CHAPTER 19After a short session of meditation and visualization, Mara returned opaqueness to Ping—the one she thought of as the other Ping—though she wouldn’t call him that to his face. She didn’t argue when the other Ping glared at Sam, took away the sample container and suggested that he show them to the study. Leaving the laboratory struck her as a good idea.
He directed them to the staircase at the end of the hall, the one that bisected the house.
“The study is upstairs?” she asked as she took the first step behind him.
“The living quarters are on the third floor, except for the kitchen, pantry and utility rooms. Didn’t I tell you that before?” he asked.
“Yes, but I guess my focus was elsewhere.”
Behind her, at the foot of the stairs, Sam pointed to the double doors in the wall be
