She hesitated.
Another state secret?' I said.
'It... Okay, I'll tell you because I want you to trust me. And it's no big deal. Presley was a friend of his when he was a kid. A little boy who died of a brain tumor when he was eight years old. Bill used
his identity because it was safe-there was nothing on file but a birth certificate, and the two of them were the same age, so it was perfec She sounded breathless-excited-and I knew 'Bill' and his world had offered her more than just succor.
'Please, Alex,' she said, 'can we just forget all this and work together? I know about the insulin injectors- your friend told Bill.
You see, he trusts him. let's put our heads together and get her.
Bill will help us.'
'How?'
'I don't know, but he will. You'll see.'
She hooked her beeper over her belt and the two of us went back up to the house. Milo was still on the couch. Huenengarth/Zimberg/Bill was standing across the room, in a corner, leafing through a magazine.
Stephanie said, 'Hi, guys,' in a too-chirpy voice.
Huenengarth closed the magazine, took her by the elbow, and seated her in a chair. Pulling another one close to her, he sat down.
She didn't take her eyes off him. He moved his arm as if to touch her, but unbuttoned his jacket instead.
'Where are Dawn Herbert's disks?' I said. And don't tell me it's not relevant, because I'll bet you it is. Herbert may or may not have latched on to what Ashmore was doing for you, but I'm pretty sure she had suspicions about the Jones kids. Speaking of which, have you found Chad's chart?'
'Not yet.'
'What about the disks?'
'I just sent them over to be analyzed.'
'Do the people analyzing even know what they're looking at?
The random number table?'
He nodded. 'It's probably a substitution code-shouldn't be too much of a problem.'
'You haven't unscrambled all of Ashmore's numbers yet. What makes you think you'll do better with Herbert's?'
He looked at Stephanie and gave another half-smile. 'I like this guy.'
Her return smile was nervous.
'Man raises a good point,' said Milo.
Ashmore was a special case,' said Huenengarth. 'Real puzzle-freak, high IQ.'
'Herbert wasn't?'
'Not from what I've learned about her.'
'Which is?'
'just what you know,' he said. 'Some smarts in math, but basically she was a klepto and a low-life-doper and a loser.'
