I nudge him gently with my elbow, and when he doesn’t respond I jab him with more force. “Are you awake?” I ask as he moans and turns in my direction.

“Well, you just jabbed me with your elbow.”

“So I guess that’s a yes?”

“Bell.”

“Who is Talebi?”

There’s a silence in the room. I can’t see him but I can feel him thinking.

I turn onto my side so now I’m looking at his silhouette, his features completely lost to the darkness. “If you want me to help you, you have to,” I say.

“Have to what?” he asks.

“You have to trust me,” I reply. “That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it? You’re trying to work out if you can trust me or not.”

Silence.

I release a loud, exasperated sigh. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll research it. I’ll find out one way or another.”

“I trust you, Bell,” Lander finally says. “I just don’t know if this is information that will help or hurt you. It’s easier to stay clean if you’re ignorant.”

“I don’t want to be ignorant, and a little dirt isn’t going to kill me. If it gets to be too much I’ll wash myself off and walk away.”

“It’s not always that easy.” His voice is softer now, tempered with both concern and affection.

“You need to tell me, Lander.”

Another long silence and I’m about to continue my argument when he finally speaks up. “I think Talebi is feeding Travis information.”

“What kind of information?”

“Information about other companies. Companies that HGVB’s top clients are investing in.”

“Oh,” I say, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. “You mean like insider trading?” I can’t think of a crime less shocking or scandalous than insider trading.

“A lot of insider trading and a lot of corporate espionage.”

That perks me up. I’m not entirely clear on what qualifies as corporate espionage, but it certainly sounds more interesting than insider trading.

“Talebi and some of his associates get information on companies that they aren’t sharing with the shareholders. Sometimes it’s drops in profit that haven’t been reported yet but will be. Other times it’s product development information that if leaked to competitors will weaken the company. I think Talebi is giving this information to Travis for a fee and then he’s advising a few key investors to short the stock. They do, the information comes out or is mysteriously leaked, and our investors get rich.”

“And the companies?”

“It’s bad for them,” Lander admits. “The smaller ones fold. The bigger ones certainly survive, but they all suffer and frequently someone inside their ranks gets the blame for the leak. If I’m right, innocent people are being fired and blacklisted from the industries they’ve spent their lives working in.”