Jack can’t see the cop’s face but he’s got to be pissed because he’s cranked his siren up to full blast now and not only are his flashers doing the dervish but his headlights are strobing like it’s disco time as he crawls up the butt of Jack’s Mercedes.

You like driving close? How’s this?

Jack presses back against the headrest as he slams on the brakes and is jolted as the cop car plows into his rear bumper. Jack pauses long enough to see the cop disappear behind a billow of white; then he roars off, laughing.

Eat hot flaming air bag, Deputy Dawg!

But a mile or so farther on he’s got another wooping flashing Glen Cove policemobile on his tail and it doesn’t seem to matter that Jack’s in Monroe now; the cop keeps coming. Jack speeds up, hoping to catch this guy same as the last, but Cop One must’ve put out the word because Cop Two hangs back. Jack’s slowing down and speeding up, trying to reel him in, and maybe just maybe he’s paying too much attention to the rear-view, because when he focuses back through the windshield during the next speedup he sees this Pacer driven by an Oriental dude turning in front of him so he stands on the brake and hauls the steering wheel left and skids across the road and everything would be fine except this brand new Chevy Suburban the size of Yonkers is barreling down the other lane and it catches him broadside like a high-velocity ninety-thousand-caliber hardball, flipping the Merc onto its side and bouncing Jack in half a dozen directions at once around the front compartment. He’s a human pinball between a set of power bumpers and as he sees the front right windshield post coming in fast for a face kiss he remembers the seat-belt warning light with sudden wistful fondness; then memory and consciousness take a breather…

6

Luc fidgeted anxiously in his chair in his book-lined study and decided he could put it off no longer. He’d stayed home today but had been checking the employee sign-in list at the GEM offices via his home computer. Nadia’s name was still absent.

He glanced at his watch. Almost eleven. If she hadn’t signed in by now, she wasn’t going to. Time to call the clinic. He punched in the number.

“Diabetes clinic,” said a woman’s voice.

“Yes. Is Dr. Radzminsky there?”

“No. She’s gone for the day.”

“Do you know when she left?”

“Who’s calling, please?”

“This is Dr. Monnet. She works for me as a researcher.”

“Of course. She’s mentioned you.”

Has she? I wonder what she said.

“Well, she hasn’t shown up for work yet and I was wondering…”

Luc listened patiently while the receptionist related how Dr. Radzminsky was upset because of her fiancé’s disappearance and so on, and he made properly sympathetic noises. The important thing here was to establish his concern for a missing employee.

After learning that Nadia had left later than usual—almost nine-thirty—Luc told the receptionist to ask her to please call his office immediately should she return.