The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump

Remembering his call reminded me how many I - and Bea - had fielded all at once. I asked my watch what time it was, found out it was a few minutes before three. I decided to go over to the Devonshire Land Management Consortium offices and find out just how so many of their dients found out about the EPA investigation so fast.

My sigil got me into the office of a markgrafin charge of consortiate relations, a redheaded chap with hairy ears whose name was Peabody. He showed a full set of teeth undoubtedly kept so snowy white by sympathetic magic (I wondered what would happen if a forest fire spilled soot all over the snow to which those teeth were attuned).

I give him credit: he didn't try to cast any spells over me.

"Of course we notified our clients," he said when I asked him my question. "Their interests were impacted by your search of files at the containment site, so we might have been liable to civil penalty had we kept silent."

"All right, Mr. Peabody, thanks for your time," I said. Put that way, he had a point. I might have thought better of him if he'd talked about loyalty instead of liability, but how much can you expect from a mercenary in a fancy suit?

After that, I headed for home. I picked up a daily once I got off the freeway, for the sake of the sport more than anything else. Over in Japan, I saw, the Giants had beaten the Dragons for their league tide. And closer to home, the Angels and Blue Devils played to a scoreless tie.

"Might as well be real life," I muttered when I saw that.

Then I shook my head. In real life, the Cardinals would never have been higher in the standings than the Angels.

But looking at the score gave me an idea. I called Judy.

"Feel like a Zoroastrian lunch tomorrow?" I asked her.

She giggled. "Sounds good. But to make it perfect, I ought to fly my carpet After all, it's an Ahura-Mazda."

"That's right, you did buy an import last year, didn't you?"

I said. "But let me pick you up instead afterwards anyhow." I explained what I was doing with my red-letter list.

That'll be fine," Judy said. "Nice you get a chance to be away from the office part of your day Too bad it couldn't be mornings, though." She knows how much I hate staff meetings.

I smacked myself in the forehead. "I should have thought of that But listen to what I came across today-" I told her about Ramzan Durani and Slow Jinn Fizz.

"That's exciting!" she breathed. To give those poor people hope… Have they worked aO the gremlins out of the process?"

"I couldn't tell you. Durani talks like he has, but it's his operation, so you'd expect him to."

"Yes," Judy said. "Of course, even if he has, the moment anything goes wrong the lawyers will say he hasn't The spiritual implications are - overwhelming is the word that comes to mind."

"You know one of the reasons I love you?" I said. She didn't answer, just waited for me to go on, so I did: "You see implications. So many people don't; they just go 'Oh, how marvelous!' without stopping to think what their marvels end up costing them."

Thank you," she said, her voice surprisingly serious.

That doesn't sound anywhere near as romantic as something like 'You have beautiful eyes,' but I think it gives us a much better promise of lasting. I feel the same way about you, just so you know."

"What, that I have beautiful eyes?" I said. She snorted. I added, "Besides, I told you that was just one of the reasons. I wish you were here right now, so we could try one of the others."

"Now what might that be?" She sounded so perfectly innocent she was perfectly unbelievable. She didn't even believe herself: "I wish I were over there, too, honey, but "I've got to finish working out this astrology problem for my class.

Reconciling western and Hanese systems is a bitch and a half. I'll see you tomorrow for lunch."

Twelve-thirty all right?"

"Sounds good; 'Bye."

Judy works in a part of East A.C. where you hear Spaimsh spoken in the streets about as often as English. The rage for Zoroastrian diners has reached even there, though. Next year, no doubt, they'll be passe; right now, they're fun.

The one trouble with those places is that Judy and I can't enjoy them to the fullest, because a lot of their dishes feature deviled ham. We managed, though. I ate angel - hair pasta and devfl's - food cake, while she had a devfled-egg-salad sandwich and angelfood cake. Just names, sure, but names have power.

"So where are you going this afternoon?" Judy asked while we waited for the waitress to bring us our lunches.

"Up to Loki, in Burbank," I said. "I have the feeling their parchmentwork didn't report half of what they're dumping.

They have a real reputation for secrecy; nobody except them and the military knows what goes on at the Cobold Works up in the desert, and nobody at all, it looks like, knows - or will say - what comes out of the Cobold Works."

They're working in the Garuda Bird project, too, aren't they?" Judy said.

That's right - and if you think I'm going up there partly so I can learn more about that you're right" I admitted.