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ôThey like their exclamation marks, donÆt they, Max?ö said Dooley, whoÆd listened with bated breath, just like I had.

ôActivists in general arenÆt known for their subtlety,ö I said. ôThey like bold statements, and bold statements seem to include a lot of exclamation marks.ö

ôLook at this,ö said Tobias as he pointed to the envelope.

Chase and Odelia squinted as they took in what looked like a symbol printed on the envelope.ôDLF,ö Odelia finally read, and looked up at her husband. ôItÆs the Duck Liberation Front. The group my gran and Scarlett joined.ö

ôWait, your grandmother is part of the group that killed Mr. Blandine?ö asked Tobias.

ôIÆm sure she wasnÆt aware theyÆre as radical as this,ö Odelia assured the lawyer.

ôSo this envelope arrived with the tin?ö asked Chase.

Tobias nodded.ôWas on CottonÆs desk when I arrived at the office this morning.ö

ôWe better have it checked against Mr. Blandine,ö said Odelia. ôBut as far as I can tellùthough IÆm not an expert on human livers, obviouslyùthis could very well be the murdered manÆs liver.ö

ôIn which case this Duck Liberation Front have just turned to murder as a way of protesting against foie gras,ö Chase concluded.

ôDo you have any idea what Blandine was doing here last night?ö asked Odelia.

ôNone. He certainly didnÆt advise me of his plans.ö

ôWhen was the last time you saw him?ö

ôYesterday at six. We left the office together. I went home, and I assumed he was going home, too.ö

ôWhere was home for Mr. Blandine while he was playing the part of Cotton Karat?ö asked Chase.

ôWeÆd set him up at CottonÆs place for the time being. It was important that he looked the part, so weÆd instructed him on the kind of clothes Cotton likes to wear, CottonÆs hairstylist had given him a haircut, but otherwise weÆd told Blandine to keep a low profile. He wasnÆt to go out to restaurants or socialize if he could avoid it. In fact weÆd cleared his schedule as much as we could. The awards thing yesterday was something we couldnÆt get out of, unfortunately, but otherwise we were working to limit BlandineÆs exposure to an absolute minimum.ö He sighed. ôWhich is why IÆm surprised he came here last night.ö

ôDidnÆt he have security?ö

ôOf course. He had two bodyguards assigned to him at all times.ö

ôSo what happened?ö

Tobias looked sheepish.ôHe gave them the slip. Said heÆd gone to bed, but he must have snuck out through the bedroom window and taken off. They only found out this morning, when the maid came to open his bedroom curtains and discovered him gone.ö

Chase nodded, and studied BlandineÆs phone through the clear plastic of the evidence bag. ôHe must have received a message to meet him here at some point. A message from a person he thought he could trust. And walked straight into a trap.ö

ôWell, it wasnÆt me,ö said Tobias, looking alarmed. ôI had nothing to gain from BlandineÆs death. On the contrary. If the Karat Group goes belly-up IÆm out of a job. Not to mention my stock options will be reduced to zero.ö

ôNevertheless I have to ask, Mr. Pushman. Where were you last night between ten and midnight?ö

ôI told you. I left the office at six and went home. I worked out at my home gym for an hour, then had dinner and spent the rest of the evening figuring out ways and means to further clear BlandineÆs schedule so we could pull off CottonÆs big disappearance trick.ö

ôCan anyone vouch for you?ö

Tobias shook his head.ôI live alone. But why would I kill Blandine? It makes no sense.ö

Chase grunted something, but I think we could all see that the lawyer had a point. Why would he go out and murder Eric Blandine? He had absolutely no reason to.

Which brought us right back to the Duck Liberation Front.

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The next person to talk to was of course the poor guy whoÆd found the body. Merle Poltorak looked as distressed as anyone would be if the first thing they saw when they arrived for work were the murdered remains of their biggest client. Merle might be used to murdering ducks on a regular basis, but clearly the sight of Eric BlandineÆs corpse had affected him greatly. His weather-beaten face was quite pale and drawn.

ôWhen exactly did you come upon the body of the dead man, Mr. Poltorak?ö asked Chase.

ôSeven oÆclock,ö said Merle, rubbing a stubbled cheek. ôIÆd mucked out the big barn and was going to start on the smaller one when I practically stumbled over him. I knew he was dead the minute I laid eyes on him.ö

ôDid you recognize him as Mr. Karat?ö

Merle nodded.ôIÆd never met Cotton in person, but IÆve seen his picture plenty. It was him, all right. So I called the cops, and ten minutes later they were all over the place.ö

ôWere you here last night, Merle?ö asked Odelia.

ôI was, until about eight. Then I went home.ö

ôAnd where is home for you?ö

ôRight next door. The big farmhouse. CanÆt miss it when you drive up from the direction of town. I live there with Mrs. Poltorak and our four little ones.ö

ôFour kids!ö Dooley cried. ôDid you hear that, Max? That man has four kids!ö