Page 230 of Edge of Eternity (The Century 3)

She bent her head over the old-fashioned ledger she was reading, then looked up again when she heard a noise. She was astonished to see George Jakes come in, panting, his suit jacket wet with perspiration, his eyes a little wild. "George!" she said. "What the heck . . . ?" She stood up.

"Maria," he said, "I'm so sorry." He came around the table and put his hands on her shoulders, a gesture that was a little too intimate for their strictly platonic friendship.

"Why are you sorry?" she said. "What have you done?"

"Nothing." She tried to pull back, but he tightened his grip. "They shot him," he said.

Maria saw that George was close to tears. She stopped resisting him and stepped closer. "Who was shot?" she said.

"In Dallas," he said.

Then she began to understand, and a terrible dread rose inside her. "No," she said.

George nodded. In a quiet voice he said: "The president is dead. I'm so sorry."

"Dead," Maria said. "He can't be dead." Her legs felt weak, and she sank to her knees. George knelt with her and folded her in his arms. "Not my Johnny," she said, and a huge sob erupted from inside her. "Johnny, my Johnny," she moaned. "Don't leave me, please. Please, Johnny. Please don't leave." She saw the world turn gray, she slumped helplessly, then her eyes closed and she lost consciousness.

*

Onstage at the Jump Club in London, Plum Nellie performed a storming version of "Dizzy, Miss Lizzy" and came off to shouts of: "More!"

Backstage, Lenny said: "That was great, lads, best we've ever played!"

Dave looked at Walli and they both grinned. The group was getting better fast, and every gig was the best ever.

Dave was surprised to find his sister waiting in the dressing room. "How did the play go?" he said. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there."

"It stopped in the first act," she said. "President Kennedy has been shot dead."

"The president!" said Dave. "When did this happen?"

"A couple of hours ago."

Dave thought of their American mother. "Is Mam upset?"

"Terribly."

"Who shot him?"

"No one knows. He was in Texas, in a place called Dallas."

"Never heard of it."

Buzz, the bass player, said: "What shall we do for an encore?"

Lenny said: "We can't do an encore, it would be disrespectful. President Kennedy has been assassinated. We have to do a minute's silence, or something."

Walli said: "Or a sad song."

Evie said: "Dave, you know what we should do."

"Do I?" He thought for a second, then said: "Oh, yeah."

"Come on, then."

Dave went onstage with Evie and plugged in his guitar. They stood at the microphone together. The rest of the group watched from the wings.

Dave spoke into the microphone. "My sister and I are half British, half American, but we feel very American tonight." He paused. "Most of you probably know by now that President Kennedy has been shot dead."

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