"Leslie. Did you do unlawful things?" Jeff shivered, his nerves stretched as tight as a watch spring.

"Unlawful?" Leslie snorted, then laughed again. "Nice term. Yes, I'm afraid I did. And I managed to involve a lot of the people around me, so they wouldn't talk. But one fellow-just one fellow-blew the whistle. I have to disappear or, sooner or later, they'll catch me." He continued, "Actually, I'd like to take off before they think of looking for me. And that, knowing how the law works, will take at least a week."

"But your customers…don't they have enough evidence to trace what you've done? To expose you?"

"Sure. But most of them won't be able to understand what's going on. I chose seniors, the physically disabled who wouldn't admit to their inferiority, the ones who believe I'm a benefactor, giving away money for legal business transactions. The simple of mind, I mean. I personally selected all of my clients."

"So," Jeff said, disgust coloring his words, "I'm either a crook or an idiot."

"No, yes. Well…you weren't a candidate right away. At the beginning, when we considered the loan for the CD lab, I thought you were okay. Pretty honest. The boy scout type. I didn't dare to do anything too much out of place at that time. But then I discovered a few interesting facts-that your wife gambles, and that you were the friend to whom Ron Withley delegated the shuffling of a little girl named Tanya Caldwell." Leslie laughed again, a raucous, ugly sound. "And I thought you were an honest guy!"

"Well, yes, Ron gave me the money to pay the families who hosted her. The girl had nobody left. I though Ron was pretty decent to do that-"

Leslie's laughter hurt. "You mean you didn't know?" He stared into Jeff's eyes, then took a big bundle of keys from his briefcase.

"What? Know what?" Jeff felt a big pang in his stomach.

"Nothing. I'm sure Ron Withley paid you for your services."

"Yes. He paid me five hundred dollars a year, plus expenses."

"I see." Leslie gave Jeff a master key and twenty other keys. "Take the left wall. Unlock each box. You need to insert the master key and one of the others, both at the same time. The keys are ordered top to bottom, left to right. Move!"

"What will you do with these boxes?"




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