The glance Retch gave Mercedes had no love in it. "Sometimes she's got her mouth open when she ought to have it shut."
Mercedes was silent. "I see," Parker said. "When you chartered my ship, you told me you were a scientist and that you wanted to investigate certain phenomena on this island. You said your investigation would take only a few hours. I was to fly you here and wait for you. You said you might want me to fly you back to the mainland, or might not, depending on what you found here. Is this correct?"
"Certainly," Retch answered. "I'm sorry you lost your ship but the insurance will take care of it."
"Insurance will take care of the 'copter but not of my neck. Are you a scientist?"
"Of course. Didn't I tell you—"
"What kind of a scientist are you?"
"I—ah—What do you mean?"
"What's your specialty? Are you a biologist, a physicist, or what?"
"I—"