Then, walking in the covered walkway above the street to the NSF building, she said, “Let’s set up a regular meeting between us for every two weeks, and add more if you need to. I want to be kept up on what you’re thinking.”

Quickly he glanced down at her. She kept looking at the glass doors they were approaching.

“That’s the best way to avoid any misunderstandings,” she went on, still not looking at him. Then, as they reached the doors to their building, she said, “I want something to come of this.”

“Me too,” he assured her. “Believe me.”

They approached the security desk. “So what will you do first?” she asked, as if something had been settled between them.

“To tell the truth, I think I’ll go see about joining that health club.”

She grinned. “Good idea. I’ll see you there sometimes.”

He nodded. “And, as far as the working committee, I’ll start making calls and setting it up. I’d like to get Edgardo on it too, if you think that would be okay.”

She laughed. “If you can talk him into it.”

So, Frank returned to his office, collecting his thoughts. A workman was there installing a power strip on the newly exposed wall behind his desk, and he waited patiently until the man left. He sat at the desk, swiveled and looked out the window at the mobile in the atrium.

He had spent the night in his car and then lunched with the director of the National Science Foundation, and no one was the wiser. He did feel a little spacey. But when appearances were maintained, no one could tell. Nothing obvious gave it away. One retained a certain privacy.

Remembering a resolution he had made that morning, he picked up the phone and called the National Zoo.

“Hi, I’m calling to ask about 200 animals that might still be at large?”

“Sure, let me pass you to Nancy.”

Nancy came on and said hi in a friendly voice, and Frank told her about hearing what seemed like a big animal, near the edge of the park at night. “Do you have a list of 200 animals still on the loose?”