to a halt, he remained motionless for many long minutes,
apparently digesting what he had heard.
“Well, one thing I can tell you,” he said at last. “Your
friend isn’t a financier . . . here on Perv, or anywhere else,
for that matter.”
“He isn’t? But he’s always talking about money.”
“Oh, there’s more to being a financier than talking about
money,” the Butterfly laughed. “The whole idea is to put
one’s money to work through investments. If anything, this
Aahz’s hoarding techniques would indicate that he’s pretty
much an amateur when it comes to money. You, on the
other hand, by incorporating and diversifying through hold-
ings in other businesses, show marked entrepreneurial ten-
dencies. Perhaps sometime we might talk a bit about mutual
investment opportunities.”
I suppose it was all quite flattering, and under other cir-
cumstances I might have been happy to chat at length with
the Butterfly about money management. Unfortunately, I
couldn’t escape the disappointment of the bottom line . . .
that he wouldn’t be able to give me any information that
would help me locate Aahz.
“Thanks, but right now I think I’d better focus on one
thing at a time, and my current priority is finding my old
partner.”
“Well, sorry I couldn’t have been of more assistance,”
the financier said, rising to his feet. “One thing, though,
Skeeve, if you don’t mind a little advice?”
“What’s that?”
“You might try to take a bit more of an active role in
your own life. You know . . . instead of reactive?”
That one stopped me short as I was reaching for the door.