“So it would seem. But the last time my client saw him, on Monday, the guy who’s missing said he was coming over here to see the bosses—his word. He had something on his mind about Diamond Head. So, since no one who knows him has seen him since Monday, I was hoping he might actually have done it. Come over here, I mean.”

“And what is this ex-employee’s name?” He gave a little smile to show he appreciated our game.

I smiled back, just as thinly, but with more contempt. “Mitch Kruger. Did he show up?”

“If he did, he never made it past my secretary.”

“Then I’d like to talk to him.”

“That was crude,” he said contemptuously. “Trying to pretend you haven’t done your homework on our operation to know my secretary is a woman. I’ll ask Angela when she comes in on Monday. And give you a call.”

“Chamfers, I’ll tell you a little secret. If I were really committing industrial espionage, you wouldn’t even know I’d been here. I’d have had you guys staked out and known your comings and goings and made my move after you’d left for the weekend. So relax. Save the strain on your brain and your bankroll. All I want to know is the last time anyone here at Diamond Head saw my boy Mitch. When we know that, we’ll shake hands forever.”

I picked up my license from his desk and handed him one of my cards. “It’ll make it easier for you to call me if you have my number, Chamfers. And I’ll take yours.”

I leaned over the desk and copied the number stuck at the top of his phone buttons before he could stop me. “Want to give me a safe-conduct past Simon?”

He gave a triumphant smirk. “We’re not going through the body of the plant, so don’t get your hopes up, missy. We’ll go the long way around. And I’ll make sure our security forces are on the alert this weekend.”

We went back to the hallway and out a door that fronted the canal. In silence we followed a footpath around the side, past the vibrating truck where Simon stood guard, and on to the main entrance. A cracked road led away from it.

“I don’t know where you hid your car, but it had better not be on our land. I can’t promise to hold on to Simon if he catches sight of you sneaking around here again.”

“I’ll be sure to bring a bag of raw meat with me next time just in case.”

“There won’t be a next time. Get that through your head good and solid, missy.”

It didn’t seem worth it to escalate the conflict further. I blew him a kiss and headed up the drive. Arms akimbo, he glared me out of sight.

10