passed...."

Walton looked involuntarily at the desk, mirror bright and uncluttered as always. Director FitzMaugham was sprawled forward, hands half-clenched, arms spread. His impressive mane of white hair was stained with his own blood. He had been clubbed—the simplest, crudest sort of murder.

Emotional reaction began. Walton wanted to break things, to cry, to let off steam somehow. But there were too many people present; the office, once sacrosanct, had miraculously become full of Popeek workers, policemen, secretaries, possibly some telefax reporters.

Walton recovered a shred of his authority. "All of you, outside!" he said loudly. He recognized Sellors, the building's security chief, and added, "Except you, Sellors. You can stay here."

The crowd melted away magically. Now there were just five in the office—Sellors, Ludwig, Walton, and the two corpses.

Ludwig said, "Do you have any idea who might be behind this, Mr. Walton?"

"I don't know," he said wearily. "There are thousands who'd have wanted to kill the director. Maybe it was a Herschelite plot. There'll be a full investigation."

"Mind stepping out of the way, sir?" Sellors asked. "I'd like to take some photos."

Walton and Ludwig moved to one side as the security man went to work. It was inevitable, Walton thought, that this would happen. FitzMaugham had been the living symbol of Popeek.

He walked to the battered door, reflecting that he would have it repaired at once. That thought led naturally to a new one, but before it was fully formed in his own mind, Ludwig voiced it.

"This is a terrible tragedy," the UN man said. "But one mitigating factor exists. I'm sure Mr. FitzMaugham's successor will be a fitting one. I'm confident you'll be able to carry on FitzMaugham's great work quite capably, Mr. Walton."

 V

The new sign on the office door said:

ROY WALTON Interim Director Bureau of Population Equalization

He had argued against putting it up there, on the grounds that his appointment was strictly temporary, pending a meeting of the General Assembly to choose a new head for Popeek. But Ludwig had maintained it might be weeks or months before such a meeting could be 

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