"How did it go tonight?" Stan asked when she got back to the brownstone.

"Not bad," she said, dumping her loot into the bed. "A dream night for a thief. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near enough to buy a spaceship with."

"We don't need to buy one," Stan said. "I've got a plan that ought to work now that we have some money to play around with. The first thing we're going to need is a spaceship driver."

"I'd love to talk about it," Julie said. "But first I need a bath. And I'm famished! Sometimes stealing can be hard work. Oh, by the way, here's a present." She tossed the dagger onto the bed.

Stan picked it up and admired the gleaming narrow blade and the rhino handle. "Where'd you get this?"

"Just a little trinket I picked up during the evening."