himself swerve, unable to stop himself, toward the wide gulf of the street,
which suddenly became a river, a black putrid river in which he would
drown.
He vaguely heard the screech of the brakes. The lights blinded him, and the
figure of a man reached down and poked at his eyes. He didn’t care any
longer. Instead, he laughed. Laughed through the blood which flowed into
his mouth and over his face.
He laughed hysterically as Jason Greenberg carried him to the car.
And then the earth, the world, the planet~ the galaxy, and the entire solar
system went crazy.
10
The night was agony.
The morning brought a degree of reality, less so for Matlock than for the
two people sitting beside him, one on either side of the bed. Jason
Greenberg, his large, sad eyes drooping, his hands calmly crossed on his
lap, leaned forward. Patricia Ballantyne, her arm stretched out, held a
cool washcloth on Matlocles forehead.
‘Me schvugs gave you one hell of a party, friend.’
‘Shhl” whispered the girl. “Leave him alone.”
Matlocles eyes wandered as best they could around the room. He was in Pats
apartment, in her bedroom, her bed.
‘Mey gave me acid.”
‘You!re telling us … We bad a doctor–a real doctor-brought in from
Litchfield. He’s the nice fella you kept trying to take the eyeballs
from…. Doet worry, he!s federal. No names.*
Tat? How come . . .”
OYoere a very sweet acid head, Jamie. You kept yelling my name.”
“It also made the best sense,’ interrupted Greenberg. “No hospitals. No
out-patient records. Nice and private; good thinking. Also, yoifre very
persuasive when yoere violent. Yoifre a hell of a lot stronger than
TBE MATLOCK PAPM 113
1 thought. Especially for such a lousy handball player.’ “You shouldn~t have
brought me here. Goddamn i4 Greenberg, you shouldn~t have brought me herel”
“Forgetting for the moment that it was your Idea . . ~*
“I was druggedt”
‘It was a good idea. What would you have preferred? The emergency clinic?
. . . VWs that on the
stretcher, Doctor? The one screan-Ang Oh, just
Associate Professor Matlock, Nurse. Hes on an acid
trip., ”
‘You know what I mearil You could have taken me home. Strapped me down.”
Tin relieved to see you donI know much about acid,” said Greenberg.
“What he means, Jamie Pat took his hand,
.. if it’s bad, you should be with someone you know awfully well. The
reassurance is necessary.”
Matlock looked at the girl. And then at Greenberg. ‘What have you told
her?”
‘nat you volunteered to help us; that w6re grateful. With your help we may
be able to prevent a serious situation from getting worse.” Greenberg spoke
in a monotone; it was obvious that he didift wish to expand.
“It was a very cryptic explanation,” Pat said. “He wouldnI have given me
that if I hadnI threatened him.”
“She was going to call the police.” Greenberg sighed, his sad eyes sadder.
“She was going to have me locked up for dosing you. I had no choice.”
Matlock smiled.
‘Why are you doing this, Jamie?” Pat found nothing amusing.
‘The man said it: the situations serious.”
134 Robert Ludlum
‘But why youP”
“‘Because I can.*
aWhat? Turn in kids?”
‘I tDId you,7 said Jason. “W6re not interested in
students …. ”
Whaes Lumumba Hall, then? A branch of General Motors?”
‘Ies one contact point; there are others. Frankly, vWd rather not have
gotten involved with that crowd-, it’s ticklish. Unfortunately, we =1
choose.-
“That’s offensive.”
“I don’t think theres much I could say that wouldet be offensive to you,
Miss Ballantyne.*
“Perhaps not Because I thought the FBI had more important work to do than
harassing young blackL Obviously, you doet”
“Hey, come on.” Matlock squeezed the girrs hand. She took it from him.
“No, I mean that, jamiel No games, no radical chic. There are drugs all
over this place. Some of it’s a bad scene, most of it’s pretty standard. We
both know that Why all of a sudden are the kids at Lumumba singled out?”
‘We wouldn7t touch those kids. Except to help them.” Greenberg was weary
from the long night His irritation showed.
“I doet like the way you people help people and I doet like what happened
to jamiel Why did you send him thereP”
“He didet send me. I maneuvered that myself.”
