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"Did you ever think of turning professional?" Giordino rasped hoarsely, tenderly touching the growing discoloration marks around his neck. "I know this carnival that could use a geek--''
Pitt put his hand on Giordino's shoulder. "Let's hear what Mr. Dorsett has to say before you sign up for a rematch."
"You're wiser than your friend," said Dorsett.
"Only when it comes to averting pain and associating with criminals."
"Is that what you think of me? That I'm a common criminal?"
"Considering that you're responsible for murdering hundreds of people, an unqualified yes."
Dorsett shrugged imperviously and sat down behind his desk. "Regrettably, it was necessary."
Pitt felt feverish with anger against Dorsett. "I can't recall a single justification for cold-bloodedly cutting short the lives of innocent men, women and children."
"Why should you lose sleep over a few deaths, when millions in the third world die every year from famine, disease and war?"
"It was the way I was brought up," said Pitt. "My mother taught me life was a gift."
"Life is a commodity, nothing more." Dorsett scoffed. "People are like old tools that are used and then thrown away or destroyed when they have no more purpose. I pity men like you who are burdened with morals and principles. You are doomed to chase a mirage, a perfect world that never was and never will be."
Pitt found himself staring at stark, unfettered madness. "You'll die chasing a mirage too."
Dorsett smiled humorlessly. "You're wrong, Mr. Pitt. I will grasp it in my hands before my time comes."
"You have a sick, warped philosophy of life."
"So far it has served me very well."
"What's your excuse for not stopping the mass killing caused by your ultrasonic mining operations?"
"To mine more diamonds, what else?" Dorsett stared at Pitt as though he were studying a specimen in a jar. "In a few weeks I will make millions of women happy by providing them with the most precious of stones at a cost a beggar can afford."
"You don't strike me as the charitable type."
"Diamonds are really nothing but bits of carbon. Their only practical asset is they happen to be the hardest substance known to man. This alone makes them essential for the machining of metals and drilling through rock. Did you know the namèdiamond' comes from the Greek, Mr. Pitt? It means indomitable.
The Greeks, and later the Romans, wore them as protection from wild beasts and human enemies. Their women, however, did not adore diamonds as women do now. Besides driving off evil spirits, they were used as a test for adultery. And yet when it comes to beauty, you can get the same sparkle from crystal."
As Dorsett spoke of diamonds his stare didn't falter, but the throbbing pulse in the side of his neck gave away his deep feeling on the subject. He talked as if he had suddenly risen to a higher plane that few could experience.
"Are you also aware that the first diamond engagement ring was given by Archduke Ferdinand of Austria to Mary of Burgundy in the year 1477, and the belief that the 'vein of love' runs directly from the brain to the third finger of the left hand was a myth that came out of Egypt?"
Pitt stared back with unconcealed contempt. "What I'm aware of is the current glut of uncut stones being held in warehouses throughout South Africa, Russia and Australia to inflate false values. I also know the cartel, essentially a monopoly directed by De Beers, fixes the price. So how is it possible for one man to challenge the entire syndicate and cause a sudden, drastic drop of prices on the diamond market?"
"The cartel will play right into my hands," said Dorsett contemptuously. "Historically, whenever a diamond-producing mining company or nation tried to go around them and merchandise their stones on the open market, the cartel slashed prices. The maverick, failing to compete and finding itself in a no-
win situation, eventually returned to the fold. I'm counting on the cartel to repeat their act. By the time they realize that I'm dumping millions of diamonds at two cents on the dollar with no regard for earnings, it will be too late for them to react. The market will have collapsed."
"What percentage is there in dominating a depressed market?"
"I'm not interested in dominating the market, Mr. Pitt. I want to kill it for all time."
Pitt noticed that Dorsett didn't gaze right at him but fixed his eyes impassively on a point behind Pitt's head as if seeing a vision only he could see. "If I read you correctly, you're cutting your own throat."
"It sounds that way, doesn't it?" Dorsett lifted a finger at Pitt. "Exactly what I wanted everyone to think, even my closest associates and my own daughters. The truth of the matter is that I expect to make a great sum of money."
"How?" Pitt asked, his interest aroused.
