Vicky Banning Read Online Free PDF Page A

between the women but, slowly, as if pulled by a leash, Sarah’s nose forged through it, until her head was halfway across the table. “ Three Mile Island is just a few miles from here,” she said, her voice hoarse with curiosity. “What about it?”
    Vicky looked up at her, lips pressed tightly in what appeared to be reluctance, but actually she was biting the inside of her cheeks to keep from laughing out loud. “I am sorry,” she said, when she felt she had enough control. “I shouldn’t have said any…”
    “I won’t tell a soul! ” Sarah blurted out.
    No souls, just people with big mouths, Vicky thought. “But…”
    “Please!” Sarah begged. “You can’t say something like that and then just let it drop!”
    Vicky waited, her brow creased, as if in deep thought. “You swear you won’t tell anyone?”
    “I swear,” Sarah said with intense earnestness.
    “Cross your heart?”
    “Yes, yes, yes. Cross my heart, for heaven’s sake. Now, what about Three Mile Island ?”
    Vicky lowered her eyes to stare at her hands. “I have to see you cross your heart,” she murmured apologetically.
    Sarah threw up her hands and thumped back into her chair. “All right!” she all but shouted, growing angry. “Watch! See? I’m crossing my heart! See? Hope to die! Now tell me!”
    “It’s a government secret,” warned Vicky. “You could be putting yourself in great danger if you even so much as hinted…”
    “May I lose my tongue if I tell anyone,” Sarah blurted in a shrill, frantic voice. She seemed about to throw a tantrum, to pound her balled fists on the table.
    “Well,” Vicky said in a drawn-out, hushed, secret agent voice, “in that case…” She propped both elbows on the table, a hand blocking her mouth from view of the other diners. “Remember when the…‘incident’ happened at Three Mile Island a few years ago?”
    “Of course I remember,” Sarah snapped. “What about it?”
    Vicky glanced to her right side, then to her left, checking behind her as well before speaking. “Keith, my son, was working there when it happened,” she whispered. She nodded her head and arched an eyebrow upwards, in her best rendition of a wizened old sage.
    Sarah was immobile with excitement, seemed ready to crawl across the table to her. “Yes? And?”
    “He was on duty when the…leak occurred.”
    Sarah’s eyes widened farther; she was barely breathing. “Yes, you said that. So what happened ?” she gasped.
    Vicky leaned closer. “No-thing,” she whispered, separating the syllables for emphasis.
    A long tense silence followed, and continued until Sarah’s head began to twitch, as if she were unable to grasp what she’d just heard. She’d half risen from her chair, remained suspended above it, staring at Vicky as if she weren’t quite human. “What do you mean nothing? ”she shrieked .
    People at the nearby tables turned to stare at her, their faces open with shock, annoyed that anyone would display such unacceptable behavior in their elegant dining room. After stiffening with indignation, they returned to their dinners. Trembling, Sarah lowered herself with erratic jerks onto her chair, eyes staring to her plate.
    “Nothing, just then, ” Vicky said, continuing to whisper, as if unaware there had been an interruption. “Not until the following day.” She paused again, folding her hands in her lap. “Are you sure you want to hear all this?” she asked. A convincing show of concern for Sarah’s well-being furrowed her brow.
    Sarah didn’t answer. She just glowered up at Vicky from beneath her brows, as if to drill holes through Vicky’s forehead with her eyes. Her mouth was screwed to a tight, wrinkled spot, a low growl emanating forth.
    “Well, the next day,” Vicky said in a rush, feeling that she might be losing her audience, “when Keith woke up…he had turned into a Negro. His fair skin had turned dark brown and his straight blond hair had become black and crinkly.” She