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usual, had heard it all. 'I thought you were supposed to be selling these bonds not buying them. Hamilton will have a fit when he finds out.'
    I explained what I had discovered about Gypsum, and the conclusions I had drawn. 'If I'm right, and the bonds are being bought by someone who is about to take over the company, then they are going to trade right up to par. If I can buy any at 80, that's 20 points profit.'
    Debbie listened carefully. 'Sounds like a great idea to me. I still think Hamilton will have a fit.'
    I winced. She might be right. Technically I was not authorised to increase De Jong's exposure to any company that did not have the top credit ratings of AAA or AA, without Hamilton's permission. But I knew what I was doing made sense.
    The phone flashed. It was Cash. 'Have you made up your mind on the Gypsums yet?'
    'Not yet. Give me another half an hour.'
    'OK. But my bid isn't going to be around for ever. Half an hour is all you have got.' Cash rang off. He was just a little tenser than usual. There had been none of the usual banter.
    It was twenty-five minutes before David came back. 'There's something going on. There is an 80 bid in the street for these things, God knows why. Do you know what's happening, Paul?'
    'I don't know, but I can guess,' I said.
    'Well?'
    'Sorry, David, I can't say. Did you find any bonds?'
    'Only two million. We can offer them at 82.'
    Harrison Brothers was probably taking at least a point out of the price, but now wasn't the time to quibble. 'I'll take them,' I said.
    'You buy two million Gypsum of America nines of ninety-five at 82,' David said. 'Thanks for the trade.'
    'Thank you,' I said. 'If you come across any more, let me know.'
    'I will,' said David. 'But I think it unlikely. We had to scour Switzerland for these two. Someone has cleared up all the available bonds. Everyone we spoke to had sold in the last day or two.'
    Still, at least I had amassed $2 million. That should make a tidy profit. I remembered my promise to call Cash back.
    'Well?' he asked.
    'I'm sorry, Cash. Thanks for the bid, but I think I would rather keep them.'
    'Hey, Paul buddy. Think this through. Hamilton's going to be awful sore with you when he hears you didn't hit my bid.'
    And when he finds out I bought two million more, I thought.
    'Sorry, Cash, but we can't help you.'
    There was silence for a moment. Then Cash's voice came back on the phone, disappointed, but friendly. 'That's your decision. Just remember the trouble I went to to help you out of a bad position. Speak to you later.'
    As I put the phone down, I marvelled at Cash's ability to make you feel guilty, even when he was trying to rip you off.
    'Did you get any?' Debbie asked.
    'Only two million,' I said.
    'That's not bad. You should make some decent money out of that.' She sat back in her chair. 'It's a shame we can't buy any of the bonds ourselves,' she said. 'It looks like easy money.'
    'Of course you can,' I said. 'All you need to do is take a couple of million out of your building society account.'
    'We could try and buy a smaller amount. An odd lot,' she said.
    'Would that be ethical?'
    'I don't know.'
    'Well, you ought to know, you are the compliance officer after all,' I said. Every fund management company appointed a compliance officer to ensure that insider trading and conflicts of interest were avoided. With her legal background, Debbie had become ours.
    'I suppose I am.' She paused. 'Thinking about it, it would almost certainly be a conflict of interest.'
    'Shame. It's not a bad idea,' I said.
    'Of course we could buy the stock,' Debbie said. 'That should move up sharpish if the company is taken over.'
    'Why not?' I said, 'Seems like a great idea to me.' I had ten thousand pounds in the building society. It seemed to me that Gypsum shares would be a good place to put half of it. 'But how the hell do you buy American shares?'
    Debbie and I mulled over this problem for a minute or two. Then Debbie laughed, 'This is ridiculous! We've got