Programmed for Peril

She again felt his inner power. It resonated for her as clearly as a tune heard through earphones. Speaking to me on Station HHFM—How He Floors Me! “I gotta think,” he said. He led her out onto the porch, away from Carson’s bugs. He turned to her. “Got one idea anyhow.”
    “Say.”
    “I turn the bakery over to Mario for a while. I shadow you. You don’t see me. Carson doesn’t see me. He tries something with you, I waste him.”
    “I’ve told you all about him. You’ve seen him in action. You know what he’s done recently. You want to take that much of a chance with your life?”
    “He’s not God.”
    “No, he’s the devil.”
    Dino chuckled. “Sure!”
    Trish sat on the edge of the swing and closed her eyes. “I’m so desperate and frightened, I’m willing to let you do it. Willing to let you risk your life. Is that selfish, or what?” He waved away her fears. “Maybe we have a way to make things happen faster. What’s the story with your geek friend Nicholas?”
    “I—I don’t know.”
    “We know this house is bugged again, right?”
    “Yes!”
    “So put Nicholas on it. He found that equipment I shot up. I learned my lesson about that. Maybe we can do it again. This time we turn up Carson.”
    Trish grinned wearily. “Mr. Shoot-First-Ask-Questions-Later.” She led him back inside to the living room couch. “Come sit beside me. I could use a little close company.”
    He sat, and she put her arm lightly over his shoulder. “Let’s not talk any more secrets now,” she said. She found herself talking about the softer side of her life: Melody, her mother, her and Melody’s friends Jill and Pamela Beestock, the happier days of PC-Pros. She found she was dreamily running on. The reason, she realized, was that she was waiting for him to hug and kiss her.
    Though his responses were neutral, she thought she felt his desire for her. Woman’s intuition, was it? Earlier, after that dreadful night of violence in the PC-Pros’ lab, she imagined she had felt the same emotional vibrations in him. She had been so sure! But he had done nothing but... was it wait for her to make the first real move?
    Jungle battle and Asian horrors could twist a man’s heart with a hard brass hand. Who could guess just how Dino Castelli’s emotions had been distorted? Just the same, she couldn’t take the initiative with him. She had done her womanly stage setting: provided the occasion and the opportunity. The rest was up to him.
    So there they sat on the couch like a pair of nervous teenagers. Men, men, she thought, recalling how he had flown like a missile at Carson’s two thugs. Those animals had barely escaped with their lives. He had been utterly fearless. Then! Tonight he was timid as a mole.
    Time passed. She felt her heart thudding. Was his, too? Maybe, because conversation faltered, then halted altogether. Did he sense the rising emotional pressure as she did? Surely he knew she was attracted to him—even in the face of all her serious difficulties. Maybe because of them. Dino, Dino...
    The door chimes sounded.
    Trish gasped.
    “You expecting anybody?” Dino said.
    “No.”
    He got up and moved toward the door. She followed. He stepped into the shadows. “See who it is,” he said.
    Trish angled toward the door, squinting at the figure standing beyond the oval glass set in the old door. She touched the switch. The porch light disclosed -
    “Oh!”
    “Who—”
    “It’s Jerry Morris. I mentioned him. The helpful police detective.” She opened the door and introduced the two men. She read the disappointment on Jerry’s face.
    “I’m sorry, Trish. I didn’t know you had company,” he said.
    “It’s okay. I was just leaving.” Dino’s grin was inscrutable. “We just ran out of things to say. Trish, I’ll give you a call. Talk to Nicholas, don’t forget.”
    After Dino’s departure Jerry stood uneasily in the entryway. Trish waved him in. “Oh, come on. You can’t be any more annoying than the last one!”
    “I don’t understand,” Jerry said.
    “Good. That makes two of us.”
    She made fresh coffee. Jerry confessed his visit was personal. He had been thinking about Foster breaking the engagement. “One reason I came was to tell you how sorry I am. I know you were more than counting on it.”
    “Carson had his way after all,” she said dully.
    “There’s a bright side. The way I figure, that makes you eligible for me.”
    As always she found his straight-ahead