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Definitely, sir.”
    “Excellent. I want to know everything that goes on in the president’s office. You’ll check with this office before putting through any calls to Ms. Thornquist, and you’ll notify me of all visitors. You will be advised as to how to handle such matters.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Mrs. Sedgewick will give you further instruction about your day-to-day office routine. You may go now.”
    “Yes, sir.” Arthur shot to his feet and turned to leave.
    The toe of his shoe caught on the edge of the carpet, and he lost his balance. His arm swept out, groping for something to keep him from falling. He grabbed the arm of the chair, and it toppled over.
    “I think you’ll do very well for Ms. Thornquist,” Joel said as Arthur Bigley picked himself up off the carpet and darted from the room.

4

    T wo weeks later Joel came to a halt in the doorway of the new suite of offices that had been assigned to the president of Thornquist Gear. The inner door was standing wide open, and he could see at a glance that Letty was nowhere around.
    He scowled at Arthur Bigley, who was seated behind the desk in the small outer room. Arthur, attired in a white shirt and tie, had been typing briskly. But he visibly flinched when he realized Joel was in the doorway. He looked up with an anxious expression. Joel noticed Arthur was not wearing his wire-rimmed spectacles and that he was blinking frequently. Apparently Bigley had decided to try contacts.
    “Where is Ms. Thornquist, Bigley? I was under the impression she was here in her office.”
    Arthur’s rate of nervous blinking increased swiftly. It was clear he was alarmed to discover that he was being held responsible for the fact that Letty was not where she was supposed to be. “I believe she went down to the conference room on the third floor, Mr. Blackstone.”
    “There’s no conference scheduled down there, Bigley.” Joel’s patience was wearing thin and Arthur knew it, as did the rest of the staff. The past two weeks had not been easy on anyone, except possibly Letty. As far as Joel could ascertain, the new president of Thornquist Gear was thoroughly enjoying herself.
    “Yes, sir, I know that, sir. She said she had a special project going on down there this afternoon.”
    “What special project?”
    Arthur froze in his chair and blinked frantically. “I wouldn’t know, sir. She didn’t say what it was.”
    Joel gave up. You could not get information out of a turnip. It was clear Bigley was in the dark. “The hell with it. I’ll go see what she’s doing myself.”
    “Yes, sir.” Arthur was enormously relieved to be off the hook. “Oh, I almost forgot, sir. There have been a couple more calls from that Philip Dixon person. I informed Mrs. Sedgewick.”
    Joel, who was already turning away, paused. “You told him what I told you to tell him?”
    “Yes, Mr. Blackstone.” Arthur risked an anxious smile. “I told him that Ms. Thornquist could not come to the phone, just as you said.”
    “And you didn’t mention the calls to Ms. Thornquist?”
    “No, sir. Absolutely not. You said not to bother her with them, and I’ve been very careful to follow your instructions.”
    “Very good, Bigley. Ms. Thornquist has enough on her mind these days without having to deal with annoying phone calls.” Joel inclined his head in a brisk, brief nod of approval. “You’re doing a fine job. Keep up the good work.”
    “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Arthur appeared on the verge of collapsing from sheer relief. He reached for a fresh sheet of typing paper and started to insert it into his machine. Then he abruptly leaped to his feet as if he had been stung. “Oh, no.”
    Joel frowned. “What the hell’s the matter, Bigley?”
    “Nothing, sir. My contact lens just popped out, sir. I’ll find it right away, sir.” Arthur dropped to his knees and began sweeping the rug with a cautious hand.
    Satisfied that damage control operations were in effect and functioning in the