Выбрать главу

That’s the concierge.

“And you were able to get at its memory bank?”

Mandel’stalun had the grace to look slightly embarrassed.

“It’s surprising what can be done if you know the right people. Oh, don’t misunderstand. There was nothing illegal; but I prefer to omit details.”

“On Titan, we’re very particular about invasion of privacy.”

“Soare we on Earth. Anyone who really wants to do so can easily by-pass the concierge. Which, in fact, suggests to me that Miss Ellerman does not have a guilty conscience, or anything to hide. But tell me, Mr.

Makenzie—didn’t you know that she had a Titanian guest staying with her?”

Duncan stared at him open-mouthed, but quickly recovered himself. Of course-Karl might well have prevailed on some trusted friend to act as a courier. That must have been a good many months ago; there had been no passenger ship for six weeks before Sirius. Who could possibly … ?

That could wait. There was another little matter to clear up first.

“You said staying with her?”

“Yes. That is, until only two days ago.”

That explained everything-almost. No wonder Calindy had avoided him! In equal measure, Duncan felt jealousy, disappointment-and relief that

his maneuverings had, after all, been justified by events. 228 “T~ho is this Titanian?” he asked glumly. “I wonder if I know him.”

“That’s what I’ll be interested to hear. His name is Karl Helmer.”

A MESSAGE FROM TITAN

“That’s utterly impossible,” said Duncan, when he had recovered from the initial shock. “I left Helmer at Saturn-and I came here on the fastest ship in the Solar System.”

Mandel’stahm gave an expressive shrug.

“Then perhaps someone else is using that name, for reasons best known to himself. Miss Ellerman’s concierge is not very bright-they seldom are-and incidentally, we were lucky to get at it just before the regular end-of-month memory update. I got hold of the visual recognition coding, and here’s the reconstruction.”

He handed over the crude but perfectly adequate synthesis. Duncan could identify it as quickly as any robot pattern-detecting circuit.

Without question, it was Karl.

“So you know him,” said Mandel’stahm.

“Very well,” Duncan replied faintly. His mind was still in a whirl; even now, he could not fully believe the evidence of his eyes. It would take a long time for him to work out all the implications of this stun i g development.

“You said he was no longer at Cal-Miss Ellerman’s. Do you know where he is now?”

“No. I was hoping you might have some ideas. But now that we know the name,

I’ll be able to trace him -though if may take some time.”

And doubtless expense, thought Duncan. “Tell me, Mr. Mandel’stahm, why are you taking all this trouble? Frankly,

I don’t see what you hope to get out of it.”

“Don’t you? Well, it’s a good question. I certainly began this out of a pure and honest lust for titanite, and I hope that in due course my efforts will win their just reward. But now it’s gone beyond that. The only thing more valuable than gems or works of art is entertainment. And this little caper, Mr. Makenzie, is more interesting than anything I’ve seen on the viddy for weeks.”

Despite his gloomy preoccupations, Duncan could not help smiling. He had been cautious in his approach to Mandel’stahm, but now he was definitely beginning to feel genuine warmth toward the dealer. He was shrewd and perhaps even crafty, and Duncan did not doubt that he would drive a very hard bargain. But he was now quite convinced that George Washington was right: Ivor Mandel’stahm could be trusted implicitly, in all the things that really mattered.

“May I make a modest proposal?”

“Of course,” Duncan answered.

“Can you think of any reason at all, now that we’ve reached this stage, why you should not call Miss Ellerman, say that you’ve just heard from Titan that your mutual friend Mr. Helmer is on Earth-and does she know where he is?”

Duncan thought it over; the suggestion was so blatantly obvious that, in his somewhat dazed state, he had completely overlooked it. Even now, he was not sure that he could give it an accurate evaluation.

But the affair was no longer a matter of impersonal tactics and policy, to be worked out like the closing move of some chess game. For his own self-respect and peace of mind, it was time for a confrontation with

Calindy.

“You’re right,” he said. “There’s no reason at all why I shouldn’t call her. I’ll do so, just as soon as I can get back to the hotel. Let’s stop off at Union Station and take the express …… When Duncan

reached the hotel twenty minutes later (the “express” was somewhat misnamed) he had the second surprise of the day, though by now it was something of an anticlimax. The longest fax that Colin had ever sent him was waiting in the Comsole.

After the initial quick reading, Duncan’s first reaction was, “This time, at least, I’m one jump ahead.” But even that, he realized, was not quite true. When one allowed for the fact that Colin’s message had left Titan two hours ago, it was virtually a photo finish.

SECURITY AAA PRIORITY AAA

INQUIRIES MNEMOSYNE DISCLOSE KARL LEFT MID MARCH ON NONSKED EARTH

FLIGHT AND

ARRIVED APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS BEFORE YOU. ARM AND PROFESSES SURPRISE

AND

TOTAL IGNORANCE. MAY BE TELLING TRUTH. IMPERATIVE YOU LOCATE KARL

FIND WHAT

HE IS DOING AND IF NECESSARY WARN HIM OF CONSEQUENCES. PROCEED WITH

EXTREME

CAUTION AS ANXIOUS AVOID PUBLICITY OR INTERPLANETARY COMPLICATIONS.

YOU

APPRECIATE THE SITUATION MAY BE TO OUR ADVANTAGE BUT DISCRETION

ESSENTIAL.

SUGGEST CALINDY MAY KNOW WHERE HE IS. COLIN AND MALCOLM.

Duncan reread the message more slowly, absorbing its nuances. It contained nothing that he did not now know, or had not already guessed; however, he did not relish its uncompromising tone. Being signed by both Colin and

Malcolm, it had the authority of a direct order-something rare indeed in

Makenzie affairs. Though Duncan admitted that it made good sense, he could also detect an underlying note of satisfaction. For a moment he had an unflattering image of his older twins moving in like a pair of vultures, scenting a kill…. At the same time, he was wryly amused to see that Colin had drafted the

Telex in a great hurry; it contained half a dozen superfluous words, most offensive to the economical maxims of the clan. Why, there were even “and’s” and “the’s” .. .

Perhaps, after all, he was not suited for politics. He felt a growing disenchantment with these machinations. There were, despite genetics, subtle differences between the Makenzies, and it might well be that he was not as tough–or as ambitious-as his precursors.

In any event, his first step was obvious, especially as all his advisers had suggested it. The second move could be decided later.

It was no surprise when Calindy failed to appear on the screen of his

Comsole, and he soon had proof that the social convention was justified.

Unless there was some excellent reason, it was indeed bad manners to switch off one’s viddy circuit. Duncan felt both frustrated and at a serious disadvantage, knowing that Calindy could see him but that he could not see her. The voice alone did not convey all the shades of emotion. There was so many times when the expression of the eyes could contradict the spoken word.