"I’ve got money,” Fulmar said.
“Then I’ll sponge on you,” Canidy said. “Has this room been swept lately, Davis? We have deep secrets to discuss with the Sheikh of Araby.”
“Yes, sir,” Davis said. “The Signal Corps was here yesterday.”
“What kind of secrets?” Fulmar asked as Davis cleared the table of the forms and other papers.
“We thought we’d start with your sex life,” Canidy said,“and then go on to other, more interesting things.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Fulmar asked, exasperated.
Canidy shrugged, a signal that he would not go on until Davis, who did not have the need-to-know, had left them alone.
When he had gathered up all the papers, Davis said, “Any time after lunch tomorrow, Lieutenant, come by and I’ll have your money.”
“Thank you,” Fulmar said. He waited until Davis had left, then turned to Canidy. "On the subject of money, is my bank account still blocked?”
“I don’t know,” Canidy said. “But I’ll find out.”
He walked to Fine’s desk, picked up the telephone, and called Colonel Stevens.
“Eric wants to know if his New York bank account is still frozen,” he said,“and if so, why. Could you send a cable and find out?”
“Thank you,” Fulmar said.
"What’s all that about?” Fine asked. “Or can’t I ask?”
“Not that Eric wasn’t willing to risk his all for Mom’s Apple Pie, et cetera, and the American Way of Life,” Canidy said,“but Donovan promised him that if he joined up and did good, he would get both the IRS and the Alien Property people to take their hands off the money Eric has in the National City Bank.”
“What money?” Fine asked.
“I made a few bucks in the ‘export-import’ business, Stan,” Fulmar said, just a little smugly.
“Right, at a hundred and twenty grand,” Canidy said. “It is one of the reasons he’s not too popular in Germany. The export business he’s talking about is smuggling cash and jewels out of Occupied France under the noses of the Germans. For a percentage.”
“I didn’t know about that,” Fine said. “That you made so much money, I mean.”
“And you are now going to learn some astonishing things about his sex life, Stan,” Canidy said.
“You keep saying that,” Fulmar said. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Gisella Dyer,” Canidy said.
Fulmar looked at him out of eyes that suddenly turned cold.
“That fucking postcard!” he said. “I wondered what the hell that was all about. Are you doing Baker’s dirty work again, Dick?”
“What I’m doing is my job,” Canidy said. “At the moment, I’m keeping Eldon Baker out of it. How long I’ll be able to do that depends on you.”
“Stop beating around the bush,” Fulmar said. “Let’s have it.”
“We are, through your friends Shitfitz and Müller, establishing contact with Gisella Dyer.”
Fulmar thought that over a moment before replying.
“You mean with her father,” he said. “That was on Baker’s postcard.”
Canidy nodded.