Schweickart thought for a moment. “Are the guns yours, too?”

Tommy shook his head. “Ragen is the only one allowed to handle guns.”

“Allowed? Who does the allowing?” Judy asked.

“Well, that depends where we are … Look, I’m tired of being pumped for information. That’s Arthur’s job, or Allen’s. Ask one of them, okay? I’m leaving.”

“Wait …”

But Judy was too late. His eyes blanked and he shifted position. He placed his fingertips together, making his hands a pyramid. As his chin lifted, his face changed to the expression she had come to recognize as Arthur. She introduced him to Gary.

“You have to forgive Tommy,” Arthur said coldly. “He is a rather antisocial youth. If he weren’t so clever with electronic equipment and locks, I think I would have banished him long ago. But his are useful talents.”

“What are your talents?” Gary asked.

Arthur waved his hand deprecatingly. “I’m just an amateur. I dabble in biology and medicine.”

“Gary was asking Tommy about the guns,” Judy said. “It’s a parole violation, you know.”

Arthur nodded. “The only one permitted to handle guns is Ragen, the keeper of rage. That is his specialty. But he may use them only for protection and survival. Just as he may use his great strength only for the common good, never to harm others. He has the ability to control and concentrate his adrenaline, you know.”

“He used the guns when he kidnapped and raped those four women,” Gary said.

Arthurs voice dropped to an icy calmness. “Ragen never raped anyone. I’ve spoken to him about this case. He started to commit robberies because he was worried about the unpaid bills. He admits robbing the three women in October, but he denies, absolutely, any involvement with that woman in August or with any sex crimes.”

Gary leaned forward, watching Arthurs face closely, aware that his own skepticism was melting away. “But the evidence—”

“Evidence be damned! If Ragen says he didn’t do it, there’s no use in questioning it. He won’t lie. Ragen is a thief, but he is no rapist.”

“You say you’ve spoken to Ragen,” Judy said. “How does that work? Do you talk to each other out loud or in your head? Is it speech or thought?”

Arthur clasped his hands. “It happens both ways. Sometimes it’s internal, and in all probability no one else knows it’s happening. At other times, usually when we’re alone, it’s definitely aloud. I imagine if someone was watching us, he or she would think we were quite mad.”

Gary sat back, pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the perspiration from his brow. “Who’s going to believe this?” Arthur smiled condescendingly. “As I was saying, Ragen, like the rest of us, never lies. All our lives people nave accused us of being liars. It has become a point of honor among us never to tell a falsehood. So we don’t really care who believes.” “But you don’t always volunteer the truth,” Judy said.