nine o'clock
`` There 's a spy at work in the Nevada plant , Kenneth . And the spy is a telepath . '' * * * * * The video tapes were very clear and very complete . There were a great many of them , and it was long after nine o'clock when Kenneth Malone decided to take a break and get some fresh air . Washington was a good city for walking , even at night , and Malone liked to walk . Sometimes he pretended , even to himself , that he got his best ideas while walking , but he knew perfectly well that was n't true . His best ideas just seemed to come to him , out of nowhere , precisely as the situation demanded them .