Or what? he asked himself. She’s got no interest in you. Why should she? If Tim’s got it right, she’s shacking up with Sinclair. Somehow, Jake realized that he didn’t want to believe that.

Jake had been working closely with Amy Wexler, seeing her almost every day, sleeping with her some nights. Her apartment was in a downtown high-rise condo, very expensive. Jake buried the questions that nagged at him: Is Tomlinson paying for this palace? What does she do the nights she’s not with me?

Now a new question arose in his mind: Is Glynis sleeping with Sinclair? No, he told himself. She wouldn’t. Tim’s wrong about her. He’s probably come on to her but she wouldn’t do it. She’s too independent for that kind of fooling around. Besides, he’s a married man. She doesn’t need that kind of trouble. Then he added, And she certainly doesn’t need an assistant professor of astronomy.

*   *   *

The lecture hall was half filled with listless, bored students, most of them tapping away at their cell phones. Only a handful showed any real interest in astronomy. Those few, those precious few, sat in the auditorium’s front row as Jake climbed up onto the stage and set up his laptop’s PowerPoint slide presentation.

A couple of the front-row female students were quite good-looking, and they knew it. Trouble on the hoof, Jake thought. Lay a finger on them and they’ll scream sexual harassment. But in the meantime they wear low-cut sweaters and lean forward a lot.

“All right,” he said into the lectern’s built-in microphone. “Let’s settle down, shall we? Cell phones off, please.”

A palpable wave of discontent spread through the half-empty auditorium.

“Okay,” Jake said, forcing a smile. “Today we’re going to look at the king of the planets, Jupiter, and its major moons. If there’s any place in our solar system that harbors life, it’s most likely here…”

Politics 101

POLITICS 101

Jake’s telephone message light was blinking when he returned to his cramped little office. He punched the button and heard Glynis’s voice:

“Jake, I’ve talked with Professor Sinclair about his avoiding you. He seemed surprised. He said he’s tied up for the rest of today, but he’s attending a social function this evening and he could talk to you there, if you want to come.”

Jake phoned her back immediately. “What’s this social function that Sinclair’s going to? Where is it? What time?”

She hesitated for a moment. Then he heard, “It’s a cocktail party. For Senator Leeds.”

“Leeds? He’s going to a cocktail party for Leeds?”

“Don’t get upset, Jake,” said Glynis. “It’s a university thing. The senator is dedicating a new wing to the library this afternoon, and the university is giving him a cocktail reception afterward.”

“And Sinclair’s going to be there.”