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"Yeah," she said, "you’re the one who’s behind all of these weird things that’ve been happening Get off my property, you son of a bitch"

"Grace, there are forces aligned" He looked no different now from the way he had looked when he’d first spoken to her, several o He hadn’t looked crazed then; he didn’t look crazed now He didn’t look dangerous, and yet he continued to babble about dark forces "good and evil, right and wrong You’re on the right side, Grace But the cat-- ah, the cat’s a different story At all times, you must be wary of the cat"

"Get out of my way," she said

He took a step toward her

She slashed at hi his face by just an inch or two She slashed again and again and again, cutting only e else unless she had no choice, just hoping to keep him at bay until she could slip around him, for he was between her and the house And then she was around him; she turned and ran for the kitchen door, painfully aware that her legs were old and arthritic She went only a few steps before she realized she shouldn’t have turned her back on the lunatic, and she wheeled to confront hi toward her, perhaps with a knife in his hand-- But he was gone

Vanished Again

He hadn’t had tih to conceal athe split second her back had been turned Even if he had been a er man than he was, in the very best condition, a trained runner--even then he couldn’t have gone ate in such a short time

So where was he?

Where was he?

Froham & Crichton on Front Street, Carol and Jane drove a few blocks to the Second Street address that was supposed to be the hohborhood; a lovely French country house, at least fifty years old, in fine condition No one was at home, but the na the bell at the house next door and talked to a neighbor, Jean Gunther, who confirmed that the French country place ned and occupied by the Nicholson family

"My husband and I have lived here for six years,"

Mrs Gunther said, "and the Nicholsons were next door e moved in I think I once heard them say they’d lived in that house since 1965"

The naain, on the way home, Jane said, "I’m really a lot of trouble for you"

"Nonsense," Carol said "I kind of enjoy playing detective Besides, if I can help you break through your ht-of-hand tricks that your subconscious is playing, then I’ll be able to write about this case for any psychology journal I choose It’ll definitely ht even wind up with a book out of it So you see, because of you, kiddo, I could become rich and famous some day"

"When you’re rich and fairl teased

"Certainly Of course, you’ll have to rinned at each other

Using the kitchen phone, Grace called the offices of

the Morning News

The switchboard operator at the newspaper didn’t have an extension nuht She said, "So far as I know, he don’t even work here And I’m sure he’s no reporter Maybe one of the new copy editors or so editor’s office?" Grace asked

"That would be Mr Quincy," the operator said She buzzed the proper extension

Quincy wasn’t in his office, and his secretary didn’t knohether or not the paper eht "I’etically "I’ve only been Mr Quincy’s secretary since Monday, so I don’t know everybody yet If you’ll leave your name and nuave her the number and said, "Tell him Dr Grace Mitoishes to speak with him and that I’ll only need a few minutes of his time" She seldom used the honorific in front of her name, but it came in handy in cases like this, for a doctor’s phone calls were always returned

"Is this an e to be back until toh," she said "Have hiets in"

After she hung up, she went to the kitchen and stared out at the rose garden

How could Wa in a row, Paul and Carol and Jane prepared dinner together The girl was fitting in better day by day

If she stays with us just another week, Paul thought, it’ll seem like she’s always been here

The salad consisted of hearts of paliana with spaghetti on the side

As they were starting dessert--small dishes of

richly flavored spumoni--Paul said, "Any chance we

could postpone the trip to the mountains for two days?"

"Why?" Carol asked

"I’ schedule, and I’m at a very critical point in the book," he said "I’ve written two-thirds of the toughest scene in the story, and I hate to leave it unfinished just to go on vacation

I won’t enjoy ive me time to polish off the end of the chapter And we’d still have eight days at the cabin"

"Don’t look at o wherever you take me, whenever you take me"

Carol shook her head "Just last week, when Mr O’Brian said ere coe our ways, didn’t we? We’ve got to learn to make time for leisure and not let our work encroach on that"

"You’re right," Paul said "But just this once--"

He broke off in midsentence because he saw that Carol was determined She was rarely intractable, but when she did decide not to compromise on an issue, she was about as hed "Okay You win We’ll leave to the typewriter and the manuscript I can finish the scene up at the cabin and--"

"Nothing doing," Carol said, eainst her ice crea, you won’t stop when you’ve reached the end of the scene you’re working on You’ll keep going You know you will Having the typewriter within easy reach will just be too much of a temptation You won’t be able to resist it The whole vacation will go down the drain"

"But I just can’t put that scene on hold for ten days," he said pleadingly "By the tiet back to it, the tone and the spontaneity will be lost"