55

Duvivier leaned over the balcony opposite the main entrance of the Air and Space Museum. Behind him, like a giant phallus, was the Explorer Two space capsule.

What would he do when he saw them? For a brief moment his imagination usurped his fear. He saw himself vaulting into the open-cockpit plane that dangled from the ceiling. He would toss his scarf over his shoulder and stand, cutting the guy wires that suspended it. Then he would swoop down, in one heroic pass. Paul Riley would be felled by the propeller. And he, Duvivier, would lean over the side of the plane, catching Lida in his arms.

Then he thought of Riley with Lida in the restaurant. “It’s so hard to make you cry,” he had said, “but I’ll make you cry.” Oh, God.

Suppose they had already gotten here?

Suppose they came in one of the other entrances?

Suppose they never came at all?