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JUDITH PULLED out her com and punched buttons. "Who are you comming?" Randal asked.
"Jeannine Silverton. I want to warn her."
Randal frowned. "Are you sure she's not involved?"
"Well, not a hundred percent sure," Judith admitted, "but sure enough I think she deserves a warning to be careful."
"She was in a position to know a lot about what Simone was doing. More than she told us, I'm sure." Tash added.
Judith frowned when no one answered the com. "I'm sorry," the return message said, "but the party you are contacting is not available at this time. Would you like to leave a message for her?"
"Yes. Jeannine this is Judith Garneys. A couple of toughs tried to grab Tash and I on the way home from your apartment. They might try for you as well. Please be careful and get in touch with me if you need help."
As it happened, Judith's warning came too late. Jeannine had already decided she needed to get out of town. She had been packing when Judith and Tash arrived. She commed for a sled taxi and gathered what she intended to take with her. When she heard a vehicle drive up, she opened the door and froze.
"Going somewhere?" Giulio Lupin asked.
"Yes, I'm going home for Simone's funeral," she said.
"I don't think so," he told her. "The boss wants to talk to you."
A chill ran down the girl’s back, and she kept her voice steady with an effort. "Why does he want to talk to me? I don't know what Simone was into. I just finished telling that to Professor Garney's daughter. Simone was good at keeping secrets."
She started to step back into the apartment, and he gripped her arm. "Not so fast. The sled is over there. Let's go."
Jeannine dropped the things she had intended to take and kicked him hard in the shins.
"Bitch!" he said. He slapped her across the face and yanked her out the door. Leaving it open, he dragged her to the sled and threw her inside. She tried to scramble back out, but the man sitting in the seat grabbed her. She felt the sting of a pressure syringe and the world went dark.
The sled taxi she had called arrived as they were pulling out. The driver, a woman with many years of experience in her profession, looked over the situation, the wide-open door, the spilled luggage and the hastily departing sled and drew her own conclusions. She commed her dispatcher and asked if she should report what she saw.
"I'll report it," she was told. She shrugged and went to her next fare.
"I don't like it," Judith said. "Tash, I think we should go check on her."
"You'll do no such thing," Randal declared. He had no desire to re-experience the blind fear he had felt earlier. He glared at her. "Did you forget someone just tried to grab you? You need to stay here where it's safe!"
"I'll go armed this time," Judith snapped. "My father is in trouble too. I'm not going to sit on my hands and wait for someone to come help us!"
Randal glared at her. "You'll do what you're told!"
Licorice, disturbed by the angry voices, climbed up Judith, making little anxious noises. She lifted him to cuddle him, keeping her voice calm with an effort.
"No, I will do as I think best. Besides, if I get taken maybe you'll find someone you like better to marry." She stood up. "Tash, are you coming?"
"I'm your wingwoman," Tash said. "Did you say you had pistols for us?"
"Tash!" Devon protested.
She blew him a kiss and followed Judith out of the room.
Judith's accusation had floored Randal. "Someone I like better?" he asked. "What the Hell is she talking about? And that's no reason to go sticking her neck out like this anyway."
"How do you plan to stop her?" his father inquired.
"I can lock her in her room," Randal said furiously, heading for the door.
"It sounds to me as if you've got some fences to mend there," the elder Langeton said. "Maybe if you do, you'll get more cooperation."
"Well, whatever you were going to do, you won't do it here," Devon observed as a pair of one-man sleds sped by the window. "Unless I'm mistaken, there went our sleds. Maybe we should follow them to make sure they don't find any trouble."
"The door's wide open," Tash said when they arrived in front of the apartment.
"She must have been going someplace," Judith said. "But why leave her luggage behind?"
Maybe she didn't have a choice," Tash said. "It looks as if the suitcases have been searched." A high-pitched yip sounded from somewhere in the jumbled pile of suitcases. "What's that?" she asked. "Did she have a pet?"
"Maybe," Judith answered. "See if you can find it while I make sure she isn't lying hurt inside."
Unpiling the opened suitcases, Tash found a soft-sided animal crate with a screen for air. She unfastened the door, and a catamount popped out. Licorice was blue grey; this one was almost lavender with a pink nose and pink-tipped ears. The creature leaped into her arms, climbing her shirt, and making distressed noises.
"Sssh," Tash crooned. "It's going to be okay. You can stay with me until we find Jeannine." The catamount wore a tiny silver locket on her collar. Tash tapped it, and it said, "Hi, my name is Fidget. I belong to Simone Gusset. Her com number is 213859. If I am alone, please com her so she can come and get me."
"No one else is here but us," Judith reported, coming back. "but the place has been trashed. So, either she ran away, or someone took her."
"This is Fidget. Her collar tag says she belonged to Simone. Are you going to report Jeannine is missing?"
"I guess we'd better," Judith said.
"We already know," Detective Straus said from the doorway. "The taxi dispatcher Jeannine commed reported it when the driver said no one was here. How did you girls get in?"
"The door was open," Judith said. "We were afraid Jeannine might be lying hurt in here, especially after we found that," She pointed at the opened suitcases.
"You do get around," Serena Addicock said. "I take it Silverton is gone?"
"Yes," Judith replied. "For what it's worth I didn't see any blood."
"We'll need your DNA and fingerprints for exclusion," Addicock said in resignation.
Randal stewed about the argument all the way to Silverton's address. By the time he and Devon arrived, his temper had come to a rolling boil. He ignored the police sleds and a forensic team going through the apartment and stalked over to Judith.
"I ought to wring your neck," he told her. "Do you want to get kidnapped?"
Hands on her hips, Judith glared back at him. "No, of course I don't!"
