Ham Sandwich Page 6

entrance steps. Then Jeffries came down thesteps and crossed the street to the car.

  "All done?" Cavender asked.

  "All done," Jeffries said through the window. He opened the door,eased himself in behind the wheel and closed the door.

  "They took Grady away by the back entrance," he told Cavender. "Therecords in his files ... he wasn't keeping much, of course ... and thestuff in the safe and those instruments went along with him. He wasvery co-operative. He's had a real scare."

  Cavender grunted. "He'll get over it."

  Jeffries hesitated, said, "I'm something of a Johnny-come-lately inthis line of work, you know. I'd be interested in hearing how it'shandled from here on."

  "In this case it will be pretty well standard procedure," Cavendersaid. "Tomorrow around noon I'll have Grady brought in to see me. I'llbe in a curt and bitter mood--the frustrated honest cop. I'll tell himhe's in luck. The D. A.'s office has informed me that because of theimportant names involved in this fraud case, and because all butaround forty thousand dollars of the money he collected in this townhave been recovered, they've decided not to prosecute. He'll have tillmidnight to clear out. If he ever shows up again, he gets the book."

  "Why leave him the forty thousand?" Jeffries asked. "I understood theyknow darn well where it's stashed."

  Cavender shrugged. "The man's put in two years of work, Reuben. If weclean him, he might get discouraged enough to get out of the racketand try something else. As it is, he'll have something like theInstitute of Insight going again in another city three months fromnow. In an area that hasn't been cropped over recently. He's good inthat line ... one of the best, in fact."

  Jeffries thoughtfully started the car, pulled out from the curb.Halfway down the block, he remarked, "You gave me the go-ahead signwith the cigarette right after the Greenfield girl claimed she'd putthe paper napkin into that image. Does that mean you finally came to adecision about her?"

  "Uh-huh."

  Jeffries glanced over at him, asked, "Is there any secret about howyou're able to spot them?"

  "No ... except that I don't know. If I could describe to anyone how togo about it, we might have our work cut in half. But I can't, andneither can any other spotter. It's simply a long, tedious process ofstaying in contact with people you have some reason to suspect ofbeing the genuine article. If they are, you know it eventually. But ifit weren't that men with Grady's type of personality attract themsomehow from ten miles around, we'd have no practical means at presentof screening prospects out of the general population. You can'tdistinguish one of them from anyone else if he's just walking past youon the street."

  Jeffries brought the car to a halt at a stop light.

  "That's about the way I'd heard it," he acknowledged. "What aboutnegative spotting? Is there a chance there might be an undiscoveredlatent left among our recent fellow students?"

  "No chance at all," Cavender said. "The process works both ways. Ifthey aren't, you also know it eventually--and I was sure of everyonebut Greenfield over three weeks ago. She's got as tough a set ofobscuring defenses as I've ever worked against. But after the jolt shegot tonight, she came through clear immediately."

  The light changed and the car started up. Jeffries asked, "You feelboth of them can be rehabilitated?"

  "Definitely," Cavender said. "Another three months of Grady'spseudoyoga might have ruined them for good. But give them around ayear to settle out and they'll be all right. Then they'll get thecall. It's been worth the trouble. Jones is good medium grade--andthat Greenfield! She'll be a powerhouse before she's half developed.Easily the most promising prospect I've come across in six years."

  "You're just as certain about Perrie Rochelle?"

  "Uh-huh. Protopsi--fairly typical. She's developed as far as she everwill. It would be a complete waste of time to call her. You can'ttrain something that just isn't there."

  Jeffries grunted. "Never make a mistake, eh?"

  Cavender yawned, smiled. "Never have yet, Reuben! Not in that area."

  "How did you explain the sandwich to them--and Greenfield's napkin?They couldn't have bought your stage magic idea."

  "No. Told them those were Dr. Al's posthypnotic suggestions. It's theother standard rationalization."

  * * * * *

  They drove on in silence for a while. Then Jeffries cleared histhroat.

  "Incidentally," he said. "I should apologize for the slip with thesandwich, even though it turned out to our advantage. I can't quiteexplain it. I was thinking of other matters at the moment, and Isuppose I...."

  Cavender, who had been gazing drowsily through the windshield, shookhis head.

  "As you say, it turned out very well, Reuben. Aside from putting thefirst crack in Mavis Greenfield's defenses, it shook up Dr. Al to thepoint where he decided to collect as much as he could tonight, cashthe checks, and clear out. So he set himself up for the pinch. Weprobably gained as much as three or four weeks on both counts."

  Jeffries nodded. "I realize that. But...."

  "Well, you'd have no reason to blame yourself for the slip in anycase," Cavender went on. "The fact is I'd been so confoundedly busyall afternoon and evening, I forgot to take time out for dinner. Whenthat sandwich was being described in those mouth-watering terms, Irealized I was really ravenous. At the same time I was fighting offsleep. Between the two, I went completely off guard for a moment, andit simply happened!"

  He grinned. "As described, by the way, it was a terrific sandwich.That group had real imagination!" He hesitated, then put out his hand,palm up, before him. "As a matter of fact, just talking about it againseems to be putting me in a mood for seconds...."

  Something shimmered for an instant in the dim air wrapped in its greentissue napkin, a second ham sandwich appeared.

  * * * * *