“Why, what’s the matter, Calindy?” said Duncan in feigned astonishment. He would feel genuine sympathy if she were indeed hurt; but he intended to reserve judgment.
Her voice was-could it be imagination on his part?-not quite under control.
She appeared surprised to see him, perhaps disconcerted.
“I’m terribly sorry, Duncan-I’d rather not show my face at the moment. I fell and hurt my eye-it looks ghastly. But there’s nothing to worry about-it will be all right in a few days.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I won’t bother you if you feet unwell.”
He waited, hoping that Calindy could read the concern that he had carefully imprinted on his face.
“Oh, that’s no problem. Otherwise it’s business as usual-I’ve just cut out my weekly trip to the office, and now do everything by Comsole.”
“Well, that’s a relief. Now I’ve got a piece of news for you. Karl is on
Earth.”
There was a long silence before Calindy replied. When she finally answered,
Duncan realized, with amused mortification, that he was not really in
her league He could not hope to outwit her for very long. “Duncan,” she said, in a resigned tone of voice, 4tyou really didn’t know that he was staying with me?”
Duncan did his best to exhibit incredulity, shock, and umbrage-in that order.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he cried.
“Because he asked me not to. That put me in a difficult position, but what was I to do? He said you were no longer on good terms and his business was highly confidential.”
Duncan guessed that Calindy was telling the simple truth, if indeed the truth was simple. Some, but not all, of his pique evaporated.
“Well, I’m upset and disappointed. I should have thought you’d have trusted me. Anyway, there’s no further need for-subterfuge-now that I know He’s here. I’ve an urgent message for him-where can I locate him?”
There was another long pause; then Calindy answered: “I don’t know where he is. He left suddenly, and never told me where he was going. He might even have returned to Titan.”
“Without saying good-bye? Hardly! And there are no ships to Titan for a month.”
“Then I suppose he’s still on Earth, or no farther away than the Moon. I simply don’t know.”
Oddly enough, Duncan believed her. Her voice still had the ring of truth, though he did not delude himself about her power to deceive him if she wished.
“In that case, IT have to trace him in some other way. It’s imperative that we meet.”
“I wouldn’t advise that, Duncan.”
“Why ever not?”
“He’s-very angry with you.”
“I can’t imaoi e the reason,” retorted Duncan, in swiftly imagining several. Calindy’s voice sounded such a genuine note of alarm that he felt himself responding strongly to her concern.
However, it seemed that this avenue was closed, at least for the time being. He knew better than to argue with Calindy. With a mixture of
emotions, he expressed hopes for her continued improvement, and broke the circuit. He hoped that she would interpret his attitude as one of both sorrow and anger, and feel correspondingly contrite.
A minute later, he was looking-with some relief -at a screen that was no longer empty, and could reveal the other party’s reactions.
“Did you know,” he asked Ambassador Farrell, “that Karl Helmer is on
Earth?”
His Excellency blinked.
“I certainly did not. He never contacted me-I’ll see if the Chancery knows anything.”
He punched a few buttons, and it was obvious that nothing happened. The ambassador glanced at Duncan with annoyance.
“I wish we could afford a new intercom system,” he said accusingly. “They cost a very small fraction of the Titan Gross National Product.”
Duncan thought it wise to let this pass, and luckily on the second attempt the ambassador got through. He muttered a few inaudible questions, waited for a minute, then looked at Duncan and shook his head.
“No trace of him-not even a Terran forwarding address for any messages from home. Most odd.”
“Wouldn’t you say-unprecedented?”
“Um-yes. I’ve never heard of anyone failing to contact the Embassy as soon as they reach Earth. Usually, of course, we know that they’re coming, weeks in advance. There’s no law compelling them to get in touch-but it’s a matter of courtesy. Not to mention convenience.”
“That’s what I thought. Well, if you hear anything of him, would you let me know?”
The ambassador stared back at him in silence for a moment, with the most enigmatic of smiles on his face. Then he said: “What do Malcolm and Colin think he’s doing? Plotting a coup dYtat with smuggled guns?”
After a moment’s shock, Duncan laughed at the joke.
“Not even Karl is that crazy. Frankly, I’m completely baffled by the whole thing-but I’m determined to locate him. Though there may be half
a billion people on Earth, he’s not exactly inconspicuous. Please keep in touch. Goodbye for the present.”
Two down, thought Duncan, and one to go. It was back to Ivor Mandel’stahm, in his self-appointed, and by no means unsuccessful, role of private eye.
But Ivor’s Comsole answered: “Please do not disturb. Kindly record any message.”
Duncan was annoyed; he was bursting to pass on his news, but was certainly not going to leave it stored in a Comsole. He would have to wait until
Mandel’stahm called back.
That took two hours, and meanwhile it was not easy to concentrate on other work. When the dealer finally returned the call, he apologized profusely.
“I was trying a long shot,” he explained. “I wondered if he’d bought anything in New York on a credit card. There aren’t all that number of aitches, and the Central Billing computer zipped through them in an hour. . Alas-he must be using cash. Not a federal crime, of course. But a nuisance to us honest investigators.”
Duncan laughed.
“It was a good idea. I’ve done slightly better-at least I’ve eliminated some possibilities.”
He gave Mandel’stalun a brief resume of his discussions with Calindy and
Ambassador Farrell, then added: “Where do we go from here?”
“I’m not sure. But don’t worry-I’ll think of something.”
Duncan believed him. He now had an almost unreasoning confidence in the dealer’s ingenuity, not to mention his influence and his knowledge of the ways of Earth. If anyone could locate Karl-short of going to the police, or inserting a personal appeal in the World Times-it would be Mandel’stalun.
In fact, it took him only thirty-six hours.
THE EYE OF ALLAH
I I I’ve found him,” said Mandel’stahm. He looked tired but victorious.
“I knew you would,” Duncan replied with unfeigned admiration. “Where is he?”
“Don’t be so impatient-let me have my reasonably innocent fun. I’ve earned it.”
“Well, whose concierge did you bamboozle this time?”
Mandel’stahm looked slightly pained.
“Nobody’s. I first tried to find all I could about your friend Helmer, by the brilliant device of looking him up in the Interplanetary Who’s Who. I assumed he’d be there, and he was-a hundred-line print-out. I looked you up at the same time, by the, way…. You rate one hundred fifty lines, if that’s any satisfaction.”
“I know,” said Duncan, with what patience he could muster. “Go on.”
“I wondered if it would list any Terran contacts or interests, and again I was in luck. He belongs to the Institution of Electronic Engineers, the