Laverna thought about it.
“It’s possible,” she said. “It still bothers me, though, that they used free-lance help instead of going after Stilman themselves. That doesn’t make sense.”
“It may have been to keep their own hands clean if anything went wrong,” Max said. “Besides, young Mr. Phule hasn’t been averse to hiring outside specialists before. Look at the computer auditors he sneaked in on us.”
“That’s true,” her aide said. “You know, that’s something else that’s been bothering me.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, for some things, like the computer jockeys, they’ve been going outside, but for the crew that was working the stage at the showroom, they used their own people. I would have thought that they’d hire some specialists for that, too.” She shook her head. “Oh well, I guess it’s just that he had some show business people in the Legion, but nobody who really knew computers.”
“Just a moment, Laverna.” Max was suddenly alert. “Say that again.”
“What? You mean about there not being any computer experts in the Space Legion?”
“No, before that. You said he must have some show business people in his force.”
“That’s right. So?”
“So what if all the security force aren’t from the Space Legion? What if some of them are actors?”
“You mean stand-ins?” Laverna frowned. “That’s interesting. I guess if that were the case, I’d be wondering where the soldiers were they were replacing.”
Maxine was staring into the distance. “I was just recalling something Mr. Stilman said-about how he wasn’t impressed by the security force, but that the complex had the toughest staff he had ever run into. What if young Mr. Phule decided early on that uniformed guards were of limited value, and that instead he was going to put a portion of his force to work under cover, seeding them through the staff as waitresses or cooks?”