Remo thought fast.
"The material stolen was paid for by the taxpayers, right?"
"Well, yes," Robin Green said slowly. "So?"
"So Congress wants to know what happened."
"There's no rank on this card. You're civilian."
"Both of us," Remo said, tossing the ball into another court.
Robin Green turned to Chiun. The Master of Sinanju was looking her up and down critically. He walked behind her, as if examining her for flaws. He made a
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complete circle of her, saying nothing, but frowning furiously.
"Oh, this is Chiun," Remo said. "He's with Korean Intelligence."
"Korean Intelligence!"
"It's too complicated to explain," Remo said, taking back the card. "He's a specialist on loan to us. Just take my word for it."
Robin considered. "I'm a dead duck if I don't produce results pronto. It took me three days just to convince them I wasn't on drugs. So I guess I should be grateful for whatever help I can get. How do you do?" she said, shaking Remo's hand. Remo held it a few seconds longer than necessary and Robin Green's tight expression softened. Remo smiled. She returned the smile uncertainly. Worry lines still haunted her eyes.
But when she went to reach for Chiun's hand, the Master of Sinanju presented her with his austere back. He pointedly examined a plaque on the wall.
"What's his problem?" Robin asked in an injured voice.
"Technical specialists are like that," Remo said. "Preoccupied."
Chiun turned suddenly. "I would like to see the zones of disturbance," he said in a formal voice.
"He means the theft areas," Remo said in response to Robin's baffled expression.
"All right. Follow me."
As Robin escorted them down a long corridor, Remo dropped back to have a word with Chiun. It gave him a chance to check out Robin Green's walk. It was a nice walk, considering that she was in uniform. There was the suggestion of a wiggle. Not many women wiggled when they walked, he thought approvingly.
"Why did you stiff her like that, Little Father?" Remo wanted to know.
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"Do not trust her, Remo," Chiun hissed back. "She is an impostor."
"Her? She's Air Force Intelligence. Smith said so."
"An impostor," Chiun repeated firmly.
"If she's a fake," Remo said, watching her hips in motion, "then I'd be interested in meeting the real thing."
"She said her name is Robin," Chiun said coldly.
"Yeah. So?"
"Robins are red."
"Yeah."
"And her other name is Green."
"Yeah?"
"Robin Green. Obviously a fictitious name. It should be Robin Red."
"Or maybe Red Robin," Remo suggested lightly.
"I saw a Robin on television once," Chiun ruminated, stroking his beard. "He was a boy. He wore very nice clothes but also a mask. He followed a fat older man, whom I suspect of leading him into evil habits. He called himself a batman, but he did not carry one of your baseball bats. He dressed like the flying bat. Obviously delusional. Like this woman."
"Uh, I'm losing the chain of this logic. Besides, this Robin's a redheaad, in case you didn't notice."
Chiun dismissed Remo's comment with a wave. "A typical white misconception, like calling brown people black. Are you all color-blind? Her hair is orange, not red."
Remo threw up his hands. "I give up."
"Mark my words, Remo. She is a fake. Do not trust her."
"I'll keep it in mind," Remo said as Robin Green came to a halt before a padlocked door. She opened it with a passkey.
"This is the room," she told them, holding the door open for them to enter. Remo noticed that her hand,
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resting on the knob, shook. She was still rattled by her experience.
Remo started to enter, but Chiun brushed past him.
"Polite, isn't he?" Robin remarked, arching an eyebrow.
"Don't let him fool you. He knows what he's doing. Maybe not what he's talking about all the time, but in his field, he's an expert. The expert."
As they watched, the Master of Sinanju padded back and forth. Remo noticed that the room was pleasant, more like a hotel room than military living quarters. There was even an air conditioner. It hadn't been like this in the Marines, Remo recalled ruefully.
"You! Female," Chiun said, suddenly turning on Robin Green.
Robin blinked. "Female?"
"Humor him," Remo whispered. "His wife was a real battleax."
"This was the room where you saw the feet of the apparition?" Chiun demanded.
"Yes. I was concealed under the bed. His feet were suddenly just . . . there. There was no sound. By the time I crawled out, he was gone."
Chiun knelt down to peer under the bed. He straightened up and examined Robin Green critically.
"I feel like a piece of meat," she whispered to Remo.
"Don't sweat it. He's a vegetarian."
"With those cowlike things," Chiun said, pointing with his long fingernails, "how did you fit?"
"What cowlike . . . ? Oh! Now, that's an impertinent question."
"I am conducting a serious investigation. Answer me."
"All right. Fine. I held my breath. Okay?"
Chiun's hazel eyes narrowed. "And the alleged car battery, where did you see it?"
"There. See the wall above the dresser? It went
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through there. One minute it was plain as day, the next it was like a soap bubble. Just pop! And gone."
Chiun pushed the dresser set aside. It was solid maple and Robin Green was surprised at the frail Oriental's strength.
"He must eat a lot of spinach," she said wryly.
Chiun stoked the wall area with the palm of his hand.
"Here?" he demanded, turning his head.
"No, a little higher," Robin told him.
"Here?"
"I think so," Robin said slowly. Then, firmly: "Yes, there."
Chiun placed the flat of his hand to the wall. He closed his eyes and there was a long silence in the room.
"It is cool to the touch," he said, opening his eyes. "Cool, but not cold."
"I don't understand," Robin said.
"There is often a cold spot in hauntings such as this."
"Hauntings!" Robin exploded. "Wait a minute. I didn't say anything about ghosts." She turned on Remo, her eyes striking sparks. "I thought you said he was a technical consultant. What's this chickenshit about a haunting?"
"Process of elimination," Remo said quickly. "He's just eliminating a few of the less likely possibilities. He's very thorough. Honest."
"I don't believe in ghosts," Robin Green said firmly. "I never reported a ghost. I reported what I saw, nothing more, nothing less. I have a career with the Air Force, buster, and I'm not going to have my hard-earned clearances jerked because of some pint-sized Charlie Chan in a silk housedress."
"You are very excited for someone with nothing to hide," Chiun said levelly.
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Robin Green turned to find that the tiny Korean was suddenly behind her.
"Look," she told him. "It took me three solid days of convincing before they let me continue this investigation. I had to pull strings like crazy, and I would never have agreed to outside help, but it was either compromise or die. I like the Air Force. I want to stay in it. I don't want to end up in a rubber room because my superiors think I've been seeing spooks."
"Remo, please tell this woman to lower her voice," Chiun said imperiously. "She is disturbing the delicate vibrations of this room." He turned on his heel.
The Master of Sinanju made a circuit of the room, sniffing the air delicately.
"This is scientific?" Robin Green asked Remo.
"He has the nose of a bloodhound," Remo answered. "What do you smell, Little Father?"
Chiun's button nose wrinkled up. "Tobacco smoke. It is ruining everything."
"This was Risko's room," Robin explained. "He was a smoker. Poor guy."