And persisted.

He did not know how long he lay there, tense and tight under Kolabati, itching for the comfortable feel of a pistol grip in his palm. It felt like half the night.

Nothing happened. Eventually, the odor began to fade. And with it the sensation of the presence of another. Jack felt himself begin to relax and, finally, begin to respond to Kolabati.

But Kolabati suddenly had different ideas. She jumped up from the bed and padded into the front room for her clothes.

Jack followed and watched her slip into her underwear with brisk, almost frantic movements.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have to get home.”

“Back to D.C.?” His heart sank. Not yet. She intrigued him so.

“No. To my brother’s. I’m staying with him.”

“I don’t understand. Is it something I—”

Kolabati leaned over and kissed him. “Nothing you did. Something he did.”

“What’s the hurry?”

“I must speak to him immediately.”

She let the dress fall over her head and slipped her shoes on. She turned to go but the apartment door stopped her.

“How does this work?”

Jack turned the central knob that retracted the four bars, then pulled it open for her.

“Wait till I get some clothes on and I’ll find you a cab.”

“I haven’t time to wait. And I can wave my arm in the air as well as anyone.”

“You’ll be back?” The answer was very important to him at the moment. He didn’t know why. He hardly knew her.

“Yes, if I can be.” Her eyes were troubled. For an instant he thought he detected a hint of fear in them. “I hope so. I really do.”

She kissed him again, then was out the door and on her way down the stairs.

Jack closed the door, locked it, and leaned against it. If he weren’t so exhausted from lack of sleep and from the strenuous demands Kolabati had made upon him tonight, he would have tried to make some sense out of the evening’s events.

He headed for bed. This time to sleep.

But chase it as he might, sleep eluded him. The memory of the odor, Kolabati’s bizarre behavior… he couldn’t explain them. But it wasn’t what had happened tonight that bothered him so much as the gnawing, uneasy feeling that something awful had almost happened.

8

Kusum started out of his sleep, instantly alert. A sound had awakened him. His Gita slipped off his lap and onto the floor as he sprang to his feet and stepped to the cabin door. It was most likely the Mother and the young one returning, but it wouldn’t hurt to be sure. One never knew what kind of scum might be lurking about the docks. He didn’t care who came aboard in his absence—it would have to be a fairly determined thief or vandal because Kusum always kept the gangway raised. A silent beeper was needed to bring it down. But an industrious lower-caste type who climbed one of the ropes and sneaked aboard would find little of value in the superstructure. And should he venture below-decks to the cargo hold… that would mean one less untouchable prowling the streets.