"It's his job to talk. But I'm talking about secrets Charlie doesn't even know. That only I and a few others know. People in the lab. And I'm talking about this."

He opened a drawer in the computer station and pulled out a small device that looked like a relay switch box. It had an AC/DC plug and a small wire antenna attached. From one end of it stretched a six-inch cable attached to a computer slot card. He put it down on the top of the desk.

"I got suspicious and went into the maintenance files and looked around but didn't find anything. So I then went and looked at the hardware on the mainframe and found this little slot attachment. It's got a wireless modem. I believe it's what you guys call a sniffer."

Zeller stepped closer to the desk and picked up the device.

"Us guys? Do you mean corporate computer security specialists?"

He turned the device in his hands. It was a data catcher. Programmed and attached to a mainframe, it would intercept and collect all e-mail traffic in the computer system and ship it out over the wireless modem to a predetermined location. In the lingo of the hacking world it was called a sniffer because it collected everything and the thief was then free to sniff through all the data for the gems.

Zeller's face showed a deep concern. It was a very good act, Pierce thought.

"Homemade," Zeller said as he examined the device.

"Aren't they all?" Pierce asked. "It's not like you can bop into a Radio Shack and pick up a sniffer."

Zeller ignored the comment. His voice had a deep quaver in it when he spoke.

"How the hell did that get on there, and why didn't your system maintenance guy see it?"

Pierce leaned back and tried to play it as cool as he could.

"Why don't you quit bullshitting and tell me, Cody?"

Zeller looked from the device in his hands to Pierce. He looked surprised and hurt.

"How would I know? I built your system but I didn't build this."

"Yeah, you built the system. And this was built into the mainframe. Maintenance didn't see it because they were either bought off by you or it was too well hidden. I found it only because I was looking for it."

"Look, anybody with a scramble card has access to that computer room and could've put this on there. I told you when we designed the place you should've put it down here in the lab. For the security."

Pierce shook his head, revisiting the three-year-old debate and confirming his decision.

"Too much interference from the mainframe on the experiments. You know that. But that's beside the point. That's your sniffer. I may have diverted from computer science to chemistry at Stanford but I still know a thing or two. I put the modem card in my laptop and used it on my dial-up. It's programmed. It connected with a data dump site registered as DoomstersInk."

He waited for the reaction and got a barely noticeable eye movement from Zeller.

"One word, ink like the stuff in a pen," Pierce said. "But you already know that. It's been a pretty active site, I would imagine. My guess is that you installed the sniffer when we moved in here. For three years you've been watching, listening, stealing. Whatever you want to call it."

Zeller shook his head and placed the device back down on the desk. He kept his eyes down as Pierce continued.

"A year or so ago -after I'd hired Larraby -you started seeing e-mail back and forth between us about a project called Proteus. Then there was e-mail back and forth with Charlie on it and then my patent lawyer. I checked, man. I keep all my e-mail. Paranoid that way. I checked and you could've put together what was happening from the e-mail.

Not the formula itself, we weren't that stupid. But enough for you to know we had it and what we were going to do with it."

"All right, so what if I did? So I listened in, big deal."

"The big deal is you sold us out. You used what you got to cut a deal with somebody."

Zeller shook his head sadly.

"Tell you what, Henry, I'm gonna go. I think you've been spending too much time in here. You know, when I used to melt those plastic cars I'd get a really bad headache from that smell. I mean, it can't be good for you. And here you are…"

He gestured toward the wire lab door.

Pierce stood up. His anger felt like a rock the size of a fist stuck in his throat.

"You set me up. I don't know what the play is, but you set me up."

"You're fucked up, man. I don't know anything about a setup. Yeah, sure, I've been sniffing around. It was the hacker instinct in me. Once in the blood, you know about that.

Yes, I put it on there when I set up the system. Tell you the truth, I mostly forgot about it, the stuff I was seeing at first was so boring. I quit checking that site a couple years ago at least. So that's it, man. I don't know anything about a setup."

Pierce was undaunted.

"I can guess the connection to Wentz. You probably set up the security on his systems. I mean, I doubt the subject matter would have bothered you. Business is business, right?"

Zeller didn't answer and Pierce wasn't expecting him to. He forged ahead.

"You're Grady Allison."

Zeller's face showed slight surprise but then he covered it.

"Yeah, I got the mug shots and mob connections. It was all phony, all part of the play."

Again Zeller was silent and not even looking at Pierce. But Pierce could tell he had his complete attention.

"And the phone number. The number was the key. At first I thought it had to be my assistant, that she had to have requested the number for the scheme to begin. But then I realized it was the other way around. You got my number in the e-mail I sent out. You then turned around and put it on the site. On Lilly's web page. And then it all began.

Some of the calls were probably from people you put up to it. The rest were probably legit -just icing on the cake. But that was why I found no phone records at her house.

And no phone. Because she never had the number. She operated like Robin -with just a cell phone."

Again he waited for a response and got none.

"But the part I'm having trouble with is my sister. She was part of this. You had to know about her, about the time I found her and let her go. It had to be part of the planning, part of the profile. You had to know that this time I wouldn't let it go. That I would look for Lilly and walk right into the setup."

Zeller didn't respond. He turned and moved to the door. He turned the knob but the door wouldn't open. The combination had to be entered to come in or go out.

"Open the door, Henry. I want to leave."

"You're not leaving until I know what the play is. Who are you doing this for? How much are they paying you?"

"All right, fine. I'll do it myself."

Zeller punched in the combination and sprang the door lock. He pulled the door open and looked back at Pierce.

"Vaya con dios, dude."

"How'd you know the combination?"

That put a pause in Zeller's step and Pierce almost smiled. His knowing and using the combination was an admission. Not a big one, but it counted.

"Come on. How'd you know the combo? We change it every month -your idea, in fact.

We put it out on e-mail to all the lab rats but you said you haven't checked the sniffer in two years. So how'd you know the combo?"

Pierce turned and gestured to the sniffer. Zeller's eyes followed and landed on the device.

Then the focus of his eyes moved slightly and Pierce saw him register something. He stepped back into the lab and let the mantrap door close behind him with a loud fump.

"Henry, why do you have the monitor off? I see you've got the tower on but the monitor's off."

Zeller didn't wait for an answer and Pierce didn't give one anyway. Zeller stepped over to the computer station and reached down and pushed the monitor's on/off button.