“Did you see a guy in a tan trench coat?” she asked.

He pointed to the nearby university Convocation Center.

The security cruiser picked'her up and drove her to the modem brick-and-glass building shaped like a birthday cake with a dome.

“There he is,” Security Officer Barnhart said, pointing to the third-level concrete walkway that circled the building.

“Wait here,” she told him. “I’d better handle him myself.”

“Don’t go inside the building with him. Don’t be alone with him,” Barnhart said.

She ran up one of the ramps and saw him trying door after door to get into the building.

“Billy!” she shouted, running from the ramp to the walkway. “Wait for me!”

He didn’t answer.

She tried other names: “Danny! Allen! Tommy!”

He ignored her, moving quickly around the walkway, trying one door after another until finally he found an open one and disappeared inside. She’d never been inside the Convocation

Center. Frightened, not knowing what to expect of him or why he was here, she raced in and caught up to him as he started up a steep staircase. She stayed at the foot of the stairs.

“Come on down, Billy.”

“The hell with you. I ain’t Billy.”

She’d never seen him chew gum before, but now he was chomping away hard and fast.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Steve.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Shit, what the hell does it look like? I want to get to the top of the building.”

“Why?”

“To jump.”

“Come on down, Steve, and let’s talk about it.” •

He refused to come down, though she tried to reason with him. It was no use. She believed he was determined to kill himself. She noticed how different he was: cocky now, his voice higher, speech faster, macho arrogance in his expression and tone.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” he said, and went through the lavatory door.

She ran quickly to the exit and stepped out on the circular walk to see if Clyde was still there with the security cruiser. He wasn’t. He’d gone. When she got back inside, Steve came out of the mens room and disappeared through another door. She tried to follow, but he locked it from the inside.

She found a wall phone, dialed the hospital and asked for Dr. Caul.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said. “He’s Steve and talking about killing himself.”

“Calm him down,” Caul said. “Tell him everything’s going to be okay. Tell him it’s not going to be as bad as he thinks. He’ll be able to go to Kentucky for treatment with Dr. Wilbur. Tell him to come on back.”

She hung up and went back to the door, banging and calling, “Steve! Open this door! Dr. Caul says you’ll be able to go to Kentucky!”

Seconds later, a student coming through unlocked the door. Wanda discovered it led to a narrow circular corridor. She stuck her head into offices and lounges as she ran, feeling like someone on a nightmare merry-go-round. Can’t find him. Keep looking. Keep going.