He fished around and came up with a piece of paper, which he handed to her. Came over the fax five minutes ago. Wasn‘t cheap, either.

She read down to the bottom, and smiled. Worth it, though.

What?

I‘ll tell you in a minute. What else have you got?

That‘s about it. Allen‘s working for Suulutaq and taking money from two of their competitors. Put it together and what have you got?

Other than kabbibity-bobbity-boo? My guess is corporate espionage. I knew that, I just gave it to you to be nice.

I know. Here‘s something you don‘t know. She handed him the list of True North Investments‘ corporate officers. The last name?

He looked. John King? He looked at her. So?

So the president and CEO of RPetCo Alaska is also named John King. Crap, he said after a minute, I knew that, but it‘s such a common name I didn‘t make the connection. You‘re saying this is the same John King?

I‘m betting on it. She gave him the gist of yesterday‘s interview with the president and CEO of RPetCo.

He didn‘t tell you about sitting on the board of True North Investments. No, and I didn‘t know enough to ask him yesterday. She meditated for a moment. I don‘t know that it has anything to do with the murder of Lyda Blue, she said at last. If I had to guess, I‘d say King learned about True North‘s plans to acquire Global when he was named to True North‘s board and decided to acquire some information on his own for a possible Global takeover by RPetCo.

Yeah, but what are the odds King would hire the same guy True North is using? Are you kidding me? True North probably hired Allen first. King‘s on the board, he hears about him. Why go to all the bother of finding someone else when the perfect spy is already in place?

And he would know Allen would be open to such a proposal, how? Kate snorted. Allen was a corporate spy. By definition that means for sale to the highest bidder. Why wouldn‘t he want to sell the same information twice? Why‘d King have to buy it? Wouldn‘t he have access to the same information through his seat on True North‘s board?

I doubt in the kind of detail he would require for his own bid. She thought about Phyllis Lestinkof, and the Grosdidier brothers‘ clinic, and what might or might not be going on there. There is such a thing as plausible deniability.

Kurt followed this serpentine reasoning with a knit brow. He that much of a twister?

He‘s that much of a survivor. Kate took a bite of pastry and washed it down with coffee. We keep all this under our hats, for now at least.

Okay by me, I‘m just the delivery boy.

I don‘t know what to do with any of this information, anyway, she said, speaking more to herself than to him. I‘m pretty sure that was Allen‘s skull Jim found, and if so he‘s dead. The guy I thought was dead is alive but he‘s checked out mentally. Permanently?