Chapter 16 Summary

Qwill's frightening dream of global war is interrupted by the shriek of a bomb and loud thuds. He stumbles from bed and opens his door, allowing Koko to hurtle inside. Koko runs to the staircase with Qwill following. When Qwill reaches the library, he hears the back door being unlocked and opened, and a dark figure moves through the hallway. Qwill grabs a pickax and prepares to strike the intruder. Instead, the intruder falls as a ceramic vase crashes onto the stone floor. When Mrs. Cobb rushes downstairs at the noise, Qwill instructs her to phone the police as the man lies prone, groaning, with one foot in the litter box. Koko sniffs at the pocket of his old army jacket. The next day while they have dinner at Stephanie's, Qwill tells Melinda that Koko "never ceases to amaze [him]" (page 253). Koko knew...