Olivia rinsed out her mouth and went downstairs, finding Jeff and Mitchell waiting in the motel’s foyer.

Jeff jerked a thumb towards the door adjoining the check-in desk. ‘I scoped out the kitchen,’ he said. ‘Found the refrigerator’s still running and they’re stocked up with eggs and bacon. Who wants to make breakfast?’

A weary-looking Mitchell slapped him on the shoulder. ‘I’ll make the breakfast,’ he said. ‘See you both in the restaurant in ten.’

Olivia stared after him as he strode past, the kitchen door swinging shut behind him. She was still struggling to process everything Jeff had told her, after he’d finished apologizing for treating her as he had. Pretty much anything seemed possible now that every day brought further news of growths, earthquakes and tsunamis. Even duplicate Mitchells were no particular surprise.

Jeff laid his hands on her shoulders and gave her a brief kiss on the lips. ‘Holding up?’

‘I guess.’ She nodded towards the kitchen, through which could now be heard the clatter of pots and pans. ‘Have you told him yet?’

‘You mean what we discussed last night?’ He shrugged and smiled. ‘I figured we could do that over breakfast. Why? Changed your mind?’

‘About Jupiter?’ Shaking her head, she reached out to take his hand. ‘No, if anything, I’m even more certain that it’s the right thing to do.’

Half an hour later, in the motel’s otherwise deserted cafeteria, she watched Mitchell devour a second plate of eggs before washing it all down with his fourth cup of coffee.

‘Sure, of course I remember Saul,’ he responded in reply to her question. ‘But it’s been a while since I last heard from him.’ He put down his knife and fork, and fixed his gaze on them both. ‘Why?’

‘I got in touch with him a couple of days ago,’ she explained, ‘when I was worried something bad had happened to Jeff.’

‘Where does Saul come into this?’

Olivia glanced sideways at Jeff, and saw he was deliberately not looking her way, his lips set firmly in a thin line.

‘I asked him to find Jeff,’ she said, turning back to Mitchell.

Mitchell glanced from one to the other, clearly sensing a tension between them. ‘And you did this when? Before I called you, or after?’

‘Just after. When you called me, that’s what made me sure something very bad had happened.’

Jeff cleared his throat. ‘I still don’t see why you needed to get in touch with him—’

‘For Christ’s sake, Jeff,’ she snapped, ‘we already went over all this stuff last night. There was no one else I could ask for help, so what the hell was I supposed to do? I know you just thought you were protecting me, but I already told you it was the wrong move.’

Jeff raised both his hands as if fendhis lips off. ‘Okay, okay, point taken.’