Page 33 - Extraterrestrials, Foreign and Domestic

The Hermits

“Take it easy, Al. Let me tell you what happened, so you can
relax. She demanded to talk to the chief of police, so I let her think
she was talking to him; she does know his voice from television
broadcasts, so the mimicry needed little in the way of
embellishment to gain her confidence. She told the chief—that is,
me—that a man exactly fitting the published picture of the rapist
was hiding in the house next-door.”
The old man groaned.
“Of course, I thanked her very much for being a good citizen
and reporting such a suspicious character in her neighborhood.
But then I swore her to secrecy: the man in the house next-door
was, in fact, not the suspect but an undercover policeman, placed
in a strategic location for her protection. The police, I told her,
were already aware of the danger confronting her and would be
making every effort to prevent the criminal from coming
anywhere near her. I thus confirmed her paranoia and turned it
away from ourselves, Al, so she will be turning her attention to
other persons on our block. The real surveillance, as I indicated,
will be directed at her. Let me assure you that I understand her
psychology perfectly. Lorraine Lafong has been neutralized.”
Al thought about it for a minute.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Ricky. No more worries for me.”
He stood up grinning, pleased that the alien’s eternal vigilance
was all he had to pay for his freedom.

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