‘The problem is that you don’t respect anyone enough to treat them as an equal.’

Artemis was thrown by the statement. This doctor was smarter than the rest. ‘That’s ridiculous. I hold several people in the highest esteem.’

Po did not glance up from his notebook. ‘Really? Who, for example?’

Artemis thought for a moment. ‘Albert Einstein. His theories were usually correct. And Archimedes, the Greek mathematician.’

‘What about someone that you actually know?’

Artemis thought hard. No one came to mind.

‘What? No examples?’

Artemis shrugged. ‘You seem to have all the answers, Doctor Po. Why don’t you tell me?’

Po opened a window on his laptop. ‘Extraordinary. Every time I read this

‘My biography, I presume?’

‘Yes, it explains a lot.’

‘Such as?’ asked Artemis, interested in spite of himself.

Doctor Po printed off a page.

‘Firstly there’s your associate, Butler. A bodyguard, I understand. Hardly a suitable companion for an impressionable boy. Then there’s your mother. A wonderful woman in my opinion, but with absolutely no control over your behaviour. Finally, there’s your father. According to this, he wasn’t much of a role model even when he was alive.’

The remark stung, but Artemis wasn’t about to let the doctor realize how much. ‘Your file is mistaken, Doctor,’ he said. ‘My father is alive. Missing perhaps, but alive.’

Po checked the sheet. ‘Really? I was under the impression that he has been missing for almost two years. Why, the courts have declared him legally dead.’

Artemis’s voice was devoid of emotion, though his heart was pounding.

‘I don’t care what the courts say, or the Red Cross. He is alive, and I will find him.’

Po scratched another note.