Garamond did not press the issue of Calibri's "accident." As far as he saw things, hardly anyone was without a few skeletons in their closet (Of course, with Garamond, there was more skeleton than closet). He offered Calibri an agreeable nod and gestured toward the tablet and its pen.

"Good," He said. "All I need is a signature."

A white packet appeared in front of Calibri. Garamond affixed it with a signature of his own, pushing it like a hockey puck across to Calibri's side of the desk. "Bring that to a bank," Garamond advised. "It's an advance of 5,000.

"Oh, and... you do know you can't bring that back with you on the shuttle," he added, looking pointedly at thr case of poisons.