me in, a
few minutes later, the two sisters were stalking one another through the
jungle, blow-gunning poison darts back and forth. The newcomer sat down
without a word; throughout the meal, he and Varcek treated one another
with silent and hostile suspicion. Finally Gladys looked at her watch and
called a truce to the skirmishing by announcing that it was time to start
for church. Rand left the room with the ladies; in the hall, Gladys
brushed against him quickly and gripped his left arm.

"Do be careful, Jeff," she whispered.

"Don't worry; I will," Rand assured her. Then he turned into the library
and went up the spiral to the gunroom, while the three women went down to
the garage.

He was standing at the window as the big Packard moved out onto the
drive. Nelda was at the wheel, and Gladys, beside her on the front seat,
raised a white-gloved hand in the thumbs-up salute. Rand gave it back,
and watched the car swing around the house. Then he mopped his face with
a wad of Kleenex and went over to the room-temperature thermostat,
turning it down to sixty.

Sitting down at the desk, he dialed Humphrey Goode's number on the
private outside line. A maid answered; a moment later he was talking to
the Fleming lawyer.

"Rand, here," he identified himself. "Mr. Goode, I've been thinking over
our conversation of last evening. There is a great deal to be said for
the position you're taking in the matter. As you reminded me, I'm a
small, if purely speculative, stockholder in Premix, myself, and even
if I weren't, I should hate to be responsible for undeserved losses by
innocent investors."

"Yes?" Goode's voice fairly shook. "Then you're going to drop the
investigation?"

"No, Mr. Goode; I can't do that. But I believe a formula could be evolved
which would keep the Premix Company and its affairs out of it. In fact, I
think that the whole question of the death of Lane Fleming might possibly
be kept in the background. Would that satisfy you? It would require some
very careful manipulation on my part, and your cooperation."

"But.... See here, if you're investigating the death of Mr. Fleming, how
can that be kept in the background?" Goode wanted to know.

"The murderer of Lane Fleming is also guilty of the murder of Arnold
Rivers," Rand stated. "I know that positively, now. Murder is punished
capitally, and one of the peculiarities of capital punishment is that it
can be inflicted only once, on no matter how many counts.