ut ten of
the spots he might turn up, and around six o'clock one of them hit pay
dirt.

I pressed the "Accept" key when the phone rang, and Keys Crescas'
olive face and curly black hair filled the screen. His black eyes had
that lively watchfulness you associate with Psis. He had the gain way
down and the aperture wide, so that he wasn't in focus any farther
back than his ears. And that scope setting hid from where he was
calling as effectively as a veil. Did you ever know a Psi who didn't
seem to be harboring a secret?

"Hi, Mouthpiece," he grinned, showing even white teeth. "How'd you
know where to find me?"

"Best place for worms is under a manure pile," I said. "I used
parallel logic."

That took that smug, Stigma grin off his puss. "What do you want?" he
asked, sullen now.

"A lead to a Psi who's gone into hiding."

You know what he told me to do. "Mary Hall," I added. "She's got
Stigma Troubles."

"Not even counting you, eh?" Crescas sneered. He made the same
suggestion again. I let it ride. "Go on," he dared me. "Make your
pitch. I'll laugh later."

"That 'Not Guilty' verdict doesn't mean a thing, Crescas," I told him.
"That was a National Bank she tried to rob. There's a Federal rap
still to be settled. She has big Stigma troubles and needs
counsel--and not one of those shysters who hang around the Criminal
Courts building sniffing for Psi business."

"She's in no trouble till they find her," he said accurately, and I
could see his hand come up to cut the image. "For my dough they've
given up trying to find her and are using you for a stalking horse,"
he added with fiendish accuracy.

"So don't trust me," I snarled. "You can send her saw blades baked in
a cake." I reached up, too.

"Hold it."

I stopped, trying to keep my glower going.

"Passarelli would have to be in on it, too," he decided. "And I can't
figure _him_ for a louse. O.K., Maragon. I'll pick you up at your
office at about eight o'clock."

* * * * *

With nearly two hours to kill, I went out to eat. I still felt glum
and lousy. Part of it was the knifelike penetration of Crescas'
intuition--his knowing that I was just a stalking horse so that the
big guns could zero in on Mary Hall. And there was that little tremor
of fear that comes from knowing that a Psi may think you've
doublecrossed him. They have some powerful abilities when it comes to
exacting vengeance. Well, if everything about the deal