“What happened in his case, anyway? I had heard that he had been killed.”
“He had been attacked and severely abused, but police happened on the scene just as his assailants were departing. They possessed medical equipment to supply immediate emergency aid, and they rushed him to a facility where he underwent a number of organ implants, all of which proved successful. Thereafter, he contacted the authorities and told the entire story. His change of heart was prompted by the fact that his attackers had formerly been associates of his.”
“Zeemeister and Buckler,” I said, “did not strike me as the sort whose intellects are mediated by sentiment.”
“True. They are, basically, hoodlums. Until recently their major activities had involved organ procurement and smuggling. Before that they had done many other illicit things, but organs seem to have been going well recently. They were involved in the theft of the star-stone for monetary rather than idealistic reasons. None of the other members of the conspiracy were criminals in the professional sense of the term. This was why they hired Zeemeister-to plan the theft for them. His ultimate design, however, involved a brace of roods-“
“Doublecross,” I said, lighting another cigarette for him.
“Just so. He intended to appropriate the stone for himself somewhere along the line and restore it to the authorities in return for money and immunity from prosecution.”
“If that were to happen, how would it affect our chances with respect to eventual membership in the confederation?”
“It would not be as harmful as the use of it for the recovery of the crown jewels,” he said. “So long as you have it ready to pass along at the appropriate time, any intervening problems concerning its maintenance are your own concern.”
“Then what is your real part in this affair?”
“I do not like to look at things so terribly strictly,” he said. “You are new to the game, and I want to see that you get every break possible. I would like to see the stone recovered and the entire incident forgotten.”
“Decent of you,” I said, “so I will try to be reasonable. I assume that Paul retained the original stone and that he has told you he believes it passed into our custody during a certain card party in his lab.”
“That is correct.”
“So Hal and I possibly, even probably, had it in our apartment for a time. And then it vanished.”
“So it would seem.”
“What then, specifically, would you want me to do about it if I took this job?”
“Of first importance,” he said, “since you do not wish to go offworld to be examined by a telepathic analyst and since Sibla’s qualifications do not meet with your approval, I would like you to consent to the procedure in the case of my bringing a qualified person here to Earth.”
“So you still think a clue might be locked away somewhere in my mind?”
“We have to admit the possibility, do we not?”
“Yes. I guess we do. What about Hal? Maybe he has something at some buried level, too.”
“There is that possibility also, though I am inclined to believe him when he insists as he does that he left the stone behind. However, he has just recently given his consent to Mister Nadler to go along with any sort of mind-probing technique that may be of help.”
“Then I do, too. Bring on your analyst. Just so he knows his business and is in no position to lock me away on another world.”
“All right. That is settled, then. Does it mean you are accepting the job?”
“Why not? I might as well get paid for it-especially if the checks will be coming from the people who messed up my normal means of livelihood.”
“Then we will leave it at that for now. It will require several days for the transportation of the analyst I have located. For now, Mister Nadler has some forms and such for your signature. While you are dealing with these, I will be setting up a unit we have brought along.”
“What sort of equipment is it?”
“Your leg healed up nicely, did it not?”