I felt a deep gratitude that Hal wasn't one of them. He'd had his share of adolescent affairs, of course, but I was sure he was still just playing around. He'd seen a lot of Bet Milen, a girl a class ahead of him in school and college, but I didn't think she meant more to him than any of the others. If she had, she'd have been along to say good-by, but he'd asked for only the two of us. She was now a laboratory assistant in our hospital and could easily have gotten the time off.
It was growing late, almost midnight, and Lucy and I had to be at work tomorrow, no matter how we felt. I forced myself to talk, with Lucy's silent pain smothering me like a force-blanket. I made an effort and cleared my throat.
"Lucy, go to bed and turn on the hypno and try to get some sleep."
Lucy stood up obediently, but she shook her head. "You go, dear," she said, her voice firm. "I can't. I—"
The roof buzzer sounded. Somebody had landed in a copter and wanted us.
"Don't answer," I said quickly. "There's nobody we want to see—"
But she had already pushed the button to open the door.
It was Bet Milen, the girl Hal used to go around with.
I braced myself. This might be bad. She might have cared more for Hal than we had guessed.