Zinnia

'I found it in the house of a man named Alfred Wilkes.' Nick watched Orrin's face carefully but there was no flicker of recognition.

'I don't know anyone named Wilkes. Hand it over at once.'

Nick slowly uncurled his fingers. He rose to his feet and dropped the cufflink into Orrin's palm. 'Thanks, Uncle. As usual, you've been very helpful. I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow evening.'

Orrin's eyes widened in outrage. 'What do you mean?'

'Don't tell me you've forgotten the annual Founders' Club ball?'

'You're going to attend the charity ball?' Orrin looked shocked. 'But it's . . . it's a club affair.'

'And as I told you, I'm now a member.' Nick smiled thinly. 'Brace yourself, Orrin, my side of the Chastain clan is going legit. In another few years no one will even remember that there was a bastard in the family tree. It's amazing how easy it is to rewrite history. If you have the money, that is.'

'You can't just buy your way into respectable circles,' Orrin sputtered.

'Watch me.'

'Why, you . . . you-'

Nick ignored him. He started toward the door without a backward glance. He had gone two strides when he saw Duncan Luttrell enter the bar. There was something about the way Luttrell briefly surveyed the crowd that enabled Nick to make several small connections in one portion of the matrix.

He paused, considering the matter briefly. Then he turned and walked back to the booth were Orrin sat.

'Thought you'd left,' Orrin muttered.

'A word of advice, Uncle.'

'I don't want your damned advice.'

Nick indicated the scotch-tini sitting on the table. 'If you're going to do a deal with Luttrell, lay off the alcohol before you start negotiating.'

'Now what in blazes are you talking about?'

'Luttrell may look and sound like a nice guy who just happened to get lucky in the computer business, but he didn't build SynIce into the company it is by being a good-natured pushover. He's smart. Very, very smart. And he's nobody's fool.'

'Luttrell is a good businessman, I'll grant you that.' Orrin's gaze narrowed. 'He is also a gentleman, unlike some people I could mention. Take your so-called advice and get out of here.'

'Whatever you say, Uncle.' Nick turned and started back toward the door. He did not know why he had even bothered to issue the warning. Zinnia would no doubt have some silly explanation involving his so-called family values.

Duncan smiled politely when he made to pass Nick. His eyes held cool speculation. 'You're Nick Chastain, aren't you?'

'Yes.'

'We've never met personally, although I've been into your casino once or twice. An interesting business you've got there.'

'Thanks. It's made me rich.'

Duncan looked briefly amused by the tasteless answer. 'We seem to be hearing and seeing a lot of you lately in the tabloids. I thought you liked privacy.'

'I do,' Nick said. 'But sometimes one has to make sacrifices in order to get what one wants.'

'Very true. I understand you're a new member here.'

'That's right.' Nick wondered if Duncan would make a crack about the club's declining standards.

'You're seeing a friend of mine, I believe,' Duncan said instead. 'Zinnia Spring.'

Nick was stunned by the rush of fierce protectiveness and possessiveness that slammed through him. He fought down an almost irresistible urge to shove Duncan up against the nearest wall and tell him how things really were between himself and Zinnia. I'm not just seeing her, I'm having an affair with her, you son of a spider-frog. Stay away from her. I don't want you touching her.

Somehow he managed to keep his expression calm and controlled. 'Zinnia and I are very close.'

'Look, I'll level with you here, Chastain. She's a very nice lady and she's been through a lot. I wouldn't want to see her hurt.'

'Zinnia and I understand each other.' Nick walked away before Duncan could give him the rest of the lecture. He had enough problems on his hands. He did not want to add a sense of guilt to the matrix.

'The financial aspect? I don't understand, Miss Spring. I thought I mentioned that the University of New Portland funded the Third Expedition.'

Newton DeForest's voice was as cheerful as ever on the other end of the line. Zinnia had a vision of him manicuring the tentacles of one of his grotesque plants while he spoke with her.

'Yes, I know,' she said. 'But I'm wondering about the university's source of funds. A major expedition costs a lot. Was the Third underwritten by a wealthy donor or a corporation?'

'I see what you mean.' DeForest sounded thoughtful. 'There was very likely corporate money involved. After all, business has a lot to gain from successful exploration trips. Companies often finance expeditions. But any materials on that subject were no doubt destroyed when the records storage facility burned some thirty-four years ago. The aliens are very clever, you know. Very thorough when it comes to covering their tracks.'

'Do you think you might have anything in your personal files? The ones you said you kept in the family crypt?'

'Doubt it,' Newton said. 'Didn't bother much with the financial side of the story. I've always found money a rather dull subject. The aliens don't use money, you know. They've evolved beyond the need for cash.'

'How convenient for them,' Zinnia muttered. 'Professor, I hate to put you to any more trouble, but would you mind very much just taking a look through your old files? Anything that dealt with the funding of the Third Expedition would be of great interest to me.'

'Very well. But don't get your hopes up, Miss Spring. Even if I did find the name of a company that contributed funds for the project, what good would the information do you?'

'I don't know,' Zinnia admitted.

She hung up the phone and sat thinking for a long time.

The larger and more complicated the mystery became, the more confusing it was. Or, as Nick would say, the more the elements in the matrix threatened to shift and realign themselves in meaningless patterns.

And the most disturbing factor of all was her relationship with the master of the matrix.

Chapter 20

Duncan smiled at Zinnia as he took her into his arms on the crowded dance floor. 'You look lovely tonight. I'm only sorry it was Chastain who brought you. At least he let me have one dance.'

Zinnia chuckled. They both knew Nick had not given his permission. He had been talking with a business acquaintance when Duncan had appeared at her side and asked for the dance. She had accepted without a second's hesitation even though she had been aware of Nick's frown of disapproval when he saw her take the floor with Duncan.

Start as you mean to go on, she told herself. If she was going to have an affair with an off-the-chart matrix, she had to get the rules straight at the very beginning. And the first rule was that Nick could not make all the rules. He could not control everything and everyone. He would drive them both crazy if he tried.

Zinnia was mildly surprised to discover that she was enjoying herself tonight. It had been a long time since she had last danced. The Founders' Club ballroom was a glittering scene. The jelly-ice chandeliers cast a warm romantic glow over the well-dressed crowd. Through the windows she could see the lights of the city sparkling below on the dark carpet of the night.

She had panicked briefly when she had found herself faced with the problem of coming up with an appropriate dress but Gracie Proud, Clementine's permanent partner, had come to the rescue. Gracie knew fashion almost as well as she knew the focus business. She had sent Zinnia to one of her favorite boutiques.

The long, elegantly simple slip of a dress that Zinnia had discovered in the shop was the color of rare fire