"We've got to get out of here!" Molly said for the second time.
"If a diamond—" I began.
"With a helicopter, we might," McGill said. "Right now, we're surrounded."
"How about hiding Alec?" Molly asked. "You and I could act innocent."
"I don't want to be hidden," I objected. "My idea is—"
"Or better yet, we could act guilty. That would appeal to them, wouldn't it, McGill?"
"They'd tear the place apart if they got in," McGill said.
I took a surreptitious look out of the windows again. It seemed to hit me that our being surrounded was an exaggeration; most of the crowd was centered about the police car directly in front of the main door. They had an ugly look, and while I didn't like the idea of being alone, neither did I relish the thought of my presence possibly causing my wife and my best friend to be the victims of mob violence, for although the police might, in the absence of a warrant, refrain from breaking in, the mob might not. So I decided to leave, confident that some bizarre manifestation would lead them away from the lab, and that no matter where I went, I could hardly be worse off. To keep moving was my best bet.
Molly and McGill were still discussing the situation as I tip-toed into the hall. There surely would be a back door—probably in the basement—and I went down three flights to a cement-floored corridor. Then, with lighted matches, I found my way to a door at the back of the building, at the end. I opened it and peered out, to see a retaining wall and stone steps leading up to ground level. I eased out into the areaway and pulled the door shut, noticing that I still held the folded filter-paper with the fragment in it. The lock clicked and I realized that my bridge was, as they say, burned behind me.