The Sky Is Falling

"That's great. Where is he?"

"In Utah. Richfield. I should be back in Washington right after that."

"All right. By the way, Jeff called."

"Yes?"

"You know he's in Florida with his ex-wife." He sounded disapproving.

"I know. She's very ill."

"If Jeff stays away much longer, I'm going to have to ask him to take a leave of absence."

"I'm sure he'll be back very soon." She wished she believed it.

"Right. Good luck with the witness."

"Thanks, Matt."

Dana's next call was to Kemal. Mrs. Daley answered the phone.

"Miss Evans's residence."

"Good evening, Mrs. Daley. Is everything all right there?" Dana was holding her breath.

"Well, your son almost burned down the kitchen helping me cook dinner last night." She laughed. "But other than that, he's fine."

Dana said a silent prayer of thanks. "That's great."The woman really is a miracle worker, Dana thought.

"Will you be coming home now? I can prepare dinner and - "

"I have to make one more stop," Dana said. "I'll be home in two days. May I talk to Kemal?"

"He's asleep. Shall I wake him up?"

"No, no." Dana looked at her watch. It was only four o'clock in Washington. "He's taking a nap?"

She heard Mrs. Daley's warm laugh. "Yes. The lad has had a long day. He's working hard, and he's playing hard."

"You give him my love. I'll see him soon."

I have to make one more stop. I'll be home in two days. May I talk to Kemal?

He's asleep. Shall I wake him up?

No, no. He's taking a nap?

Yes. The lad has had a long day. He's working hard, and he's playing hard.

You give him my love. I'll see him soon.

Tape ends.

Richfield, Utah, is a comfortable, residential town set in a bowl in the middle of the Monroe mountain range. Dana stopped at a filling station and got directions to the address Commandant Frasier had given her.

Ralph Benjamin's home was a weatherbeaten one-story house that stood in the middle of a block of identical houses.

Dana parked the rental car, walked up to the front door, and rang the doorbell. The door opened and a middle-aged white-haired woman in an apron stood there. "Can I help you?"

"I would like to see Ralph Benjamin," Dana said.

The woman studied Dana curiously. "Is he expecting you?"

"No. I - I just happened to be passing by, and I thought I'd drop in for a moment. Is he here?"

"Yes. Come in."

"Thank you." Dana stepped inside and followed the woman into the living room.

"Ralph, you have a visitor."

Ralph Benjamin rose from a rocking chair and moved toward Dana. "Hello? Do I know you?"

Dana stood there, frozen. Ralph Benjamin was blind.

Chapter Fourteen

DANA ANDMATTBAKER were in the conference room at WTN.

"Ralph Benjamin was in France visiting his son," Dana was explaining. "One day his briefcase disappeared from his hotel room. It reappeared the next day, but his passport was missing. Matt, the man who stole it and took Benjamin's identity and told the police he was a witness to the accident is the man who murdered Paul Winthrop."

Matt Baker was silent for a long time. When he spoke he said, "It's time to call the police in on this, Dana. If you're right, we're looking for someone who cold-bloodedly murdered six people. I don't want you to be number seven. Elliot is worried about you, too. He thinks you're getting in too deep."

"We can't bring the police in yet," Dana protested. "Everything is circumstantial. We have no proof. We have no idea who the killer is, and we have no motive."

"I have a bad feeling about this. It's getting too dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I don't either," Dana said earnestly.

"What's your next step?"

"Finding out what really happened to Julie Winthrop."

"The operation was a success."

Rachel opened her eyes slowly. She was lying in a sterile white hospital bed. Her eyes focused blearily on Jeff. "Is it gone?"

"Rachel - "

"I'm afraid to feel." She was fighting back tears. "I'm not a woman anymore. No man will ever love me."

He took her trembling hands in his. "You're wrong. I never loved you because of your breasts, Rachel. I loved you because of who you are, a warm, wonderful human being."

Rachel managed a tiny smile. "We really did love each other, didn't we, Jeff?"

"Yes."

"I wish..." She looked down at her chest, and her face constricted.

"We'll talk about this later."

She squeezed his hand harder. "I don't want to be alone, Jeff. Not until this is all over. Please don't leave me."

"Rachel, I have to - "

"Not yet. I don't know what I'll do if you leave."

A nurse came into the hospital room. "Would you excuse us, Mr. Connors?"

Rachel did not want to let go of Jeff's hand. "Don't go."

"I'll be back."

Late that evening Dana's cell phone rang. She rushed across the room to pick it up. "Dana." It was Jeff.

She felt a little thrill when she heard his voice. "Hello. How are you, darling?"

"I'm fine."

"How is Rachel?"

"The operation went well, but Rachel's suicidal."

"Jeff - a woman can't judge herself by her breasts or - "

"I know, but Rachel is not your average woman. She's been judged by her looks since she was fifteen. She's one of the highest-paid models in the world. Now she thinks all that is over for her. She feels like a freak. She believes she has nothing more to live for."