第44部分(第1/7 頁)

e　was　a　good…looking　woman。

Across　the　room；　Harry　snored　in　a　regular　rhythm。　Norman　checked　Harry's　icepack；　and　thought　about　Beth。　He　heard　her　moving　around　in　the　lab　upstairs。

〃Hey；　Norm？〃

〃Yes　。。。〃　He　moved　to　the　bottom　of　the　stairs；　looked　up。

〃Is　there　another　one　of　these　down　there？　A　clean　one？〃　Something　blue　dropped　into　his　hands。　It　was　her　jumpsuit。　〃Yes。　I　think　they're　in　storage　in　B。〃

〃Bring　me　one；　would　you；　Norm？〃

〃Okay；〃　he　said。

Going　to　B　Cyl；　he　found　himself　inexplicably　nervous。　What　was　going　on？　Of　course；　he　thought；　he　knew　exactly　what　was　going　on；　but　why　now？　Beth　was　exerting　a　powerful　attraction；　and　he　mistrusted　it。　In　her　dealings　with　men；　Beth　was　confrontational；　energetic；　direct；　and　angry。　Seduction　wasn't　her　method　at　all。

It　is　now；　he　thought；　fishing　a　new　jumpsuit　out　of　the　storage　locker。　He　took　it　back　to　D　Cyl　and　climbed　the　ladder。　From　above；　he　saw　a　strange　bluish　light。

〃Beth？〃

〃I'm　here；　Norm。〃

He　came　up　and　saw　her　lying　naked　on　her　back；　beneath　a　bank　of　ultraviolet　sunlamps　hinged　out　from　the　wall。　She　wore　opaque　cups　over　her　eyes。　She　twisted　her　body　seductively。

〃Did　you　bring　the　suit？〃

〃Yes；〃　he　said。

＇＇297＇＇ 〃Thanks　a　lot。　Just　put　it　anywhere；　by　the　lab　bench。〃

〃Okay。〃　He　draped　it　over　her　chair。

She　rolled　back　to　face　the　glowing　lamps；　sighed。　〃I　thought　I'd　better　get　a　little　vitamin　D；　Norm。〃

〃Yes　。。。〃

〃You　probably　should；　too。〃

〃Yeah；　probably。〃　But　Norman　was　thinking　that　he　didn't　remember　a　bank　of　sunlamps　in　the　lab。　In　fact；　he　was　sure　that　there　wasn't　one。　He　had　spent　a　lot　of　time　in　that　room；　he　would　have　remembered。　He　went