“I know,” Herbert replied. “Good evening, Mr. Darling.”

“Good evening.” Darling walked briskly toward Herbert. He was wearing a gray sweat suit that said Cairns Yacht Club across the chest. His eyes remained fixed on the chair. “Obviously custom made.”

“Yes,” Herbert said. “Designed by me and built by the same people who made FDR his chair.”

The men shook hands. “And you would be whom?”

“R. Clayton Herbert,” Herbert replied with a smile. Inside, though, he was anxious. He was also annoyed at himself. He did not want to give his full name if he did not have to. Darling could find out whom he worked for. But he also did not want Loh or Leyland calling him Bob after telling Darling that he was someone else. He should have given them a heads-up. It was one of those details you occasionally forgot when working with outsiders.

“Andrew said you wanted to send some E-mails,” Darling said. “I don’t want to keep you from that.”

“It can wait,” Herbert assured him.

The computer was still downloading as they spoke. Stoll had told him that once the file was found, it would take only a few seconds to snare the numbers. First, however, it had to make its way through whatever phone software might be piled in front of the log. Speed-dialing, voice-mail programs, call-forwarding, all of that. The search could take anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. Stoll also said the computer would chime twice when it found what it was looking for. He would explain that to Darling as a reminder of some kind.

“In that case, I’d love to hear about your work with wildlife,” Darling said. “You’re a volunteer, I presume?”

“Yes,” Herbert replied. “Actually, I’m here on a holiday. I was called into this search by my friend Monica. She’s involved with IWEC in Singapore.”

“I see. You’re American, I gather,” Darling said.

“Mississippi born,” Herbert replied. “I live outside of Washington, D.C., now.”

“Are you in government?”

“Personal security,” Herbert said.

“Fascinating field,” Darling said. “What do you think of the security we have at this estate?”

“From the little bit I’ve seen, it’s pretty impressive,” Herbert said. “You’ve got sentries and surveillance outside, motion detectors inside. It’s a difficult combination to beat.”

“Touch wood, no one has,” Darling replied. He leaned forward slightly, squinting. “You appear to have everything you need for personal security and comfort. Your chair has a cell phone, a computer, what appears to be a satellite uplink, a joystick steering mechanism, and even cruise control, if I’m reading the joystick base correctly?”

“Yes,” Herbert smiled. “I can do five miles per hour on the open sidewalk. They disconnect that function when I participate in marathons.”

“Do they really?” Darling laughed.

“They do,” Herbert said. The insincerity of this conversation was killing him. He wished Darling would get a phone call or something.