From The Grave

Chapter 22

Maurice Trask read the message carefully and set the paper precisely in the centre of his desk pad. He pursed his thin lips and squinted his eyes at the certificate hanging on the wall beside his desk. His PHD in philosophy hadn't given him much coin in his appointment as Professor Stilton's successor but he liked to think it was useful in assessing the personnel under his command.

In this case he was disappointed; Gretta Lawrence defied the usual analysis. He picked up the message again and stared at the content. CONGA sources had followed the path of the Niue stamp from the island after it was discovered to have been mailed to an address in Toronto, Canada. Gretta was contacted and ordered back immediately.

Maurice swung his chair around to face the door as it opened and Gretta entered his office.

"Sit please, Miss Lawrence." He tipped forward and rested on his forearms, waiting until she settled in the chair.

"I'm not going to beat about the bush, Miss Lawrence; you have deliberately gone outside this office's brief and pursued an operation that was unauthorized. CONGA has been tainted now with five killings and a deadly assault on an island under the administration of a friendly nation's foreign affairs office. We have received a not very appreciative notice from that office regarding our conduct. I personally have been given a caution from the board." He sat back and fingered the message again.

Gretta explained her actions and the letter that had been left by Professor Stilton. He had been in touch with the government in Niue about the stamp and had offered the services of CONGA to retrieve the item for the people of Niue.

"I'm afraid your professor was also in violation of our organization's brief. We do not freelance our services like some band of Lone Rangers. Proper applications are filed and reviewed and then if accepted, acted upon in a proper and diplomatic manner."

"Professor Stilton always had the backing of the board for any project he undertook and he was also given considerable leeway in his approach to achieving success."

"You are not the professor, Miss Lawrence, and he has no authority here anymore." Maurice bit his words off, feeling the sting of her rebuttal.

"Very well, if I am expected to apologize I do so. If it is required in writing, I will submit that to your office tomorrow morning."

"The verbal is accepted and the written is expected." He stood and walked away to the window keeping his back to her as he changed the topic, bringing her upright in the chair, looking confused.

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"He actually said that?" Arny poured a glass of wine and cleared away the dirty dinner dishes.

"He did. Surprised the heck out of me. I figured I would be persona non grata at CONGA. Tomambou had a contact right here in Toronto that he sent the stamp to for safe keeping. The Congress had flagged his mail and followed it to an address in the east end of the city."

"Who's the contact?"

"A man named, Gerard 'Pinky" Stiltz, he runs a small store for collectible games and comics and stuff."

"Pinky Stiltz. These people sound like characters from Dick Tracy." Arny sat back down at the table and sipped his wine. "Mmmm, nice. Argentinean. Want some?" She nodded and continued her topic.

Trask had outlined the Congress' wishes and remarked, with some reservation, that they had also insisted Gretta continue the recovery of the stamp for Niue. In an effort to maintain a modicum of authority over the project, Trask had insisted on daily updates and approval of procedure prior to any action.