How incredible, she thought. That he could take the time for ordinary persons like us.
At Dill's car she saw the Fields girl. The small shape, wearing a coat, the bright red hair shimmering in the sun . .. and then an official of Dill's staff had boosted the child into the back of the car. Dill got in too, and the doors slammed. The car drove off. On the playground, a group of children had gathered by the high wire fence to wave.
Still trembling, Mrs. Parker made her way back up the corridor to her own classroom. Is my job safe? she asked herself. Will I be investigated, or can I believe him? After all, he did give me his absolute assurance, and no one can contradict him. I know my record is clear, she thought desperately. I've never done anything subversive; I asked not to have that child in my class, and I never discuss current events in the classroom; I've never slipped once. But suppose-
Suddenly, at the corner of her eye, something moved.
She halted rigid where she was. A flicker of motion. Now gone. What was it? A deep, intuitive dread filled her; something had been there, near her, unobserved. Now swiftly vanished-she had caught only the most indistinct glimpse.
Spying on her! Some mechanism overhearing her. She was being watched. Not just the children, she thought in terror. But us, too. They have us watched, and I never knew for sure; I only guessed.
Could it read my thoughts? she asked herself. No, nothing can read thoughts. And I wasn't saying anything aloud. She looked up and down the corridor, striving to make out what it had been.
Who does it report to? she wondered. The police? Will they come and get me, take me to Atlanta or some place like that?
Gasping with fear, she managed to open the door of her classroom and enter.
CHAPTER 3