"Brooks, Terry - Landover 01 - Magic Kingdom for Sale - Sold" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brooks Terry)

lavish the two may be. You need to let your colleagues in
the profession know that you're still alive!"

"You tell them I'm alive. Tell them I'll make the next
meeting for sure. Tell them anything. But forget about me
for tonight."

There was another pause, this one longer. "Are you all
right?"

Terry Brooks 9

"Fine. But I'm in the midst of something. I want to stay
with it."

"You work too hard, Ben."

"Don't we all? See you tomorrow."

He placed the receiver back on the cradle before Miles
could say anything further. He stood staring down at the
phone. At least he hadn't lied. He was in the midst of some-
thing, and he did want to stay with itЧhowever crazy it
might be. He took a drink of the scotch. If Annie were there,
she would understand. She had always understood his fas-
cination with puzzles and with challenges that others might
simply step around. She had shared so much of that with
him.

He shook his head. Of course, if Annie were there, none
of this would be happening. He wouldn't be thinking about
escaping into a dream that couldn't possibly be.

He paused, struck by the implications of that thought.
Then holding his drink in his hand, he crossed back to the
sofa, picked up the catalogue, and began reading once more.

Ben was late getting to the offices of Holiday and Bennett,
Ltd. the next morning, and by the time he arrived his dis-
position was less than agreeable. He had scheduled an early
appearance on a merger contest and gone straight to the
Courts Building from home, only to discover that somehow
his setting had been removed from the docket. The clerks
had no idea how this had happened, opposing counsel was
nowhere to be found, and the judge presiding simply advised
him that a resetting would be the best solution to the di-
lemma. Since time was of the essence in the case in question,
he requested an early settingЧonly to be told that the ear-
liest setting possible was in thirty days. Things were always
busiest with the approach of the holiday season, the motions