“I’m not finished,” replied Stern. “About a year after I received the gold shipment, a smuggler named Kastartos, one of the agents I’d been dealing with, approached me with a fascinating proposition. Evidently he was displeased with his salary or his working conditions; at any rate, he had decided to turn Santiago in for the reward. Being a prudent man, he decided not to do so himself, but offered to split fifty-fifty with me if I would approach the authorities on his behalf. I questioned him further, and eventually he gave me a description of the man I had seen in the Kalami jail. There were a few discrepancies, as might be expected with the passage of eleven years, but it sounded like the same man, and when he described the scar on his right hand I was sure.”

“And what did you do?”

“I was making a considerable amount of money from Santiago’s trade, and I had no more desire to be the visible partner in this enterprise than Kastartos did. After all, not only would I have faced the threat of reprisal from Santiago’s organization, but once word of such a betrayal got out, most of my other clients would have felt very uneasy about dealing with me as well,” explained Stern. “So I followed the only reasonable course of action: I informed Duncan Black of his proposition, and let nature take its course.” He shook his head. “Poor little man. I never saw him again.”

“Did he tell you where to find Santiago?”

“I felt my longevity could best be served by not knowing the answer to that particular question.”

“Do you still deal with him?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t be parting with this information,” said Stern. “But I haven’t seen Duncan Black in almost three years now, and while it’s always possible that Santiago is dealing with me through someone else, I very much doubt it.”

“Where can I find Duncan Black?”

“If I knew that, this little chat would have cost you fifty thousand credits,” replied Stern. “The only thing I can tell you is that during the time I did business with him, his ship bore a Bella Donna registry.”

“Bella Donna?” repeated Cain. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s an outpost world, the third planet of the Clovis system. I’m sure that it must be listed in your ship’s computer.” Stern paused. “Do you still want your money back, Mr. Cain?”

Cain stared at him. “Not unless I find out you’ve been lying.”

“Why would I lie?” asked Stern. “I haven’t been offworld for seven years now, and I have no intention of leaving in the foreseeable future. You would certainly have very little trouble finding me.” He stood up. “Shall I assume that our conversation is over now?”

Cain nodded his head.

“Then you’ll forgive me if I immerse myself once again?”