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"Just tellto hurt me," she said "Could you do that?"

"Why would I hurt you?"

"I don’t know"

"Well, ould you say so like that?"

"Oh, God," she said She put a hand to her ernails weren’t polished, just her toenails Interesting She said, "When I’m in a relationship I have to be completely honest"

"Huh?"

"Not that this is a relationship, I ether once, but I felt we really related, don’t you think?"

Keller wondered what she was getting at

"So I have to be honest See, I knohat you do"

"You knohat I do?"

"On those trips"

That was ridiculous How could she know anything?

"Tell me," he said

"I’m afraid to say it" God, maybe she did know

"Go ahead," he said "There’s nothing to be afraid of"

"You-"

"Go ahead"

"You’re an assassin"

Ooops

He said, "What makes you think that?"

"I don’t think it," she said "I sort of know it And I don’t kno I know it I guess I knew it the day I uess It’s kind of intangible, but it’s there"

"Oh"

"I sense things about people Please don’t hurt me"

"I’ll never hurt you, Andria"

"I know you mean that," she said "I hope it turns out to be true"

He thought for a moment "If you think that about me," he said, "or know it, whatever you want to call it, and if you were afraid I ht… hurt you-"

"Then why did I coht Why did you?"

She looked right into his eyes "I couldn’t help myself," she said

He felt this sensation in the middle of his chest, as if there had been a steel band around his heart and it had just cracked and fallen away He reached for her and drew her down

On the floor at the side of the bed, Nelson slept like a laether Keller bought the paper and picked up a quart of milk Back at the apartment, he made a pot of coffee while she put breakfast on the table

He said, "Look, I’ht to say The first is that you have nothing to fear fro else I have no reason to hurt you, and even if I had a reason I wouldn’t do it"

"I know that"

"Oh?"

"I was afraid last night I’m not afraid now"

"Oh," he said "Well, the other thing I want to say is that I know you don’t have a place to stay right now, and as far as I’ as you want In fact I’d like it if you stayed here You can even sleep on the couch if you want, assuh"

She considered her reply, and the phone rang Hevoice, "I think you had better pay a call on your kindly old Aunt Dorothy"

"I just did," he reminded her "Just because it was quick and easy doesn’t eet on the next train, will you? It’s urgent"

"Urgent?"

"There’s a problem"

"What do youabout a piece of cake?"

"So?"

"So your cake fell," Dot said "Get it?"

There was no one to meet hi Victorian house on Taunton Place Dot aiting on the porch "All right," she said "Report"

"To you?"

"And then I report to hied and reported Where he’d gone, what he’d done It took only a few sentences When he was done he paused for a moment, and then he said, "The woman wasn’t supposed to be there"