Herrera watched Sawbill steadily.
“A fast check on Jordan’s credit count revealed the recent transfer of the rather surprising sum of twenty-one thousand credits to one individual. You.”
“This whole procedure is quite illegal,” injected Saw-bill mildly.
“Oh, to be sure, to be sure,” said Herrera. “Our information cannot be used in court—and obviously is not going to be.”
“I have tapes of the transaction, too.”
“I’m sure you do,” replied Herrera. “And I’ve no doubt it was all done with the greatest respect for the letter of the law.”
“Quite.”
“I’m going to have to compose some sort of explanation for the faxpax and for relatives. These people were no bums. Three nominally respected citizens have died here. Just for my own information and to satisfy my morbid curiosity, what did you sell him?”
“Anger.”
“I see. Anger.” Herrera looked around and took in the wholesale carnage. “A little anger did all this?”
“Ordinarily it would not. You must believe that.”
66
The Emoman
“Oh, sure. Yeah.”
Sawbill shrugged. “I agree with you. When Jordan walked in on Wu and the girl I don’t think he’d taken a thing. Knowing the sort he was I expected him to try reason after what I’d told him.”
“I’ll bet you did.”
“I mean that! Otherwise I wouldn’t have sold to him. Neither man was inherently vicious. I warned Jordan enough against taking the seven. But when he came in and found them making love he obviously went berserk. The seven integrals of the star should be taken an hour apart. That’s leaving a quarter-hour safety limit, which I never mention. A half-hour is the real danger point. He must have downed them all at once. The result is unimaginable to most men. Overwhelming. Few minds could handle such an abrupt release. He couldn’t. But I was correct about his innate mental control and discipline.”