t. And you know
as well as I do they can't hire a Psi attorney--the Bar Association
has taken care of that. They came to me because...."

"Yes, yes," he interrupted, taking his eyes off his nails, and showing
some real interest at last. "If you only knew how much I want to
believe you, Maragon. But I will never believe that Psis would permit
themselves to be represented by a Normal. Too bad, but the social
workers, and not your mythical Lodge, will get Mary Hall. That or a
Federal Grand Jury."

Well, this was the fork in the road, I had been kidding myself, and
now I knew it. Persist in my masquerade as a Normal, and I'd never get
Mary off the hook. But reveal myself as a Psi, and I was through as an
attorney. It really wasn't much of a decision--I had made it when I
revealed myself to Keys, Mary and Elmer.

I looked at the humidor of tobacco on his desk. Without changing
expression, I aimed a lift at it. The container came up smoothly from
the polished walnut and hovered in the air before us.

Passarelli looked at it blandly. I don't think anything in my life has
ever been a greater shock than his unconcern. He should have dropped
his teeth. Slowly I let the lift break, and lowered the humidor to his
desk.

"Fairly good TK, if that's all you're capable of," Passarelli said.
"Or can you do better, Maragon?"

"You slimy Normal!" I exploded. "You _tricked_ me into exposing
myself!"

"What am I, an idiot?" he snapped. "I had to know."

I stood up. "Until now, I never really hated Normals," I began.

"Oh, sit down, for Heaven's sake," he said testily. "Now don't get
emotional and lose all your perspective. Doesn't it occur to you that
there's been just too much coincidence in this whole thing?"

I think the word for it is "collapsed." I fell back into my chair.
"You'll have to spell it out," I said.

* * * * *

Passarelli leaned forward, his face concentrated, almost angry. "You
have the Stigma, you admit it?"

"Of course I admit it."

"You think any other attorney is a Psi?"

"No. I certainly do not. It's only a miracle that I ever got through
the screening and made it."

"And yet you, the only attorney with the Stigma, gets tapped to be
Public Defender for a Stigma case--Keys Crescas. Doesn't this strike
you as more than coincidence can account for?"

"Now it does," I admitted. "Are you trying to tell me...."

"I'm telling you I've been suspicious of you for a long ti