Flash

wrong. One person was clearly working and working hard.
    Todd had his shirtsleeves rolled up to the elbows. There was a five o'clock shadow on his face, even though it was only eight-thirty in the morning. He had a rumpled, harried look, as if he had been up most of the night
    Papers were spread across the desk in front of him. There were two phones in the office. He was using both of them. One was cradled on his left shoulder. The other was pinned to his right ear. There was an ominous expression on his face as he spoke into the phone.
    Jasper opened the door and went into the office.
    "…I don't give a damn what your computer says. I'm telling you that there was over two hundred thousand dollars in that account yesterday…"
    Jasper closed the door very quietly.
    "I want to talk to your supervisor," Todd snapped. "No, not the computer room supervisor. I'll get back to you later if I need you." He hung up one of the phones and continued talking into the other. "Get me someone who knows what's going on there. Yes, I'll hold."
    Jasper waited.
    Todd glanced at him. His frown deepened. "Something wrong?"
    "Got a couple of questions I thought you could help me with," Jasper said. He raised a brow to acknowledge the phone Todd still had plastered to one ear. "If you've got time, that is."
    Todd started to respond, but someone on the other end of the line said something that distracted him.
    "What do you mean he's out of the building?" Todd paused. "All right, all right. Have him call me the minute he returns. In the meantime, see if you can find someone else who can help me. You've got my number. If I don't hear from you in the next ten minutes I'll call you back."
    He slammed down the phone and glared at Jasper. "This is not my thing, you know."
    "What isn't your thing?"
    "Straightening out the business side of this mess. Hell, I'm a policy and theory man, not an accountant. But as you can see, everything is a little crazy today. And with Haggard in jail—"
    "Dixon Haggard is the reason I'm here today."
    "Yeah?" Todd took off his glasses and began to polish them absently with a handkerchief. "Sit down. Want some coffee?"
    "No, thanks. I had some before I left—" Jasper broke off. He had been about to say,
before I left your sister's place this morning
, but he decided against it. Todd was well aware that he was involved in an affair with Olivia, but somehow it seemed a trifle undiplomatic to flaunt it. "I had some with breakfast."
    "Suit yourself. I need another cup." Todd got to his feet and crossed the small office to pour a thick, foul-looking dark brew from a pot. "I'm going through this stuff the way Olivia did after we got word about Uncle Rollie and she suddenly found herself in charge of both Glow and Light Fantastic."
    This was probably as good a time as any, Jasper thought. "Speaking of Olivia…"
    "What about her?" Todd raised the mug to his mouth and took a long swallow.
    "I'm going to marry her."
    Coffee spewed from between Todd's teeth. "Jesus H. Christ."
    "I assume that means we have your blessing?"
    Todd put down his mug and reached for a napkin. He eyed Jasper as he wiped his mouth. "Is this some kind of joke? Because if so, your timing is really lousy. This is not one of my better days."
    "My timing is not always great, except in business, but I can promise you, I'm not joking."
    Todd sat down heavily. He regarded Jasper with wary eyes. "Has Olivia accepted your, uh, proposal?"
    "Yes."
    "Huh." Todd leaned back in his chair. He looked dazed. "Sonofagun."
    "You know, for an academic think-tank type, you don't seem to have what anyone would call an expansive vocabulary this morning."
    "I'm not at my best at the moment." Todd gripped the wooden arms of his chair and shook his head. "Kind of sudden, isn't it?"
    "We haven't set the date, if that's any consolation."
    Todd sat forward abruptly. "Look, this isn't any of my business… Hell, yes, it is. She's my sister." He narrowed his eyes. "Are you real sure you know what you're doing here?"
    "Yes."
    "Whose idea was this, anyhow?"
    "You could say we held talks on the subject and came to a mutually agreed-upon decision."
    Todd folded his hands on the desk. "You're positive the idea did not originate with Olivia?"
    "What makes you think it did?"
    "Damn it, Sloan, you know what's bothering me here. I mean, in addition to the speed with which it's all happening, that is."
    "Why don't you just come out and say it?"
    "All right, I will." Todd gave him a very