that Bill might not have eaten today.)
When she left, I dug into a pocket, pulled out that thousand-crown note, gave it to Dr. Schultz.
He caused it to disappear. “Sir, do you wish a receipt?”
“No.”
“Between gentlemen, eh? Excellent. Now how can I help you?”
Forty minutes later Dr. Schultz knew almost as much about our troubles as I did, as I held nothing back. He could help us, it seemed to me, only if he knew the full background—so far as I knew it—on what had happened.
“You say Ron Tolliver has been shot?” he said at last.
“I didn’t see it. I heard the Chief Proctor say so. Correction: I heard a man who sounded like Franco, and the Manager treated him as such.”
“Good enough. Hear hoofbeats; expect horses, not zebras. But I heard nothing about it on my way here, and I noticed no signs of excitement in this restaurant—and the assassination or attempted assassination of the second largest holder of partnership shares in this sovereignty should cause excitement. I was at the bar for a few minutes before you arrived. No word of it. Yet a bar is notoriously the place news hits first; there is always a screen turned on to the news channel. Hmm…could the Manager be covering it up?”
“That lying snake is capable of anything.”
“I was not speaking of his moral character, concerning which my judgment matches yours, but solely of physical possibility. One does not cover up a shooting too easily. Blood. Noise. A victim dead or wounded. And you spoke of witnesses—or Franco did. Still, Judge Sethos controls the only newspaper, and the terminals, and the proctors. Yes, if he wished to make the effort, he could surely keep it hush-hush for a considerable period. We shall see—and that is one more item on which I will report to you after you reach Luna City.”
“We may not be in Luna City. I’ll have to phone you.”
“Colonel, is that advisable? Unless our presence together during that few seconds at the bar here was noted by some interested party who knows both of us, it is possible that we have succeeded in keeping our alliance secret. It is indeed fortunate that you and I have never been associated in any fashion in the past; there is no probable way to trace me to you, or you to me. You can phone me, certainly…but one must assume that my terminal is tapped, or my studio is bugged, or both—and both have happened in the past. I suggest, rather, the mails…for other than direst emergency.”
“But mail can be opened. By the way, I’m Dr. Ames, not Colonel Campbell, please. And oh yes!—this young man with us. He knows me as ‘Senator’ and Mrs. Ames as ‘Mistress Hardesty’ from that dustup I told you about.”
“I’ll remember. In the course of a long life one plays many roles. Would you believe that I was once known as ‘Lance Corporal Finnegan, Imperial Marines’?”
“I can easily believe it.”
“Which just goes to show you, as I never was. But I’ve worked much stranger jobs. Mail can be opened, true—but if I deliver a letter to a Luna City shuttle just before it leaves our spaceport, it is most unlikely that it will ever reach the hands of anyone interested in opening it. In the reverse direction a letter sent to Henrietta van Loon, care of Madame Pompadour, 20012 Petticoat Lane, will reach me with only minimal delay. An old, established madam has years of dealing gently with other people’s secrets. One must trust, I find. The art lies in knowing whom to trust.”
“Doc, I find that I trust you.”
He chuckled. “My dear sir, I would most happily sell you your own hat were you to leave it on my counter. But you are correct in essence. As I have accepted you as my client you can trust me totally. Being a double agent would invite ulcers…and I am a gourmand who will do nothing that could interfere with my pleasures as a trencherman.”
He looked thoughtful and added, “May I see that wallet again? Enrico Schultz.”
I handed it to him. He took
When she left, I dug into a pocket, pulled out that thousand-crown note, gave it to Dr. Schultz.
He caused it to disappear. “Sir, do you wish a receipt?”
“No.”
“Between gentlemen, eh? Excellent. Now how can I help you?”
Forty minutes later Dr. Schultz knew almost as much about our troubles as I did, as I held nothing back. He could help us, it seemed to me, only if he knew the full background—so far as I knew it—on what had happened.
“You say Ron Tolliver has been shot?” he said at last.
“I didn’t see it. I heard the Chief Proctor say so. Correction: I heard a man who sounded like Franco, and the Manager treated him as such.”
“Good enough. Hear hoofbeats; expect horses, not zebras. But I heard nothing about it on my way here, and I noticed no signs of excitement in this restaurant—and the assassination or attempted assassination of the second largest holder of partnership shares in this sovereignty should cause excitement. I was at the bar for a few minutes before you arrived. No word of it. Yet a bar is notoriously the place news hits first; there is always a screen turned on to the news channel. Hmm…could the Manager be covering it up?”
“That lying snake is capable of anything.”
“I was not speaking of his moral character, concerning which my judgment matches yours, but solely of physical possibility. One does not cover up a shooting too easily. Blood. Noise. A victim dead or wounded. And you spoke of witnesses—or Franco did. Still, Judge Sethos controls the only newspaper, and the terminals, and the proctors. Yes, if he wished to make the effort, he could surely keep it hush-hush for a considerable period. We shall see—and that is one more item on which I will report to you after you reach Luna City.”
“We may not be in Luna City. I’ll have to phone you.”
“Colonel, is that advisable? Unless our presence together during that few seconds at the bar here was noted by some interested party who knows both of us, it is possible that we have succeeded in keeping our alliance secret. It is indeed fortunate that you and I have never been associated in any fashion in the past; there is no probable way to trace me to you, or you to me. You can phone me, certainly…but one must assume that my terminal is tapped, or my studio is bugged, or both—and both have happened in the past. I suggest, rather, the mails…for other than direst emergency.”
“But mail can be opened. By the way, I’m Dr. Ames, not Colonel Campbell, please. And oh yes!—this young man with us. He knows me as ‘Senator’ and Mrs. Ames as ‘Mistress Hardesty’ from that dustup I told you about.”
“I’ll remember. In the course of a long life one plays many roles. Would you believe that I was once known as ‘Lance Corporal Finnegan, Imperial Marines’?”
“I can easily believe it.”
“Which just goes to show you, as I never was. But I’ve worked much stranger jobs. Mail can be opened, true—but if I deliver a letter to a Luna City shuttle just before it leaves our spaceport, it is most unlikely that it will ever reach the hands of anyone interested in opening it. In the reverse direction a letter sent to Henrietta van Loon, care of Madame Pompadour, 20012 Petticoat Lane, will reach me with only minimal delay. An old, established madam has years of dealing gently with other people’s secrets. One must trust, I find. The art lies in knowing whom to trust.”
“Doc, I find that I trust you.”
He chuckled. “My dear sir, I would most happily sell you your own hat were you to leave it on my counter. But you are correct in essence. As I have accepted you as my client you can trust me totally. Being a double agent would invite ulcers…and I am a gourmand who will do nothing that could interfere with my pleasures as a trencherman.”
He looked thoughtful and added, “May I see that wallet again? Enrico Schultz.”
I handed it to him. He took
Similar Books
