Cox cut across the midday lawn, dodging the two languid workmen who were clearing away the final evidence that the press had been camping around the Kirk house. He took the steps two at a time and rang the bell.596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBQTd2ukzw
The door opened and a uniformed HPD officer looked out at him. "Yeah?"
"I'd like to see Mrs. Kirk. My name's Cox."
"She ain't seein' anybody right now, pardner."
"I phoned this morning," Cox told him. "I think she's expecting me."
"What was your name again?"
"Cox."
"Okay, wait a minute." The policeman turned away.
Cox waited on the porch, hands in his pockets. He whistled, tried out a few tap steps, then slouched.
The cop returned. "She'll see you," he said. "Come in."
The house was quiet and shadowy.
"She's out on the patio," explained the cop, pointing. "Through that door there."
"Much obliged." He found Janice Kirk sitting on a bright, patterned couch on the red-tiled patio, a white-painted arbor with twisting grape leaves shading her from the bright sun. "Hi, Mrs. Kirk."
"Sit down, Mr. Cox," Janice invited.
He settled into a wrought iron chair, tapped his knees, sucked his cheek, and scratched his head. "First off," he began, "it goes without saying that I'm very sorry about---and I apologize for barging in at a time like this."
"Don't be too uncomfortable around me, okay?" Janice said. "You're interrupting me, true, but that's exactly what I want now---something to distract me. And you did mention that what you wanted to talk about was important."
"Maybe not to you," he said. "I'm not sure. It's important to me, though, in a kind of personal way."
"I've seen you on the news every now and then," she said. "Are you on a story now?"
"Well, not exactly. But as I mentioned to you when I called, I'm not looking for an interview." Cox shifted, slapped his knees again. "What I want to ask you about is the last time you spoke to your husband. You know, after the landing."
"Yes?"
"This may sound kind of crazy, ma'am," he began, clearing his throat and leaning toward her. "I was there at Mission Control, watching you while you spoke with your husband. Now just before the conversation ended, Colonel Kirk said something to you about a trip to Egypt he said he'd have to make. You didn't seem to understand what he was talking about. I've just been over at our local station, checking out a video tape of the incident, and my impression checks out right. You looked confused."
"As a matter of fact, I was," she replied. "Why do you want to know?"
"As I told you, ma'am, right now it's personal."
"It happens to be personal to me, too."
"Hey, I'm not trying to embarrass you or anyone else."
She studied his face. "I remember thinking, when I saw you on the news, Mr. Cox, that you weren't exactly like the ordinary newsman," she said. "You're more flippant, for one thing, but there's a kind of honesty about you."
"I'm not just another handsome face, no. And I'm not trying to con you, or get a story out of you."
"It's really kinda silly, nothing at all dramatic or mysterious," Janice said slowly, her eyes nearly closing. "Jim must have forgotten, made a little mistake. I'm sure that's all it was. He obviously had a lot on his mind, and it's natural he might get mixed up about a trip."
"Mixed up?" Cox was leaning forward. "Mrs. Kirk, exactly what was wrong with what he said?"
"What are you looking for?" she asked.
"It's got to do with a friend of mine," he told her. "Now, maybe it's got nothing to do with it at all. Did you ever work one of those puzzles, when you were a kid---the kind where you shade in the dotted squares? At first it doesn't look like anything. But when you get enough squares filled in, presto, you've got a picture."
"Peter loved to do those, a year or so ago," said Janice. "You think you're friend's problem, and something Jim made a mistake about are somehow connected?"
"I've only filled in a few squares, ma'am, not enough yet to tell," he said. "Trust me, when I get a picture, and if it's the picture I'm expecting, I'll tell you the whole thing."
Janice said, "What Jim went wrong on was the trip. He said he'd go back to Egypt, like last year. But last year he didn't go to Egypt, he went on a goodwill trip to Tunisia." She made a little shrug. "That's all. It doesn't seem to be of cosmic significance, does it?"596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTcdFXRmYK
Cox squeezed his nose, poking his cheek out with his tongue. "It might, it just might." He stretched up out of the chair. "It's very pleasant out here."
"Once upon a time." Janice stood, too, and walked toward the door with him.
"Anyway, I appreciate your listening to my slightly nitwit questions."
"Have I been of any help?"596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlndduk5eG
"I've got a feeling you have, but don't aske me how, yet." Cox reached out, took hold of her hand, and shook it. "I'd like to call you again, if I come up with anything. May I?"596Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36upOWcTjI
"Yes, of course."
"Thanks, then." He tried a grin, let it fade and got away from her.
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