courses in Dodging
Bullets, Hiding Out, and Evading the Mob.’ Molecular Biology major, minor in
Trained Killers?”
“And I thought you were so quiet. What a mouth.” He arched
an eyebrow at me and fixed me with the exact same expression of cynical humor
that I’d seen not six weeks before in a layout on the people page of Time.
And yes, ladies and gentlemen,
there she goes again! Isn’t she marvelous! At the drop of a hat she can turn
her face three shades of red! Come one! Come all!
I shrank back in my seat. “I’m sorry,” I said. “Sometimes I
think my tongue
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