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"WellI didn’t look for a tail," Tony said "It never occurred to me"

"Me either Until just now So as far as we know, he ht this very minute"

That idea disturbed Tony He stood up "But he’d have to be pretty damned bold to pull a stunt like that"

"He is bold!"

Tony nodded "Yeah You’re right again" He stood for a , then walked out of the kitchen

She followed hi room toward the front door "You stay here while I have a look around"

"Not a chance," Hilary said fir with you"

He stopped with his hand on the door "If Frye is out there, keeping a watch on us, you’ll be a whole lot safer staying here"

"But what if I wait for you--and then it’s not you who coht out there," Tony said "Nothing’s going to happen to me"

"Violence isn’t restricted to darkness," Hilary said "People get killed in broad daylight all the time You’re a policeman You know that"

"I have my service revolver I can take care of oing to sit here biting o"

Outside, they stood by the balcony railing and looked down at the vehicles in the apart lot There were not one to work o In addition to the blue Jeep that belonged to Tony, there were seven cars

Bright sunshine sparkled on the chrome and transfornize all of the to people who live here"

"Positive?"

"Not entirely"

"See anybody in any of the on the glass"

"Let’s take a closer look," she said

Down in the parking area, they found the cars were e around who didn’t belong

"Of course," Tony said, "even as bold as he is, it’s not likely that he’d stand a watch right on our doorstep And since there’s only one driveway in and out of these apartments, he could keep an eye on us from a distance"

They walked out of the walled co the tree-shaded street It was a neighborhood of garden apartments and townhouses and condo; therefore, even at that hour of a weekdayboth curbs

"You want to check them out?" Hilary asked

"It’s a waste of time If he has binoculars, he’ll be able to watch this driveway from four blocks away We’d have to walk four blocks in each direction, and even then, he could just pull out and drive away"

"But if he does, then we’ll spot him We won’t be able to stop him, of course, but at least we’ll know for sure that he followed us And we’ll knohat he’s driving"

"Not if he’s two or three blocks from us when he splits," Tony said "We wouldn’t be close enough to be sure it was hiet out of his car and take a walk, then coone"

To Hilary, the air see to draw a deep breath The day was going to be very hot, especially for the end of Septeeles, where the air was nearly always dry The sky was high and clear and gas fla frohter sailed on the light breeze; children were playing in the swi pool at the townhouse development across the street

On such a day as this, it was difficult to hed and said, "So hoe find out if he’s here, watching us?"

"There’s no way to be sure"

"I was afraid you’d say that"

Hilary looked down the street, which was ht Horror cloaked in sunshine Terror hiding against a backdrop of beautiful palht stucco walls and Spanish-tile roofs "Paranoia Avenue," she said

"Paranoia City until this is over"

They turned away fro area in front of his apart

"Nohat?" she asked

"I think we both need to get sorainy and sore fro them Her mouth felt fuzzy and tasted like cardboard; there was an unpleasant filue seemed to be coated with a furry mold She ached in every bone and muscle and sinew, from her toes to the top of her head, and it didn’t help to realize that at least half of the way she felt was the consequence of emotional rather than physical exhaustion

"I knoe need to sleep," she said "But do you really think you can?"

"I knohat youIt’s not going to shut off easily"

"There’s a question or two I’d like to ask the coroner," she said "Or whoever perforet some answers I’ll be able to take a nap"

"Okay," Tony said "Let’s lock up the apartht now"

A few minutes later, when they drove away in Tony’s blue Jeep, they watched for a tail, but they were not followed Of course, that didn’tthat tree-lined street If he had followed them from Hilary’s house earlier, he didn’t need to trail after them now, for he already knew the location of their lair

"What if he breaks in while we’re gone?" Hilary asked "What if he’s hiding in there, waiting, e coot two locks on my door," Tony said "One of them is the best deadbolt money can buy He’d have to chop down the door The only other way is to break one of the s that faces on the balcony If he’s waiting in there e co before we set foot inside"

"What if he finds another way in?"

"There isn’t one," Tony said "To get in through any of the other s, he’d have to climb to the second floor on a sheer wall and he’d have to do it right out in the open where he’d be sure to be seen Don’t worry Hoh a door You know," she said shakily "Like a ghost Or h a keyhole"

"You don’t believe garbage like that," Tony said

She nodded "You’re right"

"He doesn’t have any supernatural powers He had to break a pane to get into your house last night"

They headed don through heavy traffic

Her bone-deep weariness underainst the pernicious disease of self-doubt, leaving her uncharacteristically vulnerable For the first tian to wonder if she truly had seen what she thought she had seen