excited expression on his face. He's in there all right, he said, eyes still fixed on the trunk.
What did you hear?
His heartbeat. Go listen for yourself if you wish. It's your heart. I want to see him, I said. Stand over there, out of the way.
I don't think you should do this. Ah, but I want to. Besides, I must assess that lock just in case. I approached the trunk and realized as soon as I saw it closely that the lock had not even been turned. He either could not dc it telepathically or had never bothered. Standing well to one side, I reached down with my right hand and jerked at the brass edge of the lid. Then I threw it back against the wall.
It struck the paneling with a dull sound, remaining open, and I realized that I was looking at a mass of soft black fabric, folded loosely and completely hiding the contents below. Nothing stirred beneath this fabric.
No powerful white hand suddenly reached for my throat! Standing as far back as I could, I reached out and snatched up the cloth and drew it back in a great black flash of silk. My mortal heart was pounding miserably, and I almost lost my balance as I put several feet of space between myself and the trunk. But the body which lay there, quite visibly, with its knees drawn up just as I'd imagined, and its arms folded around its knees, did not move.
Indeed, the sunburnt face was as still as that of a mannequin, with its eyes closed and its familiar profile burning against the funereal padding of white silk beneath it. My profile. My eyes. My body dressed in formal evening black-a vampire's black, if you will-with stiff white shirtfront and shining black tie at the neck. My hair, loose and full and golden in the dim light.
My body!
And I, standing there in a trembling mortal frame, with this bolt of loose black silk hanging like a matador's cape from my trembling hand.
Hurry! David whispered.
Even as the syllables left his lips, I saw the crooked arm inside the trunk begin to move. The elbow tightened. The hand was sliding loose from its grip on the bent knee. At once I hurled the fabric back over the body, seeing it slip into the same shapeless covering it had been before. And with a quick swipe of my left fingers, I threw the lid up away from the wall so that it fell shut with a dull sound.
Thank God the fancy outer cloth did not catch in it, but tumbled down into place, covering the unsnapped lock. I moved backwards away from the locker, almost sick with fear and amazement, and felt the reassuring pressure of David's hand on my arm.
Together we stood there silent for a long moment until we were certain that the preternatural body was at rest again.
Finally, I had collected myself sufficiently to take one more quiet look about. I was still trembling, but powerfully excited by the tasks that lay ahead.
Even with their thick layer of synthetic materials, these quarters were sumptuous by any standards. They represented the sort of luxury and privilege which very few mortals can ever attain. How he must have reveled in it. Ah, and to look at all those fine evening clothes. Black velvet dinner jackets as well as the more familiar style, and even an opera cape, he had indulged himself in that as well. There were shiny shoes galore on the floor of the closet, and a great wealth of expensive liquor exposed upon the bar.
Did he lure the women here for cocktails as he took his little drink
I looked at the large stretch of glass wall, quite visible on account of the seam of light at the top and bottom edges of the draperies. Only now did I realize that this room was facing the southeast.
David squeezed my arm. Wasn't it safe now to go
We left the Signal Deck immediately without encountering the steward again. David had the key in his inside pocket.
Down we went now to Five Deck, which was the very last deck of cabins, though not of the ship itself, and we found the little inside stateroom of Mr. Eric Sampson, who did not exist, and where another trunk was waiting to be occupied by that body upstairs when it once again belonged to me.
Nice small, windowless chamber. Of course it had the regular lock, but what of the others,