Science fiction; Spy stories; Telepathy -- Fiction; United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation -- Fiction
Then his eyes widened. Boyd, standing next to him, leaned suddenly
forward. "That's why you mentioned all that about legal immunity
because of insanity," he whispered. "Because--"
"No," Barbara said. "No. She couldn't--she's not--"
They were all looking at Her Majesty, now. She returned them stare for
stare, her back stiff and straight and her white hair enhaloed in the
room's light. "Sir Kenneth," she said--and her voice was only the
least bit unsteady--"they all think _I'm_ the spy."
Barbara stood up. "Listen," she said. "I didn't like Her Majesty at
first--well, she was a patient, and that was all, and when she started
putting on airs ... but since I've gotten to know her I do like her.
I like her because she's good and kind herself, and because--because
she wouldn't be a spy. She couldn't be. No matter what any of you
think--even you--Sir Kenneth!"
There was a second of silence.
"Of course she's not," Malone said quietly. "She's no spy."
"Would I spy on my own subjects?" she said. "Use your reason!"
"You mean--" Burris began, and Boyd finished for him:
"--she isn't?"
"No," Malone snapped. "She isn't. Remember, you said it would take a
telepath to catch a telepath?"
"Well--" Burris began.
"Well, Her Majesty remembered it," Malone said. "And acted on it."
Barbara remained standing. She went to the Queen and put an arm around
the little old lady's shoulder. Her Majesty did not object. "I knew,"
she said. "You couldn't have been a spy."
"Listen, dear," the Queen said. "Your Kenneth has seen the truth of
the matter. Listen to him."
"Her Majesty not only caught the spy," Malone said, "but she turned
the spy right over to us."
He turned at once and went back down the long red carpet to the door.
_I really ought to get a sword_, he thought, and didn't see Her
Majesty smile. He opened the door with a great flourish and said
quietly: "Bring him in, boys."
The FBI men from Las Vegas marched in. Between them was their
prisoner, a boy with a vacuous face, clad in a straitjacket that
seemed to make no difference at all to him. His mind was--somewhere
else. But his body was trapped between the FBI agents: the body of
William Logan.
"Impossible," one of the psychiatrists said.
Malone spun on his heel and led the way back to the throne. Logan and
his guards followed closely.
"Your Majesty," Malone said. "May I present the prisoner?"
"Perfectly correct, Sir Kenneth," the Queen said. "Poor Willie is your
spy. You won't be too hard on him, will you?"
"I don't think so, Your Majesty," Malone said. "After all--"
"Now wait a minute," Burris exploded. "How the hell did _you_ know any
of this?"
Malone bowed to Her Majesty, and winked at Barbara. He turned to
Burris. "Well," he said, "I had one piece of information none of the
rest of you had. When we were in the Desert Edge Sanatorium, Dr.
Dowson called you on the phone. Remember?"
"Sure I remember," Burris said. "So?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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