Amaryllis

"It doesn't really matter what they thought of me, does it? After all, our relationship is temporary."

Amaryllis's spirits plummeted beneath the weight of that incontestable statement. "But we're friends, Lucas. Actually, we're more than friends. I think it's important that they liked you."

"Speaking of important. I'm a little busy here, Amaryllis. Was there something you wanted?"

The Iceman was back in control, Amaryllis thought. She forced herself to remain calm and composed. She would not let him know how unhappy his chilling words had made her. "As a matter of fact, yes, there is something I wanted. We didn't get much of a chance to talk last night."

"That was because it became obvious that your aunt and uncle were not going to leave until I did," Lucas said dryly.

That was true, Amaryllis reflected. Hannah and Oscar had made it clear that they were prepared to sit in Amaryllis's living room all night, if necessary. They had accepted the affair that was going on between Amaryllis and Lucas, but that did not mean they intended to facilitate it.

"I think they've guessed that we're involved," Amaryllis said delicately.

"Yeah, you could say that. I got a long lecture from Oscar last night, and it was not about how to make a straw-peach pie."

"The thing is, Lucas, they worry about me. They can't bring themselves to actually approve of our relationship. You know how the older generation is. In their day folks were very discreet about this kind of thing. They still are in places like Lower Bellevue."

"Yeah, I know."

He was definitely getting surly now. Amaryllis made herself move on to a more neutral topic. "Lucas, I've been thinking about what Irene Dunley told me at lunch."

"Ah, yes, the case of the missing secret file."

Surly and sarcastic. Amaryllis began to get annoyed. "This is serious. The more I think about it, the more I think Irene may be right. It's perfectly possible that someone did kill Professor Landreth. And that missing file may hold the clue. Why else would anyone bother to steal it?"

"You have absolutely no proof that it was stolen. Try this scenario instead--Irene Dunley has concocted a fantasy for herself because she can't let go of Landreth."

"I think you're wrong."

"All right, let's say that a file was stolen from one of the boxes. How do you propose to convince the police of that?"

"I don't know yet." Amaryllis lowered her voice. "But I'm getting worried because Gifford's name keeps coming up in this mess."

"Yes, it does, doesn't it? Noticed that myself."

"It concerns me."

"Me, too," Lucas said, "but I suspect for different reasons. Did I mention that Osterley paid a call on me yesterday?"

Amaryllis nearly dropped the phone. "No, you didn't. What did he want?"

"Tried to sell me on the superior services of Unique Prisms. He made a pitch for my business with a strong emphasis on how very discreet his employees are. He made it plain that his prisms don't try to impose any pesky code of ethics on their clients."

"Oh, dear. I was afraid of something like this. Professor Landreth would have been incensed by Gifford's business practices. I can't help wondering if he knew what Gifford was doing."

"You think Osterley killed Landreth because the professor threatened an investigation of Unique Prisms?" Lucas sounded only mildly concerned by the possibility. "I guess an inquiry into his business operations could have been potentially embarrassing."

"No I don't think Gifford murdered him." Amaryllis's fingers tightened reflexively on the phone. First Clementine and now Lucas had suggested quite casually that Gifford could be a murderer. "Absolutely not. I can't envision Gifford as a killer."

"You envisioned him as a potential husband at one time."

Amaryllis was outraged. "That's different. My intuition isn't perfect. Nobody's is." She thought quickly. "The big unknown here is just how far over the line Unique Prisms is operating."

"You mean is Osterley merely running a less than ethical business or is he actually aiding and abetting criminal talents?"

Amaryllis swallowed uncomfortably. "That's putting it in very blunt terms."

"I'm not the subtle type. Ask anyone. The question is an interesting one, but probably purely academic."

"Why do you say that?"

"I doubt if there's any way to get an answer," Lucas said. "It would be damn tough to prove that any of Osterley's clients were committing crimes using the focus services of Unique Prisms."

"A strong detector-talent might be able to catch someone in the act."

"Don't get any ideas. I've got better things to do with my time than trail around after Osterley's clients waiting to see how they're using his services. Besides, even if I did catch one of them focusing for criminal purposes, the police would still need some hard evidence before anyone could bring charges. Something tells me Osterley's not stupid enough to allow his prisms to get into such awkward situations."

Amaryllis considered that for a moment. "I need to know more about how Unique Prisms works," she said finally.

"Damn it, Amaryllis, I just told you--"

"I want to find out just how far Gifford has gone. I need to know if what he's doing is beyond unethical. I want to find out if he's doing anything that's actually illegal."

"How do you intend to find out?" Lucas sounded grimly amused. "Go undercover? Infiltrate his operation?"

"I could do that. He offered me a job. But I think I'll start by observing one of his clients in action," Amaryllis said thoughtfully.

"You only know the name of one of his clients. Senator Sheffield."

"Precisely."

"Five hells." Lucas sounded genuinely alarmed now. "Amaryllis, what are you planning to do?"

"Take an active interest in politics. Didn't you tell me that your secretary is always throwing away invitations to political fund-raisers?"

"I get an endless stream of them. So what?"

"When's Sheffield's next fund-raising event?"

"I don't know. I'd have to check with my secretary. She has instructions to toss all of the junk mail into the trash before it gets to my desk."

"See if you can find an invitation to one of Sheffield's receptions, will you? I'd really like to observe him in the act of using his talent for an extended period of time."

"You'd need a detector for that," Lucas said.

"Luckily I know one."

"Now listen here, Amaryllis, if you think that I'm going to waste an evening eating tough turk-chick that tastes as if its been fried in jelly-ice, you can think again. Furthermore--"

"Sorry, I've got to run." Amaryllis hung up the phone before Lucas could explode in her ear.

"... And it is those values, ladies and gentlemen, the values of our founders, to which we must return." Madison Sheffield braced both hands on the podium and gazed out at the audience with the expression of a man of vision. "We must reject those who would weaken the very fiber of our moral structure. We must protect our young people from the influence of sleazy syn-sex clubs. To that end, I wish to announce that I have launched an investigation into those unsavory businesses. That is only one small example of what I plan to do. With your help, I am prepared to lead us forward into the future."

Thundering applause filled the room. Amaryllis, seated next to Lucas at a table near the front, clapped politely. She had been waiting impatiently for three days for this event. She glanced around at the faces of those sitting nearby.

"He doesn't need to focus charisma," she whispered to Lucas. "Just look at these people. He's saying exactly what they want to hear."

"I have a hunch he saves the charisma punch for the one-on-one hard sell situations." Lucas did not bother to join in the applause.

Amaryllis watched Sheffield leave the podium to join a strikingly beautiful young woman at the head table. "I'll bet that's his prism for the evening."