Человек в высоком замке

           They’dputintheirnewbusiness,loseit,bebrokeagaininsideamonth.

           "No,"hesaid.

           "Whynot?Blackmail’sacrime."

           Itwashardtoexplaintoher.Hewasaccustomedtopayingpeople;itwaspartoftheoverhead,liketheutilities.Ifthesumwassmallenough…butshedidhaveapoint.Hemulleditover.

           I’llgivethemtwothousand,butI’llalsogetintouchwiththatguyattheCivicCenterIknow,thatpoliceinspector.I’llhavethemlookintobothFrinkandMcCarthyandseeifthere’sanythingofuse.Soiftheycomebackandtryagain–I’llbeabletohandlethem.

           Forinstance,hethought,somebodytoldmeFrink’sakike.Changedhisnoseandname.AllIhavetodoisnotifytheGermanconsulhere.Routinebusiness.He’llrequesttheJapauthoritiesforextradition.They’llgasthebuggersoonastheygethimacrosstheDemarcationLine.Ithinkthey’vegotoneofthosecampsinNewYork,hethought.Thoseovencamps.

           "I’msurprised,"thegirlsaid,"thatanyonecouldblackmailamanofyourstature."Sheeyedhim.

           "Well,I’lltellyou,"hesaid."Thiswholedamnhistoricitybusinessisnonsense.ThoseJapsarebats.I’llproveit."Gettingup,hehurriedintohisstudy,returnedatoncewithtwocigarettelighterswhichhesetdownonthecoffeetable."Lookatthese.Lookthesame,don’tthey?Well,listen.Onehashistoricityinit."Hegrinnedather."Pickthemup.Goahead.One’sworth,oh,maybefortyorfiftythousanddollarsonthecollectors’market."