Audacious

''She was right here, then suddenly, her bodyguard grabbed her and hustled her back in the house and I ain't heard a squeak from them all afternoon. So I'm just sitting here watching the flowers grow at this place. And boy do they got flowers.''

NELLY, CAN YOU GET A LOCATION ON THE PHONE RECEIVING THIS?

I CAN AND DO HAVE IT.

On the wall screen, a map replaced Vicky's smiling face. The flashing green dot was far out on the outskirts of town in a gated area of large twenty-acre plots.

''Well, at least we know that much,'' Captain DeVar said.

That call ended and a second call opened, but not to the same area. This one managed to avoid giving out its location. It turned out the limo was no longer needed and would be available for the evening.

And Kris got rung back.

''Abby, I'm going to turn this over for you to negotiate. Are we going anywhere tonight?''

''Not so far. No one seems interested in your gorgeous presence after that art show.''

''Gee, I wonder why?'' Jack said.

''Try to rent the limo for tomorrow,'' Kris said, and took the incoming call. ''Howdy, I'm so glad you called back. Let my personal assistant take it from here.'' Kris waved at Abby.

''Abby Nightingale, how may I help you?'' came as smooth as honey. ''Ah, yes, the princess does occasionally make calls herself. It causes us no end of trouble.''

Kris scrunched up a face at Abby and might have thrown something, but nothing was handy.

''Oh dear, I'm afraid my employer is a mite bit addled where dates are concerned. That party is tomorrow night. She's going to spend a quiet night drinking at home tonight.''

Now Kris would have thrown something.

''Very well. Send me the contract and I will return it with a payment voucher. Always glad to do business with a professional.'' And the call ended.

''Here's hoping we have somewhere to go tomorrow,'' Abby said.

38

While the problem of what to do with a limo tomorrow night hung ignored in the air, matters for today continued.

Penny reported that the first three warehouses they looked at had only normal security, and apparently just normal contents. They had three more to check.

Abby, with Sergeant Bruce tagging along to supervise a Marine tech, was dispatched to see how close they could get to Mr. von Schrader's apparent residence and examine it as best they could. Nelly sent them off with several of her best experimental probes.

Which left Kris with nothing better to do than immerse herself in the Nuu report on this fellow. She didn't find anything she liked.

''Where did this guy come from?'' she said, surfacing a half hour later. ''Ten years ago he shows up, loaded with money and starts buying up distressed companies, doing some kind of a hack job on them, then selling off the profitable parts and dumping the rest. Or not.''

''What do you mean?'' Captain DeVar said, looking over her shoulder.

''My Grandfather Al would be laughing his head off at me,'' Kris said. ''He's the moneybags in the family. He keeps wanting me to ditch the Navy and go into his business.''

''Might be safer,'' the Marine noted.

''But where's the fun in that,'' Jack said before Kris could.

She scowled at him, but he kept grinning.

''Anyway, I took enough business courses and interned a few summers with Grampa Al when there wasn't a pressing election to worry about, so I do have some kind of head for business.''

''And what does it tell you that this blind Marine isn't noticing?'' Captain DeVar asked again.

''Take this small electronics company,'' Kris said, calling up a page she'd marked. ''It was undercapitalized and losing money when he bought it. It needed to be folded into a larger company with access to more tools, more contracts. He closed down this software unit, sold the game design part of it to a competitor, but he kept the tiny chip foundry going.''

''Chip foundry?'' Captain DeVar's eyes lit up.

''Yep, a small boutique chip-printing shop. Hold it, Nelly, isn't that the firm where he closed down the union and fired the entire workforce?''

''The name is the same, but my report said it was a software company,'' Nelly said.

''There was a software portion, but Nuu says there was also this specialized chip section. But if he fired the entire workforce, who kept the thing going?''

''I guess a new staff,'' Jack said thoughtfully. ''Maybe one that wouldn't ask the boss why he needed a unique chip?''

''Looks like that,'' Kris said. ''But that doesn't answer any of my questions. Where did the Grant fellow come from? Who gave him start-up funds?''

''He came from Earth,'' Nelly said. ''Or at least that is what it says in the records of his acquiring his residence.''

''You can get your hands on that?'' Jack said.

''The plot ownership files are not up-do-date,'' Nelly said, almost with an audible sniff, ''but he did buy his place eight years ago. You can only stall a file clerk so long.''

''So he came from Earth,'' Kris said, not at all convinced.

''I said that was what he said,'' Nelly answered, ''but I have the citizen rolls from Earth in my permanent data storage and he does not show up on any of them.''

''So he's not from Earth,'' Jack said.

''That may or may not be true,'' Kris said. ''Some regions of Earth aren't all that careful about entering all their citizens on the rolls. If you're a taxpayer, you're on the list, but if you're not paying taxes and haven't registered to vote they get slipshod. At least a college friend I had from Earth said so.''

''But where would a mere citizen get start-up money like this fellow was throwing around?'' Gramma Ruth asked.

''Any other planet and I'd have Nelly go into the bank records and follow it back.''

''Not on Eden,'' Ruth pointed out.

''Should I buy the bank records datafile that I was offered?'' Nelly asked.

''The ones where you don't get to see what's in them until you've paid for them?'' Kris said.

''And having bought them, shown someone that you are a dumb enough optimist to think they might help you?'' Gramma added.

''There is that. It could just be a trap,'' Jack said.

''Let's put that off for a while,'' Kris concluded.

And then Abby called in.

''Kris, Cedar Estates is not a gated community,'' began the maid's recon report.

''That's nice to hear,'' Jack said.

''It's more like a walled-and-moated fortress. I make the stone wall to be five, six meters high, with wire at the top, probably electrified. Cameras at regular intervals, and guys in pairs walking the outside.''

''Real friendly, huh?'' Kris said.

''Don't know, I ain't about to stop and chat up one. I tried sending a couple of scouts over the wall. None got more than fifty feet inside. I haven't tried any of Nelly's specials. Not sure I want to give them away.''

''I think she might be right,'' Jack said. Kris nodded, along with Gramma Ruth.

''Let's keep some powder dry,'' Kris said.

''I'm going to drive around the place, as much as I can, see if it gets any easier. Kind of looking forward to a nice drive in the country with Bruce here.'' It actually sounded like a smile might be attached to that statement.

''Be careful. Don't stay gone too long,'' Kris said, and cut the link. ''No surprise. Grant von Schrader likes his privacy.''

Jack nodded, then rotated his shoulders, his mouth tight against the pain. ''While we wait for Penny to report in, you mind if I do another soak in your tub?'' he asked Kris.

''Only if you don't mind sharing it,'' Kris said, realizing that she was due for more pain meds and another soak might let her get by on less.''

''I think I still have my lifeguard certificate,'' Gramma Ruth said. ''I'll keep an eye on you two. Call for Doc if things get out of hand.''

''You going to be a duenna? Slap him down if he tries to kiss me?'' Kris said.

Jack gave her an ugly face, but it was too much fun teasing him at the moment for her to feel too penitent. Then she stood and stretched…as gently as she could. It still hurt.