Sweet Tooth

The next night, Serena goes to a concert with Shirley. She notes a lingering tension between the two friends, though she believes that Shirley’s political beliefs will mature into something more believable. Rumors among colleagues suggest that Shirley has been recruited for an important assignment, but Serena is determined not to ask about it. Instead, they gossip about burgeoning office romances. Midway through the conversation, Shirley tells Serena to maintain a smile. They are being watched, she announces, and then she reveals that she has been fired. Shirley explains that she was asked about Serena by Nutting, Tapp, and others, who then wanted her to test Serena’s political loyalties by engaging her in a challenging conversation. Her anecdote about East Germany was a lie, but she felt so ashamed that she refused to reveal Serena’s reaction to the men at MI5. Now, Shirley wants to know why they were so interested in Serena, but Serena feels too angry and paranoid to divulge anything. They find themselves in a stalemate. Shirley refuses to say exactly why she was fired and Serena refuses to say why she was of interest to MI5. Shirley leaves without another word.

Later that night, Serena reads another of Haley’s short stories, about a mysterious, unassuming man named Neil Carder who lives alone in a large house.