to me."

"To you? Not so."

"Oh, yes. How do you know that Mary Hall used HC on you in Lindstrom's
laboratory? Nothing but Psi could detect that. You had a TK there with
you. Admit it."

"Never," I said. "How did you spot it in your courtroom? If I needed a
TK, so did you. What about that?"

"That was different," he argued. "I had the--"

"Nuts," I told him. "Just because I have made as much of a study of
Psi as you have, don't blackball me. You going to act the same way if
I decide to specialize in Stigma cases?"

"Are you going to?"

"What else is left? I'll never get Normal trade after Renner finishes
with me. I come back to it: A reputable attorney representing Psis."

Passarelli paused with his hand on the door. "It would have some
interest, I guess," he conceded, "if I thought for a moment you could
guarantee the behavior of your clients. But no Normal can, Maragon.
That's the curse of the Logan Stigma. Normals are panicked by it. Look
at the Bar Association and all the trouble that's gone to just to make
sure no one with the Stigma is ever admitted to the Bar. Look at those
pathetic social workers--trying to control what they can't even
perceive. The color-blind man trying to make sure no one else sees
red. No, only Psis will ever be able to make Psis behave. They will
have to police themselves, and society is unwilling to give them any
standing to do it. This I believe is called a dilemma."

"It's a mess, that's for sure," I said gloomily as he left.

Well, what do you do when the props have been pulled out from under
your world? I like to believe that the reasonable man sits down and
thinks. That's what I did, anyway. I was a guy with very little left
to lose. It was time I bet the limit--shot my wad. There was one
possibility....

I looked at my watch. It was well after one in the morning. Still, I
tried Elmer's place again. He came sleepily to the phone.

"Mary there?"

"Of course not."

"Keys?"

"What if he is?"

"Put him on."

There was a delay, but Keys' romantic good looks replaced Elmer's
left-tackle belligerence. "What now?" he asked.

"Do you know where Mary is?" I started.

"Maybe."

"She tell you I'm her attorney?"

"Yes."

"I just found out that she's in twice the trouble I thought before.
The kid's a pawn in a fight for power between political oppositions.
They'll crucify her gladly, without respect to the merits of the case.
Too much is riding on it for justice to