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that off with a wave of her hand. “I did my time in fourth grade, just like everyone else. Trust me, I know that decades ago ghost hunters saved the city-states from Vance and his followers. The Guilds aren’t likely to ever let us forget it. I’m also aware of the old saying that the Guilds police their own. But I certainly didn’t know that the Chamber sometimes gets involved when there’s trouble in one of the organizations.”
    â€œFor the most part, individual Guilds are expected to take care of their own problems. But when that doesn’t work, the Chamber steps in.”
    â€œHow?” She sounded skeptical.
    â€œThe Chamber maintains an investigative office.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “Officially it’s called the Bureau of Internal Affairs, but unofficially it’s just known as the Bureau.”
    â€œWhy haven’t I ever heard of this Bureau?”
    â€œProbably because the Chamber prefers to keep quiet about it.”
    â€œRight. Yet another Guild secret. So why are you telling me this?”
    â€œBecause I think I can trust you, Miss McIntyre. And because I need your help. Forty-eight hours ago I met with the other Guild chiefs in a secret emergency session of the Chamber. I explained what was going on here in Crystal and how I planned to clean up the mess. They offered backup and assistance if I need it, but everyone would prefer that I take care of the problem on my own as quietly as possible.”
    She looked startled. “The other Guild bosses know that you’ve got a situation on your hands?”
    â€œThey do now. Trust me, they all want answers, not only about the drug operation but more critically about the possibility that something very important has been discovered in the rain forest and that the find has been concealed.”
    She thought about that for a moment and then nodded. “Okay, I can see where the other Guilds might want you to fix your own problems here in Crystal as fast and as quietly as possible. Does having the other bosses involved buy you some protection from whoever took out Jenner?”
    â€œYou’re the one I’m worried about.”
    She started so violently that she almost knocked over Elvis’s coffee mug.
    â€œMe?” she gasped.
    â€œEver been underground, Miss McIntyre?”
    â€œOnce on a school field trip.” She shuddered. “I hated it. I’m claustrophobic. And the way the catacombs branch out in a thousand different directions like a maze, it’s downright weird.”
    â€œIt’s not for everyone,” he agreed. “But aside from the alien nature of the design and the fact that it’s easy to get lost underground, there are two basic kinds of hazards: the energy ghosts and illusion traps.”
    â€œEveryone knows that.”
    â€œWhen you started your series of investigations into the workings of the local Guild, you began playing with a very nasty illusion trap,” he said. He put a lot of quiet emphasis on the last two words. “There’s a good chance you might trigger it.”
    Her eyes widened behind the lenses of her glasses. He knew she got the metaphor. When one of the ancient traps was accidentally triggered, the victim was instantly plunged into an alien nightmare. The feverish images were too bizarre for the human mind to cope with. The experience did not last long because unconsciousness and, in extreme cases, coma and death, soon followed.
    She swallowed hard and clutched the arms of her chair. “Do you really think that someone inside the Guild might try to kill me?”
    â€œI’m not going to try to sweeten this, Miss McIntyre. The answer is maybe.”
    â€œNothing like a solid maybe to reassure a person.”
    â€œYou could try packing your bags and leaving town—”
    â€œ No . I can’t leave now. I’ve got to find out what happened to those missing men.”
    â€œI thought