“What’s the name and address?” Lou asked. He reached for a piece of paper.

“It’s Samuel Hartman of the firm, Wheeler, Hartman, Gottlieb, and Sawyer. Their address is Eight Rodeo Drive, Reno.”

“That sounds like a law firm,” Lou said.

“It is,” Brenda said. “I recognize the name.”

“That’s no help!” Lou said. He knew that the chances of getting any information out of a law firm were unlikely.

“A lot of Nevada corporations are set up like this,” Brenda explained. “But let’s see if there are any amendments.”

Lou was already thinking of calling Paul back to get the rundown on Samuel Hartman, when Brenda made a murmur of discovery.

“There are amendments,” she said. “At the first board meeting of Alpha Management, Mr. Hartman resigned as president and secretary. In his place Frederick Rouse was appointed.”

“Is there an address for Mr. Rouse?” Lou asked.

“There is,” Brenda said. “His title is Chief Financial Officer of the GenSys Corporation. The address is 150 Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts.”

Lou got all the information written down and thanked Brenda. He was particularly appreciative because he couldn’t imagine getting the same service from his own Secretary of State’s Office in Albany.

Lou was about to call Jack to give him the information about the ownership of the plane, when the phone literally rang under his hand. It was Mark Servert calling back already.

“You are in luck,” Mark said. “The fellow I’m acquainted with who knows people in the Central Flow Management organization in Europe happened to be on the job when I called him. In fact, he’s in your neck of the woods. He’s out at Kennedy Airport, helping direct air traffic across the north Atlantic. He talks to these Central Flow Management people all the time, so he slipped in a query about N69SU on January twenty-ninth. Apparently, it popped right up on the screen. N69SU flew into Lyon from Bata, Equatorial Guinea.”

“Whoa!” Lou said. “Where’s that?”

“Beats me,” Mark said. “Without looking at a map, I’d guess West Africa.”

“Curious,” Lou said.

“It’s also curious that as soon as the plane touched down in Lyon, France, it radioed to obtain a slot time to depart for Teterboro, New Jersey,” Mark said. “Near as I can figure, it just sat on the runway until it got clearance.”

“Maybe it refueled,” Lou offered.

“Could be,” Mark said. “Even so, I would have expected them to have filed a through-flight plan with a stop in Lyon, rather than two separate flight plans. I mean, they could have gotten hung up in Lyon for hours. It was taking a chance.”

“Maybe they just changed their minds,” Lou said.

“It’s possible,” Mark agreed.

“Or maybe they didn’t want anyone knowing they were coming from Equatorial Guinea,” Lou suggested.

“Now, that’s an idea that wouldn’t have crossed my mind,” Mark admitted. “I suppose that’s why you’re an engaging detective, and I’m a boring FAA bureaucrat.”

Lou laughed. “Engaging I’m not. On the contrary, I’m afraid this job has made me cynical and suspicious.”