The Third Twin Part 46

Lieutenant Gambol cried: "Stop him!"

Behind him he heard the guard shout: "Stop, or I'll shoot!"

Steve turned. The guard had drawn a pistol and was pointing it at him.

The cleaners and the electrician froze, watching.

The guard's hands were shaking as he pointed the gun at Steve.

Steve felt his muscles seize up as he stared down the barrel. With an effort he shook off his paralysis. A Pentagon guard would not fire at an unarmed civilian, he was sure. "You won't shoot me," he said. "It would be murder."

He turned and walked to the door.

It was the longest walk of his life. The distance was only three or four yards, but it felt as if it took years. The skin on his back seemed to burn with antic.i.p.ation.

As he put his hand on the door, a shot rang out.

Someone screamed.

The thought flashed through Steve's mind He fired over my head, He fired over my head, but he did not look back. He flew through the door and ran down the long flight of steps. Night had fallen while he was inside, and the parking lot was lit by street lamps. He heard shouting behind him, then another shot. He reached the bottom of the stairway and veered off the footpath into the bushes. but he did not look back. He flew through the door and ran down the long flight of steps. Night had fallen while he was inside, and the parking lot was lit by street lamps. He heard shouting behind him, then another shot. He reached the bottom of the stairway and veered off the footpath into the bushes.

He emerged onto a road and kept running. He came to a row of bus stops. He slowed to a walk. A bus was pulling up at one of the stops. Two soldiers got off and a woman civilian got on. Steve boarded right behind her.

The bus pulled away.

The bus drove out of the parking lot and onto the expressway, leaving the Pentagon behind.

51.

IN A COUPLE OF HOURS J JEANNIE HAD COME TO LIKE L LORRAINE Logan enormously. Logan enormously.

She was much heavier than she seemed in the photograph that appeared at the top of her lonelyhearts column in the newspapers. She smiled a lot, causing her chubby face to crease up. To take Jeannie's mind and her own off their worries, she talked of the problems people wrote to her about: domineering in-laws, violent husbands, impotent boyfriends, bosses with wandering hands, daughters who took drugs. Whatever the subject, Lorraine managed to say something that made Jeannie think, Of course-how come I never saw it that way before?

They sat on the patio as the day cooled, waiting anxiously for Steve and his father to return. Jeannie told Lorraine about the rape of Lisa. "She'll try for as long as she can to act as if it never happened," Lorraine said.

"Yes, that's exactly how she is now."

"That phase can last six months. But sooner or later she'll realize she has to stop denying what happened and come to terms with it. That stage often begins when the woman tries to resume normal s.e.x and finds she doesn't feel the way she used to. That's when they write to me."

"What do you advise?"

"Counseling. There isn't an easy solution. Rape damages a woman's soul, and it has to be mended."

"The detective recommended counseling."

Lorraine raised her eyebrows. "He's a pretty smart cop."

Jeannie smiled. "She."

Lorraine laughed. "We reprove men for making s.e.xist a.s.sumptions. I beg you, don't tell anyone what I just did."

"I promise."

There was a short silence, then Lorraine said: "Steve loves you."

Jeannie nodded. "Yeah, I think he really does."

"A mother can tell."

"So he's been in love before."

"You don't miss a trick, do you?" Lorraine smiled. "Yes, he has. But only once."

"Tell me about her-if you think he wouldn't mind."

"Okay. Her name was f.a.n.n.y Gallaher. She had green eyes and wavy dark red hair. She was vivacious and careless and she was the only girl in high school who wasn't wasn't interested in Steve. He pursued her, and she resisted him, for months. But he won her in the end, and they dated for about a year." interested in Steve. He pursued her, and she resisted him, for months. But he won her in the end, and they dated for about a year."

"Do you think they slept together?"

"I know they did. They used to spend nights together here. I don't believe in forcing kids to make out in parking lots."

"What about her parents?"

"I talked to f.a.n.n.y's mother. She felt the same way about it."

"I lost my virginity in the alley behind a punk rock club at the age of fourteen. It was such a depressing experience that I didn't have s.e.xual intercourse again until I was twenty-one. I wish my mother had been more like you."

"I don't think it really matters whether parents are strict or lenient, as long as they're consistent. Kids can live with more or less any set of rules so long as they know what they are. It's arbitrary tyranny that gets them mixed up."

"Why did Steve and f.a.n.n.y break up?"

"He had a problem....He should probably tell you about it himself."

"Are you talking about the fight with Tip Hendricks?"

Lorraine raised her eyebrows. "He told you! My goodness, he really really trusts you." trusts you."

They heard a car outside. Lorraine got up and went to the corner of the house to look out into the street. "Steve's come home in a taxicab," she said in a puzzled tone.

Jeannie stood up. "How does he look?"

Before Lorraine could answer, he appeared on the patio. "Where's your father?" she asked him.

"Dad got arrested."

Jeannie said: "Oh, G.o.d. Why?"

"I'm not sure. I think the Genetico people somehow found out, or guessed, what we were up to, and pulled some strings. They sent two military police to grab him. But I got away."

Lorraine said suspiciously: "Stevie, there's something you aren't telling me."

"A guard fired two shots."

Lorraine gave a small scream.

"I think he was aiming over my head. Anyway, I'm fine."

