Nigel stiffened. For a moment his dark skin turned a sickly, pasty shade, and she knew he’d caught the alarm she felt.
“I’d thought about taking him to the clinic, but he always makes excuses and I finally realized he’s just a … new man. I guess he just missed the two of us and that was why he always seemed so dispirited when I went to see him before.”
She could see Nigel was struggling with the hints she’d passed to him. Focusing on her meal, she allowed him to sort it out in his mind. “I should stop by for a visit,” Nigel said finally. “I haven’t been to see either one of you in weeks.”
Lena beamed at him. Relief flooded her, making her feel weak as the tension vanished. “That would be such fun! Tonight? I could stop by the market and pick up something special for dinner.”
Nigel glanced at his watch. “Sure. I have to work late. I’ve got five more clients to see today, but I’ll come as soon as I’m off and we can catch up.”
Lena couldn’t help but notice that she’d completely demolished Nigel’s appetite. She could see he was struggling to maintain a pretense of interest in his food. Guilt flooded her when she realized her own appetite had exerted itself now that she’d shouldered her anxiety off onto him.
She wished she could’ve just explained everything plainly. Nigel might have been able to dismiss her qualms without growing so alarmed himself, but there was no discussing anything private in public if one wanted to keep it private.
She’d never found that particularly disturbing before. The gov had vids everywhere to monitor its citizens and prevent crime. It was for their own safety, and it was a comfort to know that, unlike the old days, crime was now almost non-existent and one could walk most anywhere, at any time of the day or night, without concern for their safety.
Not that anyone except the home guard was allowed on the streets after curfew.
She supposed she shouldn’t worry about being overheard now. It wasn’t as if there was anything criminal in anything she might have said.
Yet she had felt real fear about voicing her thoughts and concerns aloud.
Maybe the problem was her, not Morris? Maybe she was just growing paranoid?
ChapterThree
Lena felt almost lighthearted as she looked over the displays in the market for something really special to prepare for dinner. After debating with herself for a good ten minutes, she finally decided to splurge and buy a real roast. The vegameat was almost as good, but she hadn’t had real meat in at least a month and she doubted Nigel had. Luck was with her. She managed to get the last one available. Ignoring the twinge of guilt that caused her, she collected the sides she had decided to nuke with it from the bin below the display, tucked it all into her tote and headed out of the market again.
When she reached the shuttle terminal, she discovered she’d dallied until she’d caught the homeward rush. The platform was packed almost shoulder to shoulder. After checking her time piece several times, she resolutely ignored the minutes ticking off. The shuttle would arrive when it arrived. There was nothing she could do about it unless she opted to walk and that would delay her even more.
Patience, she chastised herself. She would still have a good hour to prepare the meal before Nigel could possibly get to her place.
Trying to ignore her rising tension and the unpleasant situation of standing in such a closely packed formation that she could feel the body heat of the people around her, smell their combined breaths and the odors that clung to their skin, Lena tipped her head back and glanced toward the opening where the shuttle would appear when it arrived. As she did so, her gaze locked with that of a man who’d just stepped up on something to look out over the crowd.
It was the cauc, the one she’d seen in Morris’ place. Even as a heated wave of attraction washed over her, though, it filtered into her mind that he was wearing the uniform of a home guardsman. Pleasure was instantly replaced with alarm as he stepped down from whatever it was he’d been standing on and she could see the crowd ripple as he pushed his way through.
He was headed in her direction!
Fullfledged fear sent a cold wave crashing over her.
Her panicked mind refused even to sort the conflicting information rushing through her mind. Acting purely on instinct, Lena began inching her way through the crowd in the opposite direction, trying to keep from looking as panic stricken as she felt and raising an alarm.
The shuttle arrived as she neared the edge of the crowd on the platform and before she could prevent it, she was swept up in the wave of humanity that surged toward the opening doors and into a car. Unable to think clearly at all, Lena continued struggling against the tide. She’d almost reached the doors to get off again when they slammed shut, trapping her inside.
As the car shot from the platform, she caught a glimpse of the cauc--still standing on the platform, searching for her face among those who remained to wait for the next shuttle. Weak with relief, Lena glanced around at the car and finally found enough room on a seat to wedge her butt into.
As reaction set in, her rioting thoughts calmed somewhat and she wondered what had possessed her to react as if she was guilty of something. She hadn’t done anything. Why had she felt so fearful the very moment she realized he was wearing the uniform of the home guard?
Because she was paranoid, she chided herself.
It was probably nothing more than that he’d recognized her and wanted to talk to her about Morris for some reason. Maybe he’d wondered what had happened to Morris?
He had been looking for someone, though. He’d stepped up on something to give him a better vantage to view the crowd.
That didn’t necessarily mean he’d been looking for her.
But if he’d been looking for someone else, why had he abandoned his search and headed toward her?
It occurred to her abruptly that she didn’t know he had even targeted her. He had seemed to be looking straight at her, but that didn’t mean he had been. She cast her mind back, trying to recall if she’d noticed anyone else who appeared to be attempting to evade him but discovered that was useless. She’d been too mindless with panic to think at all and certainly too frightened to notice anyone else.
