"Oh, yes, the calendar entry." Amaryllis frowned. "Well, I think that's neither here nor there now."
"The police said it looks like Sheffield murdered the stripper because she tried to blackmail him using the information in Landreth's file," Gifford said impatiently. "But they're also going to look into the report on Landreth's accident. I'd just as soon not have the cops find out that my name was the last entry in the old coot's calendar."
"Why are you so worried?"
"I'm just asking you not to bring up the subject, okay? I'd like to keep my name out of the investigation as much as possible. Damn it, is that too much to ask?"
"Stop whining, Gifford. If it makes you feel any better, I have no intention of mentioning Professor Landreth's calendar to the police." There was no reason to do so. Gifford was not the murderer.
"Thanks." Gifford's relief transformed his features. Even his red bow tie appeared a little perkier. He crossed the office in three strides, came around behind the desk, and hoisted Amaryllis to her feet. "I'll owe you for this. If you ever need a job, come see me. Got that?"
"I don't expect that will be necessary."
"And I'm sorry about the way you found me with that little blond talent that day in the lab. She meant nothing. Absolutely nothing."
"Yes, well, that's in the past now, Gifford. I don't--"
"You were too good for me, darling. Don't you under- stand? That's why our relationship fell apart. I felt I couldn't live up to your high standards. The pressure was just too much."
Amaryllis reflected briefly on all that had happened during the past couple of weeks. She had broken into the offices of her former employer, gone to a syn-sex nightclub, visited a stripper, begun an affair with an unsuitable talent, nearly gotten herself killed, and now she was preparing for a runaway marriage. Life had certainly changed recently.
"Actually, my standards aren't quite what they used to be," Amaryllis said.
Lucas spoke from the doorway. "They're still way too high for you, Osterley, so don't get any ideas."
Gifford released Amaryllis as if she had suddenly turned red hot under his hands. "Trent. What are you doing here?"
"I came to see my fiancée."
"Fiancée?" Gifford looked thunderstruck.
"Yeah. I know you can't wait to congratulate us."
"But you're a talent. A big one. She's a full-spectrum prism. There's no way any marriage agency would match the two of you."
"Who said anything about going through an agency?" Lucas asked.
Gifford's mouth opened and closed several times. He stared at Amaryllis. "I don't believe it. A nonagency marriage? You?"
Amaryllis smiled very sweetly. "Sort of makes synergistic hash out of everything you've ever taken for granted about me, doesn't it, Gifford? I'm afraid I'm not the woman I used to be."
"Comes from hanging out with bad company," Lucas explained. "I on the other hand, have become extremely narrow-minded in recent days. One might even call me a straitlaced prude. For example, I don't like finding my fiancée in another man's arms."
"I was just having a little chat."
"Get out of here, Osterley, before I get really annoyed."
Gifford did not hesitate. He walked quickly toward the door. "Amaryllis and I were simply discussing some private business," he muttered as he went past Lucas. "Nothing of an intimate nature occurred, I assure you."
Lucas did not bother to respond. He folded his arms across his chest and regarded Amaryllis with grave interest. "I wonder if you'd care to demonstrate a few of your newly lowered standards."
"What did you have in mind?"
Lucas straightened, closed the door, and locked it. "We once discussed the propriety of making love on a desk."
Amaryllis's mouth went dry. "Did we?"
"Yeah. My memory is real clear on the subject." Lucas walked toward her.
"Clementine will wonder what's happening in here."
"Your boss and I had a short conversation a few minutes ago. She said you had the day off in order to recover from your traumatic experiences last night."
"Yes, I do." Amaryllis watched, fascinated, as Lucas's hands went to the buckle of his belt. "What about your newfound streak of prudery?"
"It only applies to some things." Lucas came around the desk and gently pinned Amaryllis against it. He reached down and eased her legs apart.
"That's odd." Amaryllis put her arms around his neck. "My standards have only been lowered in some areas."
"There you are." Lucas's smile held the devil's own satisfaction. "Our relationship has made interesting changes in both of us. A perfect example of synergy in action."
Amaryllis pulled his mouth down to hers before he could get carried away with a boring lecture on synergistic principles.
Much later, after Lucas had gone back to his own office, Amaryllis tidied her desk and picked up several items that had fallen to the floor. Then she reached for the phone and dialed the Department of Focus Studies. Irene Dunley answered on the second ring.
"Miss Lark." Irene sounded anxious. "Are you all right? I saw the morning papers. I could hardly believe what I read. Imagine, Senator Sheffield a murderer."
"I know. What's more, it's likely that he killed Professor Landreth, too. The police are going to reopen the investigation."
"Is that a fact? Perhaps justice will be done at last."
"I think so, although, as my boss pointed out, Sheffield is a city-state senator and he's denying everything. He may walk."
"At the very least, his career in politics will be ruined," Irene said. "He probably won't be able to recover from this scandal."
"I shouldn't think so, but I wouldn't count on it."
"This is not a happy day. I wish the criminal had been anyone other than Senator Sheffield. This city-state needed his vision and leadership."
"I expect we'll all get along just fine without him," Amaryllis assured her. "Irene, I have to go away for a couple of days. Family stuff. But I'll be back the day after tomorrow. Probably quite late. Would you like to get together for coff-tea the day after that? I think we should talk. After all, you and I sort of solved this case together."
"I would enjoy seeing you again. Miss Lark."
"Great. Irene, I want to thank you for supporting me during this whole thing. You were the only one who believed in me and who tried to be helpful."
"Professor Landreth was very special," Irene said softly. "In spite of that unfortunate relationship with the syn-sex stripper. There will never be anyone else quite like him here at the Department of Focus Studies."
"He was one of a kind," Amaryllis agreed. "It's people such as Professor Landreth who truly embody the best virtues of the founders."
"Well said. Miss Lark. Well said. Good-bye. I'll look forward to having coff-tea with you when you return."
"Good-bye, Irene."
After she hung up the phone, Amaryllis sat gazing at the instrument for a long time. Not every question had been answered with Sheffield's arrest, she thought. One small one remained. She wondered if she would ever learn the answer to it.
Chapter 18
"What do you mean, how did Madison Sheffield discover that Landreth had put together a file that could embarrass him and hurt his election chances?" Lucas took his eyes off the highway long enough to give Amaryllis a wry glance. "If you're looking for the person who leaked the information to him, you've got a long list of candidates. I'd say that there are as many possibilities as there are people in the Department of Focus Studies."
Although she had been thinking the same thing, it jolted Amaryllis to hear her fears put into words. "I don't want to believe that someone in the department, someone Professor Landreth trusted, did such a thing."