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can’t say I’m surprised. No one else did, either.”
    â€œBut—I mean—” I broke off, trying to get my tongue under control.
    â€œI was set up,” she said softly. “Set up in a very professional manner. Most of the evidence pointed very neatly to me.”
    â€œWhat about the parts that didn’t?” I persisted. “Weren’t there any counterwitnesses? Odd physical evidence? Your own pravdrug testimony, for heaven’s sake?”
    She looked at me. “Most of the evidence fit neatly,” she repeated. “The parts that didn’t … they ignored.” She shook her head, dropping her gaze from my face.
    I took a deep breath; but before I could speak there was a rustle of movement behind me, and I turned to see Kutzko in the doorway. “Daiv just called in—says Aikman’s headed this direction,” he reported. “You’d better get out before he finds you and goes blazing off to Mr. Kelsey-Ramos.”
    â€œAll right.” I turned back to Calandra, my heart aching in sympathy. Framed for a crime she didn’t commit … and sentenced as a result to be sacrificed to the great god Profit. “Don’t worry, Calandra,” I told her quietly. “I’ll get this thing turned around.”
    A flash of surprise crossed her sense. “Wait a minute, I don’t want you to get involved—”
    â€œI’m already involved,” I said, backing out of the room. “I’m a Watcher.”
    The door closed on her, and Kutzko cocked an eyebrow at me. “You really believe her?”
    I nodded, feeling my muscles trembling. The confrontation had been more of a drain than I’d realized. “Yes,” I said. “I’m a Watcher, aren’t I?”
    He thought about pointing out Calandra was one, too, thought better of it. “So what now?” he asked instead.
    â€œI go hit Mr. Kelsey-Ramos with it, of course,” I said, starting down the corridor.
    â€œHe won’t like it,” Kutzko warned.
    â€œI can’t help that,” I called back. “See you later.”
    I found Randon in his stateroom, going over the Whitecliff numbers with Dapper Schock, one of Lord Kelsey-Ramos’s top financial experts. “Can it wait?” he asked with a touch of annoyance as I came in. His full attention was on the report, and he clearly wanted to keep it that way.
    â€œThe details can, sir, if necessary,” I told him. “But I think you ought to hear the high points right now. I have reason to believe that Calandra Mara Paquin, our … outzombi … didn’t commit the crime she was condemned for.”
    The financial data was abruptly forgotten. “Oh, really?” Randon frowned, leaning back in his seat. “What makes you think that?”
    I raised my eyebrows, and he half smiled. “Yes, of course,” he conceded wryly. “Foolish question.”
    Schock cleared his throat. “Calandra Mara, did you say? Isn’t that a Watcher-style middle name?”
    â€œHumility name, yes,” I corrected him. “Does that make a difference?”
    â€œWell …” He glanced at Randon. “It’s a general rule, Benedar, that a professional magician, say, can easily blaze out another magician’s tricks, simply because he knows how all of them are done.”
    â€œMy observational skills aren’t tricks,” I told him. “Certainly not in that sense. It’s a matter of having been trained since childhood to really see God’s universe.”
    â€œWe’re aware of that,” Randon cut in, a little uncomfortable at even so tame a religious reference. “I think Schock’s point was that a Watcher who knows what you’re looking for might be able to mislead you. Bury the appropriate signals, maybe, or distract you at just the right moment.”
    â€œI understand,” I nodded. “I don’t