“It’s not that simple. While she was on Declan Four, she teamed up with a bounty hunter called Cain, who’s after Santiago for the reward. From what I can tell, he’s pretty good at his job. Both of them were in Drum’s apartment at the same time; it’s anyone’s guess as to who actually killed him.” He glanced at his notebook. “There’s another person involved: a gambler called Terwilliger. Cain took him on at Port étrange, and they’ve been traveling together ever since. I don’t know if he’s part of their partnership or not. My own guess is that he put Cain onto Drum, or someone who could identify Drum, in exchange for some favor or another.”

“What kind of favor?”

“I don’t know—but gamblers tend to make enemies. A bounty hunter is probably a pretty handy person to have nearby, especially on the Frontier.”

“All right,” said Sokol, lighting up a cigar and staring at the glowing tip for a moment. “Let’s get back to MacKenzie. How did she get to me? Drum didn’t even know I exist.”

The blond man shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Then I’ll tell you how,” continued Sokol thoughtfully. “Somebody told her—either Acosta or someone else. Who has she seen since she’s been on Pegasus?”

“Just Leander Smythe.”

Sokol smiled. “There’s the answer. That little bastard hand-fed her all the stuff he’s been trying to pin on me all these years.”

“Perhaps,” agreed the blond man. “But I think we’d better be sure before we move.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard. Who was this Acosta, anyway?”

“A smuggler. He probably did handle a little stuff for Santiago from time to time.”

“Did we ever have any dealings with him?”

“Not directly.”

“Could he have known my name?”

“Anything’s possible.”

“Let’s attack it another way,” said Sokol. “When was he killed?”

“A couple of weeks ago.”

“Before Virtue MacKenzie landed on Pegasus?”

“Right.”

Sokol smiled. “Then she never met him.”

“You can’t be sure of that. She didn’t have to meet him on Pegasus.”

“Of course she did,” replied Sokol. “She’d have come straight to me the second she had that interview. She’s been bluffing all the way.”

“Can you afford to take the chance?”

He frowned. “Not really. She can’t do any serious harm to me, but she could screw up this Lodin Eleven appointment.” He paused, rolling his cigar between his fingers. “Trace Acosta’s whereabouts for the past year and see if the two of them could possibly have met somewhere other than Pegasus.”

The blond man was back an hour later.

“Well?” demanded Sokol.

“You were right: Acosta and MacKenzie were never within fifty light-years of each other.”

“I knew it!” said Sokol triumphantly.

“What would you like done next?” asked the blond man.