"Very well."
"First, you were to submit some information concerning a certain scientific gentleman, a specialist in vibrations. How was it received?"
"Not well," he said dryly. "I was informed that the matter was well in hand, and that we should mind our own business. As for the gentleman in question, he's supposed to be a good man who's been working a little too hard. That is the word for publication."
So that was the dope on Naldi. Publicly he was supposed to be showing symptoms of overwork; privately he was being watched, and it was none of our damn business.
"That brings us," I said. "to the description of two people and a vehicle that had received unexpected circulation locally. You were going to investigate, remember?"
"I remember. The investigation was fruitless." His voice was grim. "It is the same department that refused us access to its records recently. We will receive no cooperation from that quarter."
"Don't be too sure, sir," I said. "Give them a ring and tell them I've got two of their boys here and would like them hauled away. I think they'll cooperate to that extent."
There was a little pause. Mac spoke softly, far away. "Was that necessary?"
"Not at all, sir," I said. "I could easily have stood still and let them shoot me full of bullet holes. They had the; equipment and, as far as I could make out, the desire. There wasn't much time to investigate motives, and the room was dark."
"Give me an idea of the approximate extent of the damage."
"One lacerated scalp and probable concussion," I said. "Fracture unlikely but possible. One set of badly damaged ribs with probable internal injuries. Some plastic surgery may be required on this one. Both have received Injection C and are sleeping peacefully."
"There was no warning?"
"No preliminary conversation whatever. When I opened the door, it was as if I'd dynamited Boulder Dam. They poured all over me."
"You have no idea what they wanted?"
"No, sir. Maybe you can find out from the other end."
"Maybe. You can be certain I will try. Are you all right?"
"It's kind of you to ask, sir," I said. "It was close, but I had help. I'm fine."
"How much time do you want?"
"Half an hour ought to do it. Better not make it much longer. We'd hate to lose either of them, wouldn't we? And see if you can straighten things out so I don't fall over any more of them, sir. It confuses the issue badly."
"I'll endeavor to do that," he said grimly, and I thought there might be some activity in Washington in the near future. "Now let me speak to Mrs. Meadows," he said. "Mrs. Meadows, now that you have heard this conversation, I advise you to forget it. Somebody will call on you shortly with credentials I think you will find adequate…"
I laid the phone down and looked at Gail. "Well, now you know how it's done," I said. "If you're wondering why we let the lady listen in, that's psychology. If we'd kept her off the line-if we could have-she'd have been curious and suspicious. Since she was allowed to listen to important government secrets, she may be proud and scared enough to keep her mouth shut… What's the matter?"
She was watching me in a preoccupied way, frowning a little. "Injection C," she said. "Does that mean there are Injections A and B, too?"
"Don't be nosy," I said. "But since you ask, A is permanent and very quick, but leaves traces. B is slower but can't be detected in the body after a short time- it can pass for heart failure if you set it up right. One that's both instantaneous and undetectable is in the works. Does that answer your question?"
She shivered slightly. "I'm sorry I asked. You're not a very nice person, are you, Matt?"
"I'm terrible," I said, "but you've known that since El Paso, so let's just pass up the subject of me and how awful I am. Right now I'd like to know how you made out. We haven't got much time; we want to be out of here before the rescue squad arrives."
She was looking at me blankly. "How I made out?"
"You went on a mission, remember? A secret, mysterious mission. Something you didn't want to tell me about; you wanted to do it by yourself. You wanted to help."
There was a little silence, and something in the room seemed to change. Something went out of it suddenly, something that had been warm and friendly and kind of nice. She went phony on me is the best way I can describe it.
"Heavens, I'd completely forgotten!" she gasped. "Coming in and seeing you fighting like that just drove it plumb out of my mind… Matt, darling, I've got it!"
"Got what?"
"Don't be silly, what we've been looking for, of course! Darling, I've found it! I started thinking about what you'd said. You know, you asked me if I was quite sure Janie had really said Wigwam, and I said I was, almost. And then you asked if I was quite sure she'd said Carrizozo. Well, the more I thought about it… Anyway, I went out to look at the map in the truck, and I made a couple of phone calls. Matt, do you know a town called Ruidoso?"
"Sure," I said. "It's about thirty-five miles from here, up in the mountains on the other side of Sierra Blanca, the big peak we passed on the way up. Horse races are run there in the summer. Ruidoso Downs. The village of Ruidoso itself is just up the canyon from the track." I frowned. "What about Ruidoso?"
"Darling, you're being downright stupid! Don't you see? Carrizozo-Ruidoso. That's where I made my mistake. They sound alike, and I'd never heard of Ruidoso and I'd heard of this place, so… Don't you understand?"
I said, watching her, "I thought all Texans knew about Ruidoso Downs. Certainly enough of them go there for the races."
Her eyes narrowed. "I declare, you're acting very strangely. I thought you'd be proud of me! Don't you understand, I've got it, I've got your lousy wigwam! The Wigwam Lodge in Ruidoso!"
XX
There wasn't much conversation during the first part of the journey. I didn't know what her thoughts were, and I didn't want to look at her to find out.
As for my own thoughts, they were confused. She'd saved my life, was the thing I kept remembering, and still, instinct warned me she was being much less than honest with me now. It disturbed me to be heading towards Ruidoso, far back up in the high mountains on the wrong side of the valley, as far as the atom test was concerned. But then, Mac had said that atomic explosions were really none of my business. Gunther was. He could as easily be in Ruidoso as elsewhere. Or the woman beside me could be leading me around by the nose for laughs, but she was still the only lead we had. I had no choice but to stick with her.
Presently she glanced at me. "I thought you said it was only thirty-five miles."
I said, "That's the direct road across the mountains. Most of it's unpaved, and it's probably all knee deep in snow. I thought we'd better stay on the pavement. It's longer but surer."
"Of course." After a while, she said, "Matt."
"Yes?"
"You're going to kill him, aren't you?"
"Sam Gunther?" I said. "The Cowboy? Yes, if I can find him. That's my job." Her silence had an accusing quality, and I said quickly, "I told you from the start that if we were successful in our mission, Sam wasn't likely to survive it very long."
"Yes, but I didn't know…" She shivered. "I didn't dream… Not until I saw the way you acted with those men, with that hypodermic."
There was a little silence. I shifted gears as the road steepened and we climbed upwards through the pines.
"It's all… rather shocking," she said. "I didn't know things like this went on, darling. I didn't know people like you existed." She hesitated. "I suppose I should be horrified. Maybe I am. Don't expect too much of me. Just tell me what you want me to do…
It was a nice touch, a nice offer. I would have liked to think it was sincere. I told her something, hoping it sounded sensible and plausible.