Chapter 89

What are my options?

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

I tap in the number. “Hello, I’d like to speak with Chancellor Wilmore, please. Tell him it’s Beth Haswell.”

A routine, ‘One moment. I’ll see if he’s available,’ is followed by a tinny rendition of ‘The Four Seasons’, then a cheerful voice. “Beