For almost a minute, Powell focussed on Reich, peeping, absorbing, digesting. Then his face began to pale and his respiration quicken. “My God!” he exclaimed. “My God!” He leaped to his feet and began pacing distractedly. “That’s it… That explains it… And Old Man Mose was right. Passion motive, and we thought he was kittenish… And Barbara’s Siamese Twin Image… And D’Courtney’s guilt… No wonder Reich couldn’t kill us at Chooka’s… But — the murder isn’t important any more. It goes deeper. Far deeper. And it’s dangerous… More than I ever dreamed.” He stopped, turned and looked at Reich with blazing eyes.

“If I could kill you,” he cried, “I’d twist your head off with my hands. I’d tear you apart and hang you on a Galacti Gallows, and the Universe would bless me. Do you know how dangerous you are? Does a plague know its peril? Is death conscious?”

Reich goggled at Powell in bewilderment. The Prefect shook his head impatiently. “Why ask you?” he muttered. “You don’t know what I’m talking about. You’ll never know.” He went to a sideboard, selected two brandy ampules and popped them into Reich’s mouth. Reich attempted to spit them out. Powell held his jaws shut.

“Swallow them,” he said crisply. “I want you to pull yourself together and listen to me. Do you want Butylene? Thyric Acid? Can you compose yourself without drugs?”

Reich choked on the brandy and sputtered angrily. Powell shook him silent.

“Get this straight,” Powell said. “I’m going to show you half the pattern. Try to understand it. The case against you is closed. It’s closed because of those booby-traps. If I’d known about them I’d never have started the case. I’d have broken my conditioning and killed you. Try to understand this, Reich…”

Reich stopped sputtering.

“I couldn’t find a motive for your murder. That’s the flaw. When you offered merger to D’Courtney, he accepted. He sent WWHG in answer. That’s acceptance. You had no reason to murder him. You had every objective reason to keep him alive.”

Reich went white. His head began to wobble crazily. “No. No. WWHG. Offer refused. Refusal. Refusal!”

“Acceptance.”

“No. The bastard refused. He—”

“He accepted. When I learned that D’Courtney accepted your offer, I was finished. I knew I couldn’t bring a case to court. But I haven’t been trying to booby-trap you. I did not gaff your stateroom lock. I did not plant those Detonation Bulbs. I’m not the man who’s trying to murder you. That man is trying to kill you because he knows you’re safe from me. He knows you’re safe from Demolition. He’s always known what I’ve just discovered… that you’re the deadly enemy of our entire future.”

Reich tried to speak. He struggled up out of the sofa, gesticulating feebly. Finally he said: “Who is it? Who? Who?”

“He’s your ancient enemy, Reich… A man you’ll never escape. You’ll never be able to run from him… hide from him… and I pray to God you’ll never be able to save yourself from him.”