“And you really want a dog?” Cassy asked. “What will you do with him when you go visit the Nite people?”
“I’ll take him,” Beau said without hesitation.
“You’ll take him on an interview trip?”
“Why not? He’s a wonderful animal.”
Cassy digested this surprising information. From her perspective it seemed inappropriate to say the least. Having a dog seemed incompatible with their lifestyle.
“Who’s going to walk him when you’re in class? And feed him. Having a dog is a lot of responsibility.”
“I know, I know,” Beau intoned, raising his hands as if to surrender. “I promise to take care of him. I’ll take him out, feed him, pick up after him, and punish him if he chews any of your shoes.”
Cassy smiled in spite of herself. Beau sounded like the cliché of the small boy pleading with his mother to get a dog while the mother knows full well who will end up assuming the burden of taking care of the pet.
“I got him from the pound,” Beau said. “I’m sure you’ll like him, but if you don’t, we’ll take him back. We’ll consider the whole thing an experiment. After a week we’ll decide.”
“Really?” Cassy asked.
“Absolutely,” Beau said. “Let me get him so you can meet him properly. He’s a great dog.”
Cassy nodded, and Beau left the room. Cassy took a deep breath. So much seemed to be happening. Heading for the bathroom to wash her face, Cassy noticed that Beau’s computer was running some weird, rapid program. Cassy hesitated and looked at the monitor. Data in the form of text and graphics was appearing and disappearing from the screen at bewildering speed. Then she noticed something else. Sitting in front of Beau’s infrared port was the curious black object that Beau had found a few days previously in the parking lot of Costa’s Diner. Cassy had forgotten it, and remembering that the men had said it was heavy, she reached for it.
“Here’s the monster,” Beau called, diverting Cassy’s attention. Following Beau’s commands, King was happy to bound over to Cassy and lick her hand.
“What a rough tongue,” Cassy said.
“He’s a great dog,” Beau said, beaming.
Cassy patted King’s flank. “He is solid,” she said. “How much does he weigh?” She was wondering how many cans of dog food he’d need each day.
“I’d guess about one-twenty-five,” Beau said.
Cassy scratched King behind the ear, then nodded toward Beau’s computer. “What’s going on with your PC? It looks like it’s running out of control.”
“It’s just downloading some data off the Internet,” Beau said. He stepped over to the machine. “I guess I could turn off the monitor.”
“You’re going to print all that?” Cassy said. “You’ll have to get a lot more paper than we have.”
Beau switched off the monitor but made certain the light on the hard drive kept up its rapid blinking.
“So what’s it going to be?” Beau said, straightening up. “The Chinese take-out or the Bistro. It’s your call.”
Beau’s eyes snapped open simultaneously with King’s. Pushing up on one elbow Beau glanced across Cassy’s sleeping form to see the time. It was 2:30 A.M.
Being careful to keep the bedsprings from squeaking, Beau eased his legs from beneath the covers and stood up. He patted King’s head before slipping on his clothes. Then he moved over to his computer. A moment earlier the red light on his hard drive had finally stopped blinking.
He picked up the black disc and slipped it into his pocket. Using a notepad next to his computer he scribbled: “Gone for a walk. Be right back. Beau.”
After placing the note on his pillow, he and King silently left the apartment.
Beau exited the building and walked around to the parking lot. King stayed at his side without a leash. It was another gorgeous night with the broad stripe of the Milky Way galaxy arching directly overhead. There was no moon, and the stars appeared more dazzling as a consequence.
Toward the rear of the parking lot Beau found an area devoid of cars. Taking the black disc from his pocket, he placed it on the asphalt. Almost the moment it left his hand, it began to glow. By the time Beau and King were fifty feet away it had begun to form its corona and was beginning to turn from red to white-hot.
Cassy had been sleeping restlessly all night with anxiety-filled dreams. She had no idea what had awakened her, but all at once she found herself staring at the ceiling. It was being progressively illuminated by an unusual light.
Cassy sat up. The whole room had a peculiar, mounting glow, and it was apparent that it was streaming in through the window. As she began to slip out of bed to investigate, she noticed Beau was absent just as he’d been the night before. This time, however, she could see that there was a note.
Taking the note with her, Cassy padded across the floor to the window and looked out. She saw the source of the glow immediately. It was a white ball of light which was rapidly increasing its intensity so that the surrounding cars were casting dark shadows.
In the next instant the light disappeared as if it had been suddenly snuffed out. It gave Cassy the impression it had imploded. An instant later she heard a loud whooshing sound that ended equally abruptly.
Having no idea of what she’d just seen, Cassy wondered if she should call the police. While debating with herself, she started to turn back into the room when movement out in the parking lot caught her attention. Refocusing her eyes, she saw a man and a dog. Almost immediately she recognized Beau and King.
Certain he must have seen the ball of light, she was about to yell down to him when she saw other figures emerge out of the shadows. To her surprise thirty or forty people mystically appeared.
There were a few streetlights bordering the parking area, so Cassy could just make out some of the faces. At first she didn’t recognize anyone. But then she saw two people she thought she knew. She thought she saw Mr. and Mrs. Partridge!
Cassy forced herself to blink several times. Was she really awake or was this a dream? A shudder passed through her. It was terrifying to be confused about her sense of reality. It gave her an immediate appreciation of the horror of psychiatric illness.
Looking again Cassy saw that the people had all congregated in the center of the parking lot. It was as if they were having a clandestine meeting. She thought briefly about putting on her clothes and going out to see what it was all about, but she had to admit to herself that she was frightened. The whole situation was surreal.
Then suddenly she had the sense that King had spotted her at the window. The dog’s head had turned in her direction, and his eyes glowed like a cat’s eyes when a light is shined in them. A bark from King made all the people look up, including Beau.
Cassy stepped back from the window in shocked surprise. All the people’s eyes were glowing like King’s. It gave her a shiver, and again she had to wonder if she were dreaming.
She stumbled back to her bed in the darkness and turned on the light. She read the note, hoping there might be some explanation, but it was completely generic. She put the note on the night table and wondered what she should do. Should she call the police? If she did, what would she say? Would they laugh at her? Or if they came would it turn out to be a big embarrassment if there were some reasonable explanation.
All at once she thought of Pitt. Snapping up the phone, she started to dial. But she didn’t finish. She remembered it was three o’clock in the morning. What could he do or say? Cassy replaced the receiver and sighed.
Cassy decided she’d just have to wait for Beau to return. She had no idea what was going on, but she was going to find out. She’d confront Beau and demand that he tell her.