and he was not at the components testing lab, wherever .that was. That whole story was a lie designed to get her out of the way - and it had succeeded. She looked at her watch. Luke must have landed by now. Anthony had been waiting for him - and she might as well have been in Washington, for all the use she had been.
With despair in her heart, she wondered if Luke were still alive. ;
If he was, maybe she could still warn him, ,It was too late to leave a. message at the airport, but there must be someone she could call. She racked her brains. Luke had a secretary at the base, she remembered; a name like a flower...
Marigold. ; '
She called Redstone Arsenal and asked to speak to Dr Lucas's secretary. A woman with, a slow Alabama voice came on the line. 'Computation Laboratory, how may I help you?' . ,
'Is that Marigold?'
Yes.'
I'm Dr Josephson, a friend of Dr Lucas.'
'Yes.'She sounded suspicious.
Billie wanted this woman to trust her. 'We've spoken before, I think. My first name is Billie.'
'Oh, sure, I remember. How are you?'
'Worried. I need to get a,message to .Luke urgently. Is he with you?' ; . - .
'No, mam. He went to his housed, ,
'What's he doing there?'
Chapter 17
'Looking for a file folder.'
'A file?' Billie saw the significance of that immediately. 'A file he left here on Monday, maybe?'
'I don't know nothing about that,' said Marigold.
Of course, Luke had told Marigold to keep his Monday visit secret. But none of that was important now. 'If you see Luke, or if he calls you, would you please give him a message from me?'
'Of course.'
'Tell him Anthony is in town.'
'That's all?'
'He'll understand. Marigold ... I hesitate to say this, in case you think I'm some kind of nut, but I guess I should. I believe-Luke is in danger.'
'From this Anthony?'
"Yes. Do you believe me?'
'Stranger things have happened. Is this all tied up with him losing his memory?'
Yes. If you get that message to him, it could save his life. I mean it'
'I'll do what I can, Doctor.'
"Thank you.' Billie hung up.
Was there anyone else Luke .might talk to? She thought of Elspeth.
She called the operator and asked for Cape Canaveral.
3.45 P.M.
After discarding the burnt-out first stage, the missile will coast through a vacuum trajectory while the spatial-attitude-control system aligns it so that it is exactly horizontal with respect to the Earth's surface.
Everyone was bad-tempered at Cape Canaveral The Pentagon had ordered a security alert Arriving this morning, eager to get to work on the final checks for the all-important rocket launch, staff had been made to wait in line at the gate. Some had been there for three hours in the Florida sun. Gas tanks had run dry, radiators had boiled over, air-conditioners had failed, and engines had stalled, then refused to restart. Every car had been searched - hoods lifted, golf bags taken out of trunks, spare wheels removed from covers. Tempers frayed as all briefcases were opened each lunch pail unpacked, and every woman's purse dumped out on to a trestle table so that Colonel Hide's military police could paw through her lipsticks, love letters, tampons and Rolaids.
But that was not the end of it When workers reached their laboratories and offices and engineering shops, they were disrupted all over again by teams of men who went through their drawers and filing cabinets, looked inside their oscillators and vacuum cabinets, and took the inspection plates off their machine tools. 'We're trying to launch a goddamn rocket here,' people said again and again, but the security men just gritted their teeth and carried on. Despite the disruption, the launch was still scheduled for 10.30 p.m.
Elspeth was glad of the upset. It meant nobody noticed she was too distraught to do her job. She made mistakes in her timetable and produced her updates late, but: Willy Fredrickson was ,too distracted to reprimand her. She did not know where Luke was and she no longer felt sure she could trust Anthony.
When the phone at her desk rang a few minutes before four o'clock, her heart seemed to stop.
She-snatched up the handset Yes?? ;
This is Billie.'
'BillieT Elspeth: was taken by surprise. 'Where are you?'
'I'm in Huntsville, trying to contact Luke.'
'What's he doing there?'
'Looking for a file he left here on Monday.'
Elspeth's jaw dropped. 'He went to Huntsville on Monday? I didn't know that'
'Nobody knew, except Marigold. Elspeth, do you understand what's going on?'
She laughed humourlessly. 'I