Jay went up in the elevator, which rose too fast.
He was admitted by O’Hara himself, alone in the living room of his suite. It was anyone’s guess, of course; as to who might have been in other rooms.
O’Hara, who was sometimes a ruffian in behavior, was far from one in appearance. As tall as Jay, he was wider and thicker in the shoulders, and even narrower in the waist. He held himself erect, but with an effect of being at ease, and he moved with grace. His eyes were cold pale blue. His hair, which was blond, was cropped. His voice, amiably modulated, was a lie.
“Come in, Miles,” he said. “It’s Doctor, isn’t it?”
“I don’t make a point of it. Mister’s good enough.”
“Let me take your coat.”
“No, thanks.”
“You could use a drink, couldn’t you?”
Jay could have, but he said he couldn’t.
“I can’t stay,” he said. “I’m looking for my wife.”
O’Hara permitted the slightest flicker of surprise to disturb his expression, but he had the good judgment not to put his reaction into words. Clearly he had no intention of either confirming or denying a relationship of which Jay apparently was aware. He had, in fact, a genuine aversion to the kind of angry attention, both public and private, that his activities naturally invited.
“Am I to understand that she’s missing?”
“That’s right.”
“What made you think you’d find her here?”
“Why not? If I’m not mistaken, she’s been here before.”
“Sorry. This is not my night for confessional. She’s your wife, for the present, and you can think what you like about her.”
“Thanks. That’s liberal of you, but why the time qualification?”
“We needn’t pretend with each other. Terry is a dissatisfied wife. You know as well as I that it’s only a matter of time till she leaves you. If you say she’s missing, maybe she already has.”
“Maybe. How do you know so much about it? Did she tell you?”
“All I’ll tell you is that she isn’t here. I haven’t seen her for a week.”
“I’d hardly expect you to say otherwise.”
O’Hara’s only physical reaction was a. narrowing of the lids over his eyes, but Jay was suddenly aware of cold menace.
“You’re wrong. If she were here, you could expect me to say so, and to hell with you. Would you like to look through the place?”
“No,” said Jay Miles.
“I’ll tell you this, too. We had a date for cocktails at one of my places yesterday afternoon. She didn’t show up. I assumed that something had developed to prevent her coming. For her sake, I hoped so. I don’t like being stood up.”
“Don’t you? Somehow, the idea doesn’t disturb me. You’ll understand my indifference, I’m sure.”
“I don’t give a damn how you feel about it.” O’Hara occupied himself for a few seconds with finding and lighting a cigarette. “I’ll tell you what I do give a damn about, though, since you’ve brought it to my attention. I give a damn about what’s become of Terry. How long has she been missing?”
“Since yesterday afternoon.”
“That long? And you have no idea where she can be?”
“I’ve had a couple of ideas. Both seem to have been wrong.”
“Maybe you know more about it than you’re admitting.”
“What the devil do you mean by that?”
“You have plenty of reason to work up a hate for Terry. It would be smart of you to kick up a fuss as a cover-up.”
“Don’t be a fool. It’s been all over between Terry and me for some time now”
“Then what’s the uproar about?”
“She’s still my wife, O’Hara.”
O’Hara smiled. “Are you getting tough with me?”
“Let’s not underestimate each other. A mistake either way could be costly.”
“Fair enough. And now, if you won’t have that drink, I have an appointment at one of my clubs. I’m already late.”
He went to the door and held it open. “I’ll make a point of looking into this,” he said. “Let’s hope we hear from Terry soon.”
Jay said nothing more.
He descended to the lobby in the fast elevator, from the lobby into the street. A cold wind had come up. He felt that he had survived an ordeal with as much dignity as the circumstances permitted.
Turning up his collar and lowering his head, Jay walked home against the wind.
9
Otis Bowers awoke with a sensation of rising slowly through brackish water to the surface of a stagnant pool. His teeth felt smeary and his face, with its growth of meager beard, dirty. It took him a moment, dreading the day, to remember that it was Sunday, a fact which by no means diminished his dread. He did not plan the traditional pause for worship and rest, having no conviction in the one and little hope of the other. Ardis, stirred by current events to an old animus, was hardly a restful mate. He could feel her beside him, hear her breathing. He knew without looking that her back was turned against him, a position she seemed able to maintain even in the tossing and turning of sleep.
Carefully Otis eased his legs over the side of the bed. This slight effort exhausted him, and he sat slumped for a few minutes, braced by his arms. Then he struggled to his feet and padded into the bathroom. Now, with a kind of sustained rush, he brushed his teeth, washed his face, lathered, and shaved. Returning to the bedroom, he saw with despair that Ardis was sitting up against the headboard of the bed.
“Good morning,” Otis said.
“Is the coffee making?” Ardis said.
“Not yet. I just woke up.”
“What time is it?”
He looked at the alarm clock, which she could have seen for herself by simply turning her head.
“Twenty minutes past nine.”
“I want my coffee.”
“I was just going to make it.”
He went out to the kitchen and put cold water into a Pyrex pot and leaned against the table until the water boiled. He removed the pot from the burner, measured in the instant coffee, and watched it while it steeped. This done, he poured two cupfuls and carried the cups to the bedroom. Thus far, he had been reasonably successful in not thinking about things he didn’t want to think about.
“Here you are,” he said.
She carried the cup immediately to her mouth, afterward closing her eyes and letting her head fall back against the headboard. Her face looked grayer and older than it was.
“I wonder if Terry’s back,” she said.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen Jay since yesterday.”
“Aren’t you terribly concerned?”
“Don’t start that again. Please don’t.”
“Oh, excuse me.” Ardis raised her head and opened her eyes, disclosing the malice behind her lids. “I’d forgotten how sensitive you are on the subject of Terry. She made a fool of you with so little effort, didn’t she?”
“I suppose she did. You are welcome to think so, if you like. Can’t you forget it, Ardis? Can’t you let me forget it?”
“That would be nice for you, wouldn’t it? It’s not as easy as all that for me.”
“Can’t I make you understand that there never really was anything between Terry and me? Nothing ever happened. She was only playing a game with me. Terry’s got a cruel streak in her. She enjoys things like that. I’m not the type Terry would take seriously.”
“Why not? Aside from being a fool in your personal affairs, you’re a brilliant physicist. You have a wonderful career ahead of you. All you have to do is use common sense.”