The first stop was at the hotel where Jaba Woo lived. He wasn't in and he hadn't been all day. Sam Warren lived at the same hotel, so Manning dropped in there. The little Terran claimed he didn't know where his Algolian partner was. He told Manning that Jaba Woo had been supposed to be there an hour earlier so that they could keep an appointment with a client, but he hadn't even called. His concern seemed to be sincere.

Manning picked up his guide in the hotel's sense-lounge and they went on to the Happy Asteroid Mortuary. The building was an imposing structure, designed in the shape of an asteroid. There were a number of employees around, mostly Canopusians, but no Encycla Grave. By questioning the employees, Manning discovered that he hadn't been there since some time before he had called at Manning's rented asteroid.

By this time, Manning was expecting the pattern to be repeated. Nevertheless, he went to Circle Square and the office of the Marital Relations Bureau. The Canopusian receptionist was there. So were two clients. But that was all. The receptionist had no idea what was delaying Mr. Nadyl. She suggested that Manning sit down and wait with the other two men.

By this time, Manning was convinced that his hunch was right. He went over to the sense-lounge where Angus McBlla was waiting and used the public visibooth to put in a call to Terra. When J. Barnaby Cruikshank showed up on the screen, he quickly reported what had been going on.

"I think," he said, "that Nadyl must have realized that the bomb also failed to kill Fanya. Probably had a ground scanner in his ship. That must have made him realize it was a trap. He notified the other two and they all started looking for a hole. I'm hoping that Mickey Hatchet will have something for me on Nadyl. Otherwise it may be tough."

"What about Sam Warren and this Dzanku?" J. Barnaby asked.

"I haven't seen Dzanku and I think Sam Warren's in the clear."

"I don't pay you to think," snapped J. Barnaby. "I'm telling you they have to be mixed up in it. Check that Rigelian."

"All right," Manning said. "In the meantime, I'm going to come out in the open. That'll let me check a lot of angles I've had to stay away from as long as I was supposed to be a tourist."

"Dig up everything you can," said J. Barnaby. "But I think you've got enough evidence to make the beginnings of a case. We 

 Prev. P 31/42 next