Zero History

about it. But I meant that if I were going to lie to you, I’d tell you about that, then tell you
that I was writing another, on esoteric denim, or mad marketing strategies. But I won’t.
I’m working for Hubertus Bigend.”
The last bite of salmon caught in Milgrim’s throat. He drank water, coughed into his
napkin.
“Are you choking?” asked George, who looked as though he could perform a really
optimal Heimlich maneuver.
“No, thanks,” said Milgrim.
“Blue Ant?” asked Meredith.
“No,” said Hollis. “We’re freelance. Bigend wants to know who’s behind Gabriel
Hounds.”
“Why?” Meredith had put down her fork.
“Possibly because he thinks someone’s outdoing him at something he considers to have
been his own game. Or so he suggested. Do you know him?”
“Only by reputation,” said Meredith.
“Is Blue Ant doing your band’s publicity?” Milgrim asked George, after some more
water.
“Not that I know of,” said George. “Too small a world already.”
“I’m not a Blue Ant employee,” said Hollis. “Bigend’s hired me to look into Gabriel
Hounds. He wants to know who designs it, how their antimarketing scheme works. I’m
only prepared to go so far. I’m not prepared to lie to you about it.”
“How about you?” Meredith asked Milgrim.
“I don’t have a badge,” Milgrim said.
“What do you mean?”
“To open the door,” Milgrim said. “At Blue Ant. Employees have those badges. I’m not
on salary.”
First-course dishes were removed. Second courses arrived. Milgrim’s was pork
tenderloin, stacked like a corpulent chess piece, a rook of pork. It toppled as he began to
eat it.
“How badly does Bigend want to know?” Meredith’s knife and fork were poised.
“He wants to know everything, basically,” said Hollis, “all the time. Right now, he
wants to know this quite badly. Next month? Maybe not so much.”
“He must have a lot of resources. For information.” Meredith cut into her roundel of
beef.
“Prides himself on it,” Hollis said.
“I mentioned that I believe most of my last season of shoes are in a warehouse in
Seattle. Tacoma, possibly.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know where. Can’t find them. The lawyers say they could make a very
convincing case for my ownership, if we could locate them. We’re fairly certain they