“Nothing, thanks,” Herbert said. “I was wondering, though, if I might impose on you. Is there a phone line I can use? I’d like to send an E-mail to my office in Washington. I’ve been out on this search all night and need to get some information over to them.”

“Of course,” Andrew said. “That is not a problem.”

“I’ll charge the call to my personal account. It won’t cost Mr. Darling anything.”

“I’m certain it would be all right if you called your office directly,” Andrew said.

“That’s very kind,” Herbert replied.

They entered the living room, and Andrew led the way to a study on the left. There were shelves filled with books and tools such as magnifying glasses, whisk brooms, and computer diskettes. The secretary gestured toward a large mahogany desk. There was a phone tucked among dozens of shoe boxes, cigar boxes, and plastic bags.

“Mr. Darling uses that unit for his laptop,” Andrew said. “You can plug into the data port in back.”

“Thank you very much,” Herbert said.

“Not at all.”

Herbert glanced around. “It looks to me like Mr. Darling does a little scientific work.”

“He studies and collects fossils,” Andrew said.

“Fascinating,” Herbert replied. “I also thought I saw the dome of an observatory driving up.”

“Perhaps you did,” Andrew said.

“Is Mr. Darling also a stargazer?”

“Mr. Darling has many interests,” Andrew replied as he turned toward the door.

The intelligence chief already knew that there was an observatory from the dossier on Darling. He was simply curious how forthcoming Andrew would be. The answer was: not very.

“Well, thank Mr. Darling for me,” Herbert said.

“I shall,” Andrew said as he left the room. He did not shut the door.

Herbert booted his computer as he moved himself to the near side of the desk. His back was to the door as he raised the armrest on the left side of his chair and unwound the cable tucked inside. He plugged that into the back of his computer and into the data port on Darling’s telephone. If the magnate did hobby-related research in here, chances were good he took business calls here as well.

Herbert jacked in the six-foot cord and keyed the number Matt Stoll had given him. The link was established quickly through the small, slender antenna on the top right of the wheelchair. The antenna was attached to a booster on the back of the chair. Unlike standard cell phones, it could process high-speed transmissions. Herbert watched on his computer as it began searching Darling’s telephone for the number log.

“That is quite a machine,” said a voice from behind.

The voice was big and carried a mild Australian accent. Herbert did not have to see the speaker to know who it was. The intelligence agent smiled.

“It’s a pretty standard Dell laptop,” Herbert replied.

Darling smiled. “I was not referring to the computer.”