“I see.” He was thoughtful. “Then it has nothing to do with--our mutual friend?” “Friend? Oh--Johnny? No.” “Have you been in touch with him lately?” “No. What’s up?” He asked it casually enough, but in the time it took to say the three words, a whole new set of possibilities and probabilities opened up. The whole wild plan with Harbridge could be thrown out ... maybe even the lab transfer bit wouldn’t matter ... though that was going to be necessary anyhow ... unless, of course, Kutler--or somebody--could solve the leave problem.... Slice it any way you liked, if Wendt was about to come out of his funk, the whole picture changed--for the damsight better. “I don’t know exactly,” the doctor said. “I was sort of hoping when I got your message that you’d heard something. I just had lunch with Lisa--” “Lisa?” “Trovi. The dancer. You know, she and Johnny are--engaged?” “Oh. Yeah. I knew about it. Didn’t know her name.” He dug back in memory. “I thought they were married by now?” “Sort of.” Kutler smiled. “Oh. Well, you’re in touch then?” “Not really. I had lunch with Lisa, but that’s the first I’ve seen either of them in six months. You know Johnny quit on the therapy? He wouldn’t consider analysis, and we’d about had it with anything else.” “Oh. Well how does it look now?” “Offhand, bad. But I don’t know. I know Lee pretty well. She used to work with me, you know? Dance and music stuff with a clinic group I had for a while? She--well, just say, she’s not the panic type; but she was pretty shook today. I figured things were just getting worse. Then I got back and found your message, and thought maybe you’d heard from him, and that got me wondering if whatever’s up with them could be just--call it _crisis_. You follow?” “Yeah.” _All the way. In fact, I’m way out front._ “And better slow down, too. It could be nothing. But it _could_ be--” He did not let himself pursue it further. “... any chance of your seeing them while you’re down? I know you’re busy as hell, Chris, but I can’t go myself; I’m the last one he’d talk to right now. And I don’t know who else would even _know_ what the difference was, if anything’s happened at all--one way or the other. Lee’s a good kid, but I can’t rely altogether on what she says. _You’re_ not in love with the guy.” He paused, and added: “This is pure hunch, Chris. I haven’t got fact one to go on, but I’ve got a feeling, that’s all. I think maybe this is the time that you could get through to him.” “Through, how?” he asked cautiously. Prayers don’t get answered like that, on the phone. “I wish I knew. I don’t. I couldn’t tell you where or what or how or even who. I just think that something’s about to bust there. Could be just _her_, and you’d be wasting your time. But--I think it’s a good time for you to see Johnny. If you still want him back that is?”