Now that was well done, Caskie. You're not a dummy, are you? Savich said pleasantly, "So the files that were on your computer last night are gone, destroyed?"

"That's right. No big deal, Agent. I do it several times a year."

"I read in the police report that the thief escaped through a small window in your connecting bathroom, which means your thief was very probably a woman. Do you know anyone who might fit the bill?"

Royal shook his head slowly. "It's bizarre, the break-in. I wouldn't have thought any of our competitors would break into our headquarters."

"Of course, given how important a cog Mr. Blauvelt was in Schiffer Hartwin's vast wheel, I would assume he would have had the access and passwords to all the management computers. Could he have hired a woman to break into your computer for something specific?"

Royal looked bewildered. "I'm sorry, but I can't imagine what."

Savich said, "Well, we know it wasn't Ms. Alvarez, since she was with you. I guess in a small town like Stone Bridge, you can't be discreet getting a hotel room. That sofa doesn't look all that comfortable."

"I was not here last night to sleep with her! I do not have sex with my managers. We were having a business discussion, that's all."

Savich looked down at his fingernails, buffed them on his sleeve. He said, "A man like you-you earn a good living, you support your family, you provide for all their needs and wants." Savich splayed his hands in front of him. "Of course I understand how a man like yourself wouldn't want to admit that you sometimes get bored. That you would want, even need, some variety to liven things up now and then. After all, don't you deserve it?" He gave Royal the man-to-man look he'd seen on DEA agent Joe Monroe's face when he talked about his girlfriends at the gym.

"No, really, it's just that I-" Royal saw that look, recognized it immediately, gave Savich a shrug, and said finally with a smirk, "What the hell. Carla's hot, you know? She loves sex, unlike my wife, and knows more ways to do it than I do. She had a bad divorce a while back, so there's no chance she'd want more than sex and some laughs."

"A pity you had to deal with the break-in and the cops instead of enjoying yourself."

"Yeah, that's the truth."

"You must have some idea of who broke in last night and why."

"No, I'm sorry, I don't."

"Mr. Blauvelt's body was found behind your building, at the edge of Van Wie Park, an area few people ever go since the undergrowth is so thick. Come now, who could Blauvelt have sent to break into your office? Was he here in the building with her? Did you or someone here come in on him, kill him, then panic and dump him out back?"

"No, that is ridiculous! I am trying to cooperate with you, Agent Savich. You have no right to treat me like a criminal. I should get one of our lawyers in here."

"Would his name be Bender?"

Royal froze. Slowly, he took his hand off the phone. "Yes," he said, "it would. We call him Bender the Elder."

Savich said easily, "We are nearly done here, Mr. Royal. I don't believe Bender the Elder is needed, do you?"

Royal chewed that over a moment, then drew in a deep breath, and nodded.

"Tell me, how long have you been having an affair with Carla Alvarez?"

"If you must know, not all that long. Maybe four months. I was getting tired of her, truth be told. You know how it is, you screw an older woman, and she gets ideas." He shrugged.

Older woman? Savich had seen a photo of Carla Alvarez. Caskie Royal had at least seven or eight years on her. He looked hard at Royal. He looked just a bit shaken, but still well in control. Savich said easily, "No, I can't say I've had that experience, Mr. Royal."

11

CARLA ALVAREZ'S OFFICE

Sherlock asked again, "If Helmut Blauvelt wasn't here to see you, was it Caskie Royal? There was something in Royal's files Blauvelt wanted to see, something Mr. Royal had done, right? I find it strange Mr. Royal didn't mention Blauvelt to you last night when the two of you were together. Royal had to be worried that Blauvelt was here, and terrified of what he'd find out. How about you, Carla? Were you terrified too? Were you part of-what? A cover-up, maybe some profit skimming, some doctored financial reports? Something your German bosses found out about and sent their Mr. Fix-It to take care of ?"

Carla said quickly, "No, no, they've been quite pleased, our profits have been unexpectedly high, and now- No, there was nothing like that, look, I have no idea about any of this, Agent, none at all."