Ed blew out his cheeks in disbelief. ‘This is just fantastic,’ she said. ‘How can one man influence a whole country so much, right on the edge of a crisis? And what does he think he’s going to get out of it? If the blight gets completely out of control, it’s going to sink the whole country’s agricultural economy for years – and how can that be worth it, even for him, and even for nine million dollars? If the whole country goes down the tubes, the money won’t be worth anything anyway.’

Karen stood up, and walked over to join Ed at the railing. She was already freckled from the day’s sunshine, and the irises of her dark brown eyes were as soft as medieval velvet.

‘I’m only guessing,’ she said. ‘But I’m Peter Kaiser’s personal secretary, and when Peter Kaiser talks to Shearson Jones on the telephone, all the calls are routed through my desk. That means my information is limited, but good. Right from the swine’s mouth, so to speak. The way I’ve pieced it together, from what I’ve heard Peter and Shearson saying, the blight’s turned out to be a whole lot worse than Shearson first expected it to be. He thought it was going to be regional. A few crops here and there, nothing disastrous. But instead of that, it’s spreading all over the country. Even the media don’t know how wide it’s spread, because Shearson’s made sure that the state agricultural people keep quiet about it. He doesn’t want to start a nationwide scramble for food, that’s the standard excuse. And you have to admit that it’s a sensible and justifiable excuse, as well as a self-serving one, so it’s hard to turn around and say he’s gotten hold of a pussycat that’s turned out to be a tiger – and he’s pretty anxious to claw in as much money as quickly as he can and then let go. That’s why he’s got you here. A last magnificent fund-raising effort before the lid blows off of the whole thing.’

‘But the damage he’s going to do to the country—’ said Ed.