"Wow!" he admired. "Real gold?"

"Of course. As well as diamond headlamps and a prescription windshield. No expense spared."

"Where to?" he asked, sipping his drink.

"Vivilia VonBrun is first on the list. On anyone's list I imagine. Incredibly rich, desirably attractive. I phoned and she awaits our pleasure."

She swept out to greet us, smiling compassionately. She had permitted a tiny rim of red to remain around her gorgeous eyes, to express her unhappiness at recent events. Which of course had been described in gruesome detail by the news programs.

She was wearing something diaphanous and gray, which revealed enticing glimpses of tanned skin when she moved. She looked too good to be true, twenty—five years old, going on twenty—six maybe, and she was. Too good to be true, that is. I didn't dare think of her real age; the number was too large. She extended a delicate hand to me; I took it and kissed it lightly about the knuckles.

"Poor, dear Jim," she sighed. "Such a tragedy."

"It will all end well. May I present my son, James."

"What a dear man. How nice of you to come. My husband, Waldo, is away on one of those boring hunting things, blowing up wild animals. So if you need a place to stay…"

Vivilia wasted no time. While Waldo was destroying robot predators she was doing a little predation herself. And she was probably old enough to be James's great—great—grandmother.

Which meant she certainly had some experience—I put the thought from me and got to work.

"Vivilia, you can help us find Angelina. You are going to tell us everything you know about the Temple of Eternal Truth."

"You are so forceful, Jimmy. I'm sure that your son takes after…"

"Facts first, lust later," I snapped.

"Coarse but to the point," she smiled, uninsultable. "I'll tell you everything that I know."