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was satisfied with their identities, and the attorney saw no objection to their being officers in a corporation doing business in this country. Mimeca could be an oriental name, as some of you have indicated, and the other one does sound Greek; we just do not know. This is not a page we intend to keep in its present blank state. We are exploring this avenue.”
    â€œDo they live at Hellstrom’s farm?” she asked.
    â€œApparently.”
    â€œAny description of them?”
    â€œVague: dark hair, possessed of general female characteristics.”
    â€œGeneral female characteristics,” she mused. “I wonder how you’d describe me. Well, no matter. What is their relationship to Hellstrom?”
    Peruge had taken his time with the response. He knew how he appeared to women. He was tall, six feet four inches, andimposing, 221 pounds. His sandy hair held a distinct touch of red which his eyebrows carried to a darker tone. His eyes were that dark brown often mistaken for black, deeply socketed above a rather abbreviated nose, wide mouth, and square chin. The whole effect was dominantly masculine. He sent this machismo message down the table with a sudden grin.
    â€œMadame, I would not describe you to anyone, not even to myself. Such is my responsibility to the Agency that you remain nameless and faceless. As to these other women, Hellstrom trusted them sufficiently to want them as officers of his corporation, which makes us extremely curious about them. We intend to satisfy that curiosity. You’ll note the documents list the Kalotermi woman as vice-president and the other one as secretary-treasurer, yet each has but a one percent interest in the corporation.”
    â€œHow old are they?” she asked, glowering at him.
    â€œAdult.”
    â€œDo they travel with Hellstrom?”
    â€œWe have no record of that.”
    â€œAnd you don’t even know whether these women have husbands or male attachments of any other nature?” she pressed.
    Peruge’s heavy brows tended to draw down in thought or anger, and he brought them into this position, holding his voice flat and level to betray no upset at his present ignorance. “We don’t know this; no.”
    She suspected his distress, though, because she moved to the same attack on Hellstrom. “And Hellstrom, is he married or otherwise entangled?”
    â€œNot that we know. The reports tell you all that we have at this time.”
    â€œAll?” she sneered. “How old is Hellstrom?”
    â€œWe’re guessing at thirty-four. That’s farm and ranching country and he was educated at home for the first sevenyears. His grandmother, Trova Hellstrom, was an accredited teacher.”
    â€œI’ve done my homework,” she said, tapping the file. “Only thirty-four. I raise that question to suggest that he’s fairly young to have caused so many waves.”
    â€œOld enough.”
    â€œYou say he lectures and does an occasional seminar or colloquium, and he’s been on the faculties of several universities. How does he get these dangerous assignments?”
    â€œOh his reputation.”
    â€œHmmmph! What do we know of his other associates?”
    â€œHis technical people, business connections—you’ve seen the file.”
    â€œAnd he banks in Switzerland. Interesting. Any indication of his worth?”
    â€œOnly what’s in the file.”
    â€œHave you considered making discreet inquiries of his lawyers?”
    â€œDo you take us for cretins?” Peruge asked.
    She stared at him silently for a moment. “I said discreet .”
    â€œHis legal counsel, as you’ve seen there, is a native of Fosterville, which is a small town,” Peruge explained carefully. “A liaison between two dogs cannot be undertaken discreetly in such a setting.”
    â€œHmmmph.”
    Peruge looked down at the folders in front of him. She knew, of course, as did the rest of