how it is you come to be wearin’ a disguise in such a fine
place? It couldn’t be that you were plannin’ to skip out
without payin’ fer yer meal, could it?”
“No. It’s just that…” I paused as a wave of dizziness
passed. “Well, I’ve heard you can get better service and
prices on Perv if folks don’t know you’re from off-dimen-
sion.”
“Bad answer, Skeeve,” Kalvin hissed, but I had already
figured that out.
The policeman had gone several shades darker, and his
head almost disappeared into his neck. Though his tone was
still cordial, he seemed to be picking his words very care-
fully.
“Are ya tryin’ to tell me you think our whole dimension
is full of clip joints and thieves? Is that what yer sayin’?”
Too late I saw my error. Aahz had always seemed to be
proud of the fact that Pervects were particularly good at
turning a profit. It had never occurred to me that to some,
this might sound like an insult.
“Not at all,” I said hastily. “I assumed it was like any
other place,, . . that the best prices and services were reserved
for locals and visitors got what was left. I was just trying
to take advantage of normal priorities, that’s all.”
I thought it was a pretty good apology. The policeman,
however, seemed unimpressed. Unsmiling, he produced a
notepad and pencil.
74
Robert Asprin
“Name?”
His voice was almost flat and impersonal, but managed
to still convey a degree of annoyance.
“Look. I’ll pay for the meal, if that’s what the problem
is.”
“I didn’t ask if you were payin’ for the meal. I asked
you what your name is. Now are you going to tell me here,