right?' asked Jarvis. Avedissian grunted in reply.
Jarvis began to move along the ledge. Avedissian waited, pressing his cheek to the rough surface and considering all the things that could go wrong. He could fall and break his neck. Someone might spot them up there and call the police. The thought of a Hollywood style drama involving police and firemen frightened him into action. He started to move.
The ledge was not smooth underfoot for, over the years, it had accumulated a heavy coating of concrete dust and debris which made Avedissian painfully unsure of his footing. He tried to clear the way ahead by brushing it lightly with his leading foot but Jarvis stopped him. 'You'll attract attention below!' he warned. Avedissian took his chances with the uncleared ledge.
The blood was pounding in Avedissian's ears by the time they had passed the extent of the concrete partition and could once more get a firm grip on the top of the gallery wall. He permitted himself a look at the ground below but immediately wished that he hadn't when his senses began to reel. He closed his eyes for a moment and once more pressed his face to the wall until he had recovered.
'Come on!' urged Jarvis, pulling himself up and over the gallery wall. He turned to offer Avedissian a hand but it was not necessary and both men dropped down into the gallery of section 'F.
'What the…?' exclaimed a voice from the shadows of the stairway and a policeman moved forward into the light. He started to draw his pistol but Jarvis was on him before he could get it clear of the holster. He floored the man with two quick blows and caught him before he touched the ground, dragging him back into shadow, where he propped him up in a corner against the wall.
'We've done it now,’ exclaimed Avedissian.
'Let's go.’
They ran to the top of the stairs then Jarvis laid a restraining hand on Avedissian's arm. 'No more running,’ he cautioned. 'From here on we melt into the crowd.’
Moving as casually as they could in the circumstances they approached the area where they had seen the woman and the boy. Jarvis stopped at a hot dog stand that had no queue beside it and bought two. He handed one to Avedissian and said, 'We are just returning to our seats.’ They approached the head of the aisle leading to row 'B' and looked down, Jarvis casually taking a bite of his hot dog and pretending to be having trouble with the contents escaping from the side into the napkin. Avedissian looked at the seats and saw that he need not have bothered. The seats were empty. They were as lifeless as tombstones. The boy had gone. They were too late.
Jarvis put the glasses slowly to his eyes and looked over to where Innes had been sitting. Innes was looking directly back at him. For a few seconds the two men looked at each other across the floodlit diamond. 'Another couple of minutes, damn you,’ Jarvis muttered under his breath.
Avedissian grew aware of some commotion behind them and knew that the policeman must have come round. He said so to Jarvis. 'Use the empty seats!' whispered Jarvis. Avedissian moved down the aisle and into the row where they had seen the woman and the boy. 'Sit apart,’ said Jarvis behind him, already in the act of removing his jacket to alter his appearance as much as possible.
Avedissian relied on munching his hot dog to create an aura of innocence but his pulse rate was topping one hundred and thirty as two policemen slowly passed the end of the row and looked along it. One was rubbing his jaw.
A home run down on the diamond helped break the spell and Avedissian leapt to his feet with those around him, uttering what he hoped was a convincing, 'All right, all right!' The policemen moved on to look at the occupants of the next row and Jarvis shot a quick glance in Avedissian's direction. Avedissian raised his eyes to the heavens in reply.
The game ended and thirty thousand people became intent on leaving the stadium, but at that moment Avedissian loved them all for they were his guarantee of anonymity. As he moved along the row to the aisle Jarvis said that they should split up, Avedissian should return to the gate where Kathleen would come out. He would make his own way out. As they parted at the top of the aisle Jarvis said, I’ll meet you in the park by the hotel. Tomorrow at ten in the morning.’
Kathleen had already emerged from the stadium and was waiting outside when Avedissian finally managed to get round the perimeter through the throngs of people. 'We were too late,’ he said.
'Are you all right?' she asked anxiously.
Avedissian held her close, suddenly feeling the after-effects of the intense strain that he had been under. He assured her that he was. 'God, I need a drink,’ he muttered.
'Let's go back to the hotel,’ said Kathleen. 'Unless we're supposed to do something else?'
Avedissian shook his head in reply.
Avedissian lay flat on his back on the bed and let out a great sigh of appreciation for the air-conditioned quiet of the room. It was an island in the sea, an oasis in the desert. Kathleen brought him his drink and sat down on the edge of the bed to ask, 'What happened at the stadium?'
Avedissian told her and Kathleen exclaimed, ‘That was a crazy thing to do,’ when he told her about climbing out on the ledge.
'It seemed a good idea at the time,’ said Avedissian, but now he cringed at the thought of how the venture might have ended. 'God, I was so scared,’ he confessed.
Kathleen smoothed the hair back from his forehead in a gesture of affection and Avedissian looked up at her. 'You have gentle hands, my lady,’ he said softly. Kathleen bent down and kissed him lightly on the lips.
'When I looked down and…’
'Sssh…' whispered Kathleen and kissed him again.
This time Avedissian was aware of how warm her lips were. He responded by pulling her to him and searching her mouth with his tongue and was aroused by the fact that she did not pull away. He ran his fingers through her hair to cup her face between his hands and look at her questioningly. She just smiled.
Avedissian whispered, 'I want you.'
'I know,’ replied Kathleen softly. She got up from the bed but did not move away. Instead she started to undress, looking at Avedissian all the time as she did so. When she had finished she stood there and asked in a whisper, 'Do you still want me?'Avedissian held out his arms in reply and crushed her to him. 'I want you so much,’ he murmured.
As they lay in the silent aftermath, Kathleen opened her eyes and looked at Avedissian. He responded by leaning over and kissing her lightly on the shoulder.
'Post coitus omne animal triste,’ whispered Kathleen.
'After love… all animals are… sad?' was Avedissian's unsure translation.
Kathleen smiled and nodded.
'I didn't know you were a Latin scholar?'
There's a lot you don't know about me,’ said Kathleen.
'I want to know everything.'
Kathleen gave a shake of the head and whispered, 'There won't be time.'
'But we'll make time. When this is over we can…'
Kathleen put her finger on Avedissian's lips. 'Don't talk of the future,’ she said.
'But if I object to your preoccupation with the past and you object to mine with the future all we have left is the present,’ said Avedissian.
That's all we ever had,’ replied Kathleen distantly. 'Kiss me.'
Avedissian kissed her.
There was a fountain in the park. Avedissian and Kathleen chose to sit beside it where they could see people approaching from all directions and settled down to wait for Jarvis. They had got there at ten minutes to ten so that by a quarter past, when Jarvis had still not appeared, they were beginning to get anxious. Avedissian got to his feet for the second time and strolled round the fountain to check his watch once more when he returned.
'Do you think something has gone wrong?' asked Kathleen.
Avedissian shrugged his shoulders and sat down again.
They were joined on the bench by an old man who unwrapped a plastic bag and began feeding bread-crumbs to the birds, apparently oblivious of everything else around him. As the pigeons started to gather round their feet Avedissian indicated to Kathleen that they should get up and start walking. They walked slowly round the fountain,
