At seven o'clock Alice rapped on the door to the study.
"Time to get dressed, Joe," she called.
"You'll be all right while we're gone, Adam?" Dr. MacNare said.
"I be all right, papa," Adam said. "I sleep."
"That's good," Dr. MacNare said. "I'll turn out the light."
At the door he waited until Adam had sat down in the chair he always slept on, and settled himself. Then he pushed the switch just to the right of the door and went out.
"Hurry, dear," Alice called.
"I'm hurrying," Dr. MacNare protested—and, for the first time, he forgot to lock the study door.
The bathroom was next to the study, the wall between them soundproofed by a ceiling-high bookshelf in the study filled with thousands of books. On the other side was the master bedroom, with a closet with sliding panels that opened both on the bedroom and the bathroom. These sliding panels were partly open, so that Dr. MacNare and Alice could talk.
"Did you lock the study door?"