“Fairness!”
Candler shrugged. “You said no. I accepted it. Then you started raving at me and put me in a spot where I had to mention something I’d hardly thought of at the time. Forget it. How’s that graft story coming? Any new leads?”
“You going to put someone else on the asylum story?”
“No. You’re the logical one for it.”
“What is the story? It must be pretty woolly if it makes you wonder if Dr. Randolph is sane. Does he think his patients ought to trade places with his doctors, or what?”
He laughed. “Sure, you can’t tell me. That’s really beautiful double bait. Curiosity—and hope of knocking down that wall. So what’s the rest of it? If I say yes instead of no, how long will I be there, under what circumstances? What chance have I got of getting out again? How do I get in?”
Candler said slowly, “Vine, I’m not sure any more I want you to try it. Let’s skip the whole thing.”
“Let’s not. Not until you answer my questions, anyway.”
“All right. You’d go in anonymously, so there wouldn’t be any stigma attached if the story wouldn’t work out. If it does, you can tell the whole truth—including Dr. Randolph’s collusion in getting you in and out again. The cat will be out of the bag, then.
“You might get what you want in a few days—and you wouldn’t stay on it more than a couple of weeks in any case.”