“Why?'”
“It’s too complicated and I’m too washed out to explain ft.”
“Oh, Mr. Greenberg did that. He explained all right IWve given you a badge,
haven1 they? They can7t
THE MATLOCK PAP= 115
do it themselves so they pick a nice, easygoing fellow to do it for them.
You take all the risks; and when ies over, youll never be truAed on this
campus again. Jamie, for Gods sake, this is your home, your WOW”
Matlock held the girrs eyes with his own, doing his best to calm her. “I
know that better than you do. My home needs to be helped-and thales no game
either, Pat I think the risks are worth it”
“I won1 pretend to understand that”
‘You can1 understand it, Miss Ballantyne, because we can’t tell you enough
to make it reasonable. Youll have to accept that”
“Do I?”
“rm asking you to,’ said Matlock. “He saved my life.*
“I woui&1 go that far, Professor.” Greenberg shrugged as he spoke.
Pat stood up. “I think he threw you overboard and tossed you a rope as an
afterthought … Are you all right?-
“Yes,* answered Matlock.
I have to go; I won~t if you don’t want me to.’
“No, you go ahead. I’ll call you later. Thanks for the ministrations.”
The girl looked briefly at Greenberg-it was not a pleasant look-and crossed
to her dresser. She picked up a brush and rapidly stroked her hair,
slipping an orange headband into place. She watched Greenberg through the
mirror. He returned the stare.
&7be man who’s been following me, Mr. Greenberg. Is he one of your men?”
“Yes.”
“I dont like it.0
‘Tm sorry.”
Pat turned. ‘Will you remove him, please?’
116 Robert Ludlum
01 c&t & that Ill tell him to be less obvious.”
“I see.” She took her purse from the dresser top and reached down to the
floor, picking up her accordion briefcase. Without speaking further, the
girl walked out of the bedroom. Several seconds later, the two men could
hear the apartment door open and shut firmly.
‘rhat is one very ng-willed young lady,” said Jason.
‘There!s a good reason.”
‘What do you mean?”
‘I thought you fellows were so familiar with the people you had to deal
with. . . .”
“I’m still getting briefed. I’m the back-up, rememberr
‘Then IT save you time. In the late fifties her father got McCarthyized out
of the State Department Of course, he was very dangerous. He was a language
consultant. He was cleared for translating newspapers.”
“Shit.”
‘Mes the word, brother. He never made It back. She’s had scholarships all
her life; the cupbow&s bare. Shes a little sensitive to your type.*
“Boy, do you pick’eml”
‘You picked vie, remember?’
Matlock opened the door to his apartment and walked into the foyer. Pat had
done a good job putting the rooms in order-as he knew she would. Even the
curtains were rehung. It was a little after threemost of the day wasted.
Greenberg had insisted that the two of them drive over to Litchfield for a
reexamination by the doctor. Shaken but operable, was the verdict.
They stopped for lunch at the Cheshire Cat. During
TBZ MAnDM PAMM 117
the meal, Matlock kept looking over at the small table where four days ago
Ralph Loring had sat with his folded newspaper. The lunch was quiet. Not
strained –the two men were comfortable in each others company-but quiet, as
if each had too much to think abouL
On the road back to Carlyle, Greenberg told him to stay in his apartment
until he contacted him. Washington hadn’t issued any new instructions. They
were evaluating the new information, and until they confirmed any further
involvement, Matlock was to remain -OOS—a term the English professor
found hard to equate with grownups: out of n1rategy.
It was just as well, he thought. He had his own strategy to think
about-Lucas Herron. The “grand old bird,’ the campus elder statesman. it
was time to reach him, to warn him. The old man was out of his element and
the quicker he retreated, the better for everyone-Carlyle included. Yet he
didet want to telephone him, he didn’t want to arrange a formal meeting-he
had to be subtler than that He didn’t want to alarm old Lucas, have him
talking to the wrong people.
It occurred to Matlock that he was acting as some sort of protector for
Herron. That presumed Lucas was innocent of any serious involvement He won-
dered if be had the right to make that assumption. On the other hand, by
civilized standards, he had no right to make any other.