Page 84 - The Myth and the Moment

Evening

throw me up a cud of consequence, something to reconsider with
fresh juices; will it be bitter or sweet? Will some hitherto unbroken
husk of information suddenly dissolve and release its kernel of
significance to my baffled starving mind? Bah, wandering again; what
a curse! Must be that horrid hamburger; they should issue capsules of
hydrochloric acid to anyone over the age of twenty-five rash enough
to eat that junk food.
All right, there it is. The Nataraja Arms. A fortress in Hollywood,
maximum security. Subterranean parking garage, electric gate. Must
be a pool in back, ergo a service entrance; probably off an alley. No
matter, I’m going in the front door. I hope. Where is her name on
here? These damned call buttons have no bearing on the apartment
number; not names for the postman, either: those boxes are on the
inside. No Aestheria. No Allison Schlimmer. What then? Ham found
it. Ah, but he knew the secret. ‘The Ergon Institute.’ That must be it.
Then poussez la touche. Or touchez la pousse. In French you can have it
both ways. Maybe she’s not home. Maybe she’s out with Phil,
scouring the streets for that notorious literary miscreant, Nate
Evangelino. And when they catch him—
“Yes?”
Oops! She is there! And I’ve got no plan.
“Uh, Aestheria?”
“Who is there, please?”
“It’s me, Aestheria. Nate. I’m sorry to trouble you again, but I’ve
got to talk to you.”
Great. Good going, Nathan, you bumbler. Make up your mind:
apologetic or demanding. Can’t be both.
“Nate, I have some clients here now. They are just getting ready to
leave, however. I’ll ask them to hold the lobby door open for you
when they go out. Just a couple of minutes.”
Clients? Right, the spiritualism-cum-self-help racket. Come on,
Nate, be charitable: it’s a living, someone’s got to help these poor
people, relieve them of their anxieties and loose cash. But what
credentials does ex-Allison possess? A bit of animal magnetism,
maybe more than a bit. Acting, a skill comprising nine-tenths of most
professions. Okay, the basic equipment to put her spiel over on the
paying customers, no question. But what is her line? Where did she
get it? Make it up herself? Could she? Perhaps I’ve underestimated

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