He opened his mouth, closed it, and blew out his breath from between his lips. Then he said: "All right. The damage has been done, anyhow. But don't think I won't report all this to Ravenhurst as soon as I can get a beam to Raven's Rest."
"That's your job and your worry, not mine. Now, have you got any leads?"
"Then I'll go out and dig up some. I'll let you know if I need you." And I cut off.
Dr. Perelson was sitting on his couch, with an expression that indicated that the pH of his saliva was hovering around one point five.
I said, "That will be all, Dr. Perelson. Thank you for your co-operation." And I walked out into the corridor, leaving him with a baffled look.
At the next public phone, I dialed the BANning number again.
"Not from her; she hasn't reported in at all."
"Just as you said," he told me. "With some cute frills around the edges. Ten minutes ago, a crowd of kids--sixteen to twenty-two age range--about forty of 'em--started a songfest and football game in the corridor outside Colonel Brock's place. The boys he had on duty there recognized the Jack Ravenhurst touch, and tried to find her in the crowd. Nothing doing. Not a sign of her."
"That girl's not only got power," I said, "but she's bright as a solar flare."
"Agreed. She's headed up toward Dr. Midguard's place now. I don't know what she has in mind, but it ought to be fun to watch."
"Hovering around Brock, as we figured. He's worried and feels responsible because she disappeared from his apartment, as predicted."
"Well, I've stirred up enough fuss in this free-falling anthill to give them all the worries they need. Tell me what's the overall effect?"
"Close to perfect. It's slightly scandalous and very mysterious, so everybody's keeping an eye peeled. If anyone sees Jaqueline Ravenhurst, they'll run to a phone, and naturally she's been spotted by a dozen different people in a dozen different places already.
"You've got both Brock's Company guards and the civil police tied up for a while."
"Fine. But be sure you keep the boys who are on her tail shifting around often enough so that she doesn't spot them."
"Don't worry your thick little head about that, Dan," he said. "They know their business. Are you afraid they'll lose her?"