“Your way wouldn’t have worked, either. Don’t you understand that he was willing to suffer anything you could offer up rather than let Santiago know he’d betrayed him?” She paused and stared thoughtfully at Socrates. “Just what kind of man can put such fear into people?”

“Maybe you’d be better off returning your advance and not finding out,” suggested Cain.

“Most of it is spent,” she replied. “I can’t go back without my feature. Besides, I’ve already spent a year of my life on this project.”

“There are men who have spent thirty years hunting for Santiago,” noted Cain.

“Most of them never got this far,” said Virtue. “And the journalist who actually brings back tapes or holos of Santiago will be as famous as he is; she’ll need a warehouse just to hold her awards, and she can choose her own assignments and name her own price for the rest of her career.” She paused. “It’s worth the effort.”

“Have fun.”

“I’m not beaten yet,” she said with determination. “I have other leads.”

“Oh?” he replied, suddenly alert.

She nodded. “Well, Mr. Cain?”

“Well what?”

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” she said with a grin.

He shrugged. “Why not?”

“There’s a condition.”

“What?”

“We keep in touch, and give each other progress reports.”

“How?”

She jerked a thumb in Terwilliger’s direction. “Use him. He’s not much good for anything else, is he?”

“Now just a goddamned minute!” said the gambler hotly.

“Out of the question,” said Cain. “I’d have to give him his own ship.”

“Let him use yours,” said Virtue. “We won’t be that far apart.”

“What makes you think he won’t just take off with it?”

“Will you stop talking about me as if I wasn’t here?” demanded Terwilliger petulantly.

“Shut up,” said Virtue. She turned back to Cain. “Offer him ten percent of the reward. That ought to buy the little bastard’s loyalty.”

“I’m not giving him any percentage right now. Why should I change that?”

“Because you don’t have any information right now.”

Cain lowered his head in thought for a long moment, then looked up.

“If your leads are the same as mine, the deal’s off.”

“Fair enough,” she replied.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” snapped Terwilliger.

“Do you want ten percent of twenty million credits enough to do what you’re told, or not?” said Virtue.

The gambler glared at her, then realized what was being offered and smiled sheepishly. “I’m in,” he said.

“Somehow I’m not surprised,” she replied. “Well, that’s settled. Now I suppose we’d better do something about the body.”

“I’ll take care of it,” said Cain.

“After you visit the local post office and see if there’s any paper on him?” she suggested.

“That’s right.”