you picked up in Rindenwood.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Did you find it?”
“No. We’ve scanned the Melony in the Trafalgar area. It’s not there.”
“Really? That’s strange. Well, you must have missed it. Where exactly did you look?”
“Doug, let’s assume the tablet really went somewhere else.”
“What do you mean?”
“On the off chance that the tablet’s not in the river, but that you’re reluctant to reveal that, I’d like to make an offer. Find it for me, just so that I can get a look at it, not keep it, just look, and I’ll make it well worth your while.”
“I’m sorry, Alex. It’s in the river. Like we said.”
“And I’ll keep your name out of it. Nobody will ever know.”
“Alex, if I could help, I would.”
“Okay. The offer won’t stay open forever.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you, man.”
“We’ll want to sit down with Rachel,” Alex said. “But first I’d like to find out more about Tuttle.”
He’d had a younger brother. His name was Henry, and it had taken us a while to get to him because he was a government employee temporarily assigned in the Korbel Islands.
“It’s all right, Henry,” Alex said. We’d gotten through to him at his hotel. “Anything you tell us will go no further.”
Henry could hardly have been more different from the Sunset Tuttle we’d seen in the holo. He was big, with wide shoulders and tranquil brown eyes. A man completely at peace with himself. It took a while. He talked about his brother’s career as if it had been inordinately successful, and how it was inevitable they’d drift apart. Henry had married early and moved away, and they hadn’t stayed in touch. “It wouldn’t have mattered if I’d stayed across the road,” he said. “Som was never here.” “Som” was the name he used throughout the conversation. “He was always off somewhere. He couldn’t help it, you know. I mean, it was what he did.”
Eventually, he got to the point: “What can I say? I guess I never really felt welcome in his presence. So I just didn’t like spending time with him. The only thing he ever talked about was himself. He’d go on about where he’d been since the last time I’d seen him, and where he was going next time. He never once asked me about what I do. Or what I cared about. Even after he retired, he couldn’t talk about anything else—And toward the end, he got discouraged. Couldn’t find the gremlins.”
“I guess that can wear on you after a while.”
“Yeah, by the time he quit he was burned out.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“No. Look, Mr. Benedict, you have to understand: I never saw much of my brother. Not after I left home.”
“And after he retired, nothing changed?”
“He didn’t live long after that. Two or three years, I guess. But yes, it was still all about him. Listen, I write economic analyses for the Treasury Department. I’ve been a journalist, and I’ve written a couple of books about economics. I mean, I’ve had a pretty decent career. Not like what he did. But I’ve won some awards. We never talked about it, though. Never talked about what I was doing. Not ever.”
We showed him pictures of the tablet. “Do these ring a bell?”
“No,” he said. “I never saw the damned thing. What is it anyhow?”
“Henry,” said Alex, “I assume you know Rachel Bannister.”
“Yes. I met her once or twice. She was a friend of my brother’s.” He smiled. “Beautiful woman.”
“Did you know she worked for World’s End?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell me anything more about her? She’s a licensed pilot, but she doesn’t seem to be doing any off-world work.”
“I haven’t really seen her for a long time, Alex.”
“You don’t know anything about her?”
“Other than that she used to run around with Som, no.”
“She did tours at World’s End.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Are you aware of anything unusual happening to her while she was there? Anything on one of the
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Did you find it?”
“No. We’ve scanned the Melony in the Trafalgar area. It’s not there.”
“Really? That’s strange. Well, you must have missed it. Where exactly did you look?”
“Doug, let’s assume the tablet really went somewhere else.”
“What do you mean?”
“On the off chance that the tablet’s not in the river, but that you’re reluctant to reveal that, I’d like to make an offer. Find it for me, just so that I can get a look at it, not keep it, just look, and I’ll make it well worth your while.”
“I’m sorry, Alex. It’s in the river. Like we said.”
“And I’ll keep your name out of it. Nobody will ever know.”
“Alex, if I could help, I would.”
“Okay. The offer won’t stay open forever.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you, man.”
“We’ll want to sit down with Rachel,” Alex said. “But first I’d like to find out more about Tuttle.”
He’d had a younger brother. His name was Henry, and it had taken us a while to get to him because he was a government employee temporarily assigned in the Korbel Islands.
“It’s all right, Henry,” Alex said. We’d gotten through to him at his hotel. “Anything you tell us will go no further.”
Henry could hardly have been more different from the Sunset Tuttle we’d seen in the holo. He was big, with wide shoulders and tranquil brown eyes. A man completely at peace with himself. It took a while. He talked about his brother’s career as if it had been inordinately successful, and how it was inevitable they’d drift apart. Henry had married early and moved away, and they hadn’t stayed in touch. “It wouldn’t have mattered if I’d stayed across the road,” he said. “Som was never here.” “Som” was the name he used throughout the conversation. “He was always off somewhere. He couldn’t help it, you know. I mean, it was what he did.”
Eventually, he got to the point: “What can I say? I guess I never really felt welcome in his presence. So I just didn’t like spending time with him. The only thing he ever talked about was himself. He’d go on about where he’d been since the last time I’d seen him, and where he was going next time. He never once asked me about what I do. Or what I cared about. Even after he retired, he couldn’t talk about anything else—And toward the end, he got discouraged. Couldn’t find the gremlins.”
“I guess that can wear on you after a while.”
“Yeah, by the time he quit he was burned out.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“No. Look, Mr. Benedict, you have to understand: I never saw much of my brother. Not after I left home.”
“And after he retired, nothing changed?”
“He didn’t live long after that. Two or three years, I guess. But yes, it was still all about him. Listen, I write economic analyses for the Treasury Department. I’ve been a journalist, and I’ve written a couple of books about economics. I mean, I’ve had a pretty decent career. Not like what he did. But I’ve won some awards. We never talked about it, though. Never talked about what I was doing. Not ever.”
We showed him pictures of the tablet. “Do these ring a bell?”
“No,” he said. “I never saw the damned thing. What is it anyhow?”
“Henry,” said Alex, “I assume you know Rachel Bannister.”
“Yes. I met her once or twice. She was a friend of my brother’s.” He smiled. “Beautiful woman.”
“Did you know she worked for World’s End?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell me anything more about her? She’s a licensed pilot, but she doesn’t seem to be doing any off-world work.”
“I haven’t really seen her for a long time, Alex.”
“You don’t know anything about her?”
“Other than that she used to run around with Som, no.”
“She did tours at World’s End.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Are you aware of anything unusual happening to her while she was there? Anything on one of the
Similar Books
