Finally, I called my son, Steve, at the apartment we shared, told him I wouldn't be home that night, and sacked out in the ready room. By nine o'clock, I was ready to go back to work. At nine thirty, Kleek called. His saggy face looked sleepier and more bored than ever. "No rest for the weary, Roy. I got a call on a killing on the Upper East Side. Some rich gal with too much time on her hands was having an all-night party, and she got herself shot to death. It looks like her husband did it, but there's plenty of money involved, and the Deputy Commissioner wants me to handle it personally, all the way through. I'm putting Lieutenant Shultz in charge of the Homicide end of the Donahue case, but I told him you were the man to listen to. He'll report directly to you if there's any new leads. O.K.?" "O.K. with me, Sam." As I said, Kleek is a good cop in spite of his "system." "The boys are out making the rounds," he went on, "bringing in all the men with conviction records and questioning the others. And we're combing the neighborhood for the kid's clothes. They might still be around somewhere. Shultz'll keep you posted." "Fine, Sam. Happy hunting in High Society." "Thanks, Roy. Take it easy." At fifteen of eleven, the Police Commissioner called. He spent ten minutes telling me that I was going to be visited by a VIP and giving me exact instructions on how to handle the man. "I'm depending on you to take care of him, Roy," he said finally. "If we can get this program operating in other places, it will help us a lot. And if you need help from my office, grab the nearest phone." "I'll do my best," I promised him. "And thanks, sir." The Commissioner was a lawyer, not a cop, so he wasn't as tied to the system as Kleek and the others were. He was backing me all the way. I punched Sergeant Vanney's number on the intercom. "Inspector Royall here, Sergeant. Do me a favor." "Yes, sir." "Go down to the library and get me a copy of Burke's 'Peerage.'" "Burke's which, sir?" I repeated it and spelled it for him. He didn't waste any time; he had it on my desk in less than twenty minutes. When the VIP arrived, I had already read up on Chief Inspector, The Duke of Acrington. Here's how he was listed: _ACRINGTON, Seventh Duke of (Robert St. James Acrington) Baron Bennevis of Scotland, K. C. B.: Born 7 November 1950, B.S., M.S., Oxon.,_ cum laude. _Married (1977) Lady Susan Burley, 2nd dau. Viscount Burley. 2 sons, Richard St. James, Philip William._ [Illustration] _Joined Metropolitan Police (1975); C. I. D. (1976); dep. Insp. (1980); Insp. (1984); Ch. Insp. (1990). Awarded George Medal for extraordinary heroism during the False War (1981)._ _Author_ Criminal Law and the United Nations, The Use of Forensic Psychology (_police textbook_), _and_ The Night People (_fiction; under nom de plume R. A. James_). _Clubs: Royal Astronomical, Oxonian, Baker Street Irregulars._ _Motto: Amicus Curiae._