Jeannie's mouth went dry. The thought of bullets being fired at Steve horrified her. He might have died!

"The sweep worked, though." Steve took a diskette from his back pocket. "Here's the list. And wait till you hear what's on it."

Jeannie swallowed hard. "What?" "There aren't four clones." "How come?" "There are eight."

Jeannie's jaw dropped. "Eight of you?"

"We found eight identical electrocardiograms."

Genetico had split the embryo seven times and implanted eight unknowing women with the children of strangers. The arrogance was unbelievable.

But Jeannie's suspicion had been proved. This was what Berrington was so desperate to conceal. When this news was made public, Genetico would be disgraced and Jeannie would be vindicated.

And Steve would be cleared.

"You did it!" she said. She hugged him. Then a snag occurred to her. "But which of the eight committed the rape?"

"We'll have to find out," Steve said. "And that won't be easy. The addresses we have are the places where their parents lived at the time they were born. They're almost certainly out-of-date."

"We can try to track them down. That's Lisa's specialty." Jeannie stood up. "I'd better get back to Baltimore. This is going to take most of the night."

"I'll come with you."

"What about your father? You have to get him out of the hands of the military police."

Lorraine said: "You're needed here, Steve. I'm going to call our lawyer right now-I have his home number-but you'll have to tell him what happened."

"All right," he said reluctantly.

"I should call Lisa before I leave, so she can get ready," Jeannie said. The phone was on the patio table. "May I?"

"Of course."

She dialed Lisa's number. The phone rang four times, then there was the characteristic pause of an answering machine kicking in. "d.a.m.n," Jeannie said as she listened to Lisa's message. When it finished she said: "Lisa, please call me. I'm leaving Was.h.i.+ngton now, I'll be home around ten. Something really important has happened." She hung up.

Steve said: "I'll walk you to your car."

She said good-bye to Lorraine, who hugged her warmly.

Outside, Steve handed her the diskette. "Take care of that," he said. "There's no copy, and we won't get another chance."

She put it in her bag. "Don't worry. It's my future, too." She kissed him hard.

"Oh, boy," he said after a while. "Could we do a lot of this, quite soon?"

"Yes. But don't endanger yourself meanwhile. I don't want to lose you. Be careful."

He smiled. "I love it that you're worried about me. It's almost worth it."

She kissed him again, softly this time. "I'll call you."

She got in the car and pulled away.

She drove fast and got home in under an hour.

She was disappointed to find there was no message from Lisa on her machine. She worried that maybe Lisa was asleep, or watching TV and not listening to her messages. Don't panic, think. Don't panic, think. She ran out again and drove to Lisa's place, an apartment building in Charles Village. She rang the entry phone at the street door, but there was no answer. Where the h.e.l.l had Lisa gone? She did not have a boyfriend to take her out on a Sat.u.r.day night. She ran out again and drove to Lisa's place, an apartment building in Charles Village. She rang the entry phone at the street door, but there was no answer. Where the h.e.l.l had Lisa gone? She did not have a boyfriend to take her out on a Sat.u.r.day night. Please G.o.d she hasn't gone to see her mother in Pittsburgh. Please G.o.d she hasn't gone to see her mother in Pittsburgh.

Lisa lived in 12B. Jeannie rang the bell of 12A. Again there was no reply. Maybe the d.a.m.n system was not working. Seething with frustration, she tried 12C.

A grouchy male voice said: "Yeah, who is it?"

"I'm sorry to trouble you, but I'm a friend of Lisa Hoxton next door to you and I need to reach her really urgently. Would you happen to know where she is?"

The voice replied: "Where do you think you are, lady-Hicksville, USA? I don't even know what my neighbor looks looks like." like." Click. Click.

"Where are you from, New York?" she said angrily to the unheeding loudspeaker.

She went home, driving as if she were in a race, and called Lisa's answering machine again. "Lisa, please call me the second the second you get in, you get in, no matter what time of night. no matter what time of night. I'll be waiting by the phone." I'll be waiting by the phone."

After that there was no more she could do. Without Lisa she could not even get into Nut House.

She took a shower and wrapped herself in her pink bathrobe. She felt hungry and microwaved a frozen cinnamon bun, but eating nauseated her, so she threw it away and drank coffee with milk in it. She wished she had a TV to distract her.

She got out the picture Charles had given her of Steve. She would have to get a frame for it. She stuck it to the refrigerator door with a fridge magnet.

That started her looking at her photograph alb.u.ms. She smiled to see Daddy in a brown chalk-stripe suit with broad lapels and flared pants, standing beside the turquoise Thunder-bird. There were several pages of Jeannie in tennis whites, triumphantly holding a series of silver cups and plaques. Here was Mom pus.h.i.+ng Patty in an old-fas.h.i.+oned stroller, there was Will Temple in a cowboy hat, cutting up and making Jeannie laugh- The phone rang.

She leaped up, dropping the alb.u.m on the floor, and s.n.a.t.c.hed up the handset. "Lisa?"

"Hi, Jeannie, what's the big emergency?"

She collapsed on the couch, weak with grat.i.tude. "Thank G.o.d! I called you hours ago, where have you been?"

"I went to a movie with Catherine and Bill. Is that a crime?"