"Ah, perhaps we could save this until later?" Tash intervened. "I'm sure Detectives Straus and Addicock have more important things to consider than our personal tiffs."
"The neighbor next door says a tall blond man forced her into a sled and drove off." It was one of the uniformed officers who spoke. He was young, fit and moderately good-looking.
Turning her shoulder to Randal, Judith asked, "Did she hear a name? Officer Hawtree?"
"According to Mrs. Sommelier, he only said 'the boss wanted to see her'," he replied, smiling at her.
"If you don't need my fiancée for anything else, we need to get back to the house," Randal said with icy precision.
Judith looked at him in surprise. A year ago, she would have hoped he was jealous another man obviously found her attractive, now she put it down to temper at disobeying his orders.
"Not my call," Hawtree said with regret. "I don't suppose I could treat you to a cup of coffee later, Miss Garneys?"
"Com me and we'll talk about it," Judith told him with a smile. She turned to Addicock, "Detective, the catamount belonged to Simone. Since Jeannine isn't here, will it be alright if we take it with us?"
"I don't see why not," Addicock replied. She lifted the empty animal crate and handed it to Tash who was still cuddling Fidget. "You're probably going to need this."
"Thank you," Tash said. "I wasn't sure if it was okay to take it, but it does have her food and dishes."
"We'll see you back at the house," Judith said over her shoulder, giving Hawtree a smile as they mounted their sleds and left.
Exasperated, Randal glared after her.
"Man, are you in the doghouse," Devon said. "Maybe your dad's right about mending fences with her."
Randal turned to the two detectives. "Is anyone else missing? Should I warn our lab workers?"
"Perhaps you should," Straus agreed.
By the time Randal and Devon arrived back at the Langeton house after stopping at the lab to warn his employees, Judith and Ava had gone home and Tash was busy coaxing Fidget to eat.
Devon squatted next to them. “Does she need to see a vet?” He asked.
“She wasn’t hurt, just scared.” She leaned back against the sofa seat, stroking Fidget’s soft skin.
Watching her face, Devon said, “You want to keep her, don’t you?”
“Yes. Does it show, “ she asked.
“To someone who knows you as well as I do, it does. You aren’t quite as much of a softie as Tally, but you come close.”
“How much trouble is it going to cause if I take her back with us?”
He shrugged. “We’ll figure something out. She looks a little like those hairless cats; Miniskin I think they're called. Maybe we can get away with telling everyone she’s a new variety.”
After dinner, Randal’s father asked to speak to him alone.
Devon had his nose buried in the codes on the data crystal he had retrieved from the potted plant at Dreamedia. He didn't even look up when they left.
"We need to talk son," he said.
"About what?"
“I couldn’t help watching you and Judith today and it occurred to me seven months was a long time to be gone. I need to know if you still intend to marry her.”
“Why are you asking me such a thing?”
“Because it looked to me as if you’re trying to make her angry enough to break off the engagement.”
“I gave my word I'd marry her. I’ll keep it.”
The elder Langeton frowned. “That isn't good enough. Son, none of us wants the two of you to get married and be unhappy. Look if you fell for someone on earth, Augustine and I’ll work something out—“
“I don’t cheat!” his son snapped.
“I know that. But I also know feelings don’t always obey our will. Are you in love with Judith?”
“Of course, I care about her—“
“There is a big difference between being fond of someone and loving them enough for marriage.”
“I know that. I don’t know what got into her tonight. Why would she say I can look for someone to marry I’ll like better?”
“Maybe she doesn’t think you love her.”
“Is that what you meant by mending fences?”
“I know I’m meddling in your affairs to say this, but if you intend to marry Judith, you better start doing some heavy courting. From what I saw this afternoon, I'd lay odds she’s getting ready to call it off.”
Randal was taken aback. “Courting? I spend time with her.”
His father shook his head in despair. “How Allison and I gave birth to a child with so little understanding escapes me. How much time have the pair of you spent alone since you got back?”
“I’ve only been home a couple of days and there’s been a lot going on—“
“Did you even kiss her the first time you saw each other again?” His father continued ruthlessly.
Randal was beginning to feel cornered. “Well, we were in public —“
Timothy Langeton made a rude noise. “It wouldn’t have stopped me if I’d been away from your mother for seven months. No wonder the girl thinks you don’t love her!”
Randal threw up his hands in surrender. “Fine, I’ll put in more effort.”
"That isn't what I meant, and you know it," his father said. "Women are perceptive that way. If you don't mean it, she'll know. I think you need to examine your own feelings on this."
When Timothy Langeton left the room, his son stared out the window at the gorgeous view of the back patio dock, not seeing the colorful display of flowers or the brightly hued birds who made nests there. His father was right, he thought. His feelings for Judith seemed to have changed since the Party where Tash had been doped. She wasn’t just his childhood playmate who would marry him sometime in the distant future. She was a beautiful, desirable woman. Judging by that young policeman’s reaction this afternoon, a lot of men thought the same. It was time he did something about that.
Devon poked his head into the room. "The good news is the copy is usable," he said. We can work with it until we recover the original."
"What? Oh, right. That's good news. Did you tell Dad?"
"Yes. He has the copy now. What's the matter?"
"My meddling parents. Dad gave me a lecture about neglecting Judith. He thinks she is about ready to call off the engagement."
"Is that what you want?"
"You're the second person tonight to ask me that question. No, I don't want to break off the engagement. The city sponsors moonlight gondola tour through the city. Want to do a double date tonight?"
"Sure, I'm game. I think Tash would like it. But a double date isn't exactly the right forum for a romantic evening. Maybe you and Judith should get a private gondola instead of dragging us along."
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