"I didn't trust him," Auntie Lil admitted, nodding toward Billy. "And, come to think of it, I still don't know that I do."
"He's friends with Santos," T.S. complained.
"What better cover?" Herbert pointed out.
Half an hour later, Bob Fleming walked by. He looked exhausted, confused and just a little bit hopeful. It was his second trip to the precinct that night, but this one promised to clear him.
"He's clean," Auntie Lil declared firmly. "He's not the big man."
"Maybe." T.S. conceded, glad to return her favor. "Then again, maybe not. He could easily be in cahoots with Worthington. I'd like to hear what Timmy has to say."
"It may be days before the boy can speak." Herbert scrutinized the Homefront director. "It is my hope that he is innocent. But you know what I really wonder?"
They both stared at him, waiting.
"We keep seeing people come into the precinct. Pray tell, where are they exiting?"
They contemplated this minor mystery in silence until, a few minutes later, they saw a determined-looking Fran and a tired Father Stebbins trudge past.
Auntie Lil rose from her chair when she saw the priest, but T.S. pulled her firmly back into place. "Forget it. We'll find out in a little while. We've interfered enough. Let's let Santos gather the rest of it together."
"No policeman is accompanying them," Herbert observed. "I think that, perhaps, Father Stebbins is here at the behest of Miss Fran."
"How could they have found out what happened to me?" Auntie Lil asked.
"Hard as it may seem, their presence here may have nothing to do with you," T.S. pointed out. "Perhaps they are here on their own."
But half an hour later, it became apparent that he could be wrong. A commotion at the front desk alerted the trio that Adelle and her followers had heard what had happened to Auntie Lil and were at the precinct, seeking information. Like Billy said—street talk was fast and it was often very accurate.
"We demand to know what's going on," Adelle was insisting in a rich stage voice. "I have heard rumors of an attack on one of us. We may all be in danger here. Have they apprehended the culprit or do you intend to allow us to continue to be stalked like so many defenseless deer?"
A deer was not the animal analogy T.S. would have chosen for Adelle. "I'll handle this," he assured Auntie Lil. He walked to the door and shut it firmly, pulling the bolt lock shut before returning to his chair.
"Thank God," Auntie Lil said, putting her head on the desk.
"I do not think that they could see us," Herbert assured her, massaging the back of her neck gently.
An indignant cacophony of sound from the other side of the door signaled the eventual ejection of the actresses from the station house. Judging from the noise, a number of culprits waiting to be booked had decided to take sides and were heard encouraging the women to stand up for their rights. Unfortunately, enthusiastic support from the criminal underclass did nothing for their credibility and soon a relative silence descended on the precinct.
"They're gone," Herbert remarked. They all nodded and fell wearily silent again. The only sounds in the room were occasional gulps as they refueled their caffeine intake, and soft murmurings as Herbert reassured Auntie Lil.
T.S. felt miserably alone.
When the knock on the door came, T.S. expected either Santos or a minion calling for their presence in an interviewing room. He was unprepared to find Lilah waiting on the other side. His feelings zoomed from despair to elation in a single second. It was a wonder his heart survived the jolt.
"Lilah!" All other words left him in a stab of pure, unexpected pleasure.
"Theodore." She rushed toward him and he was enveloped in a cloud of faint gardenia perfume. "Your hand!" She touched the huge bandage gingerly and stared into his face. "What have they done to you, Theodore? You're not hiding in here, are you? Are you under arrest?"
"Good heavens, no." He quickly filled her in on the events of the evening.
"Oh, no," she said when he was done. She rushed over to Auntie Lil and fluttered over her until it became immediately plain that such treatment only annoyed the patient.
"I'm perfectly all right," Auntie Lil declared. "Go fuss over Theodore. He likes it."
"Since you're both okay, can they came in?" Lilah darted out the door without waiting for a further invitation. When she returned it was quite a procession that made its way into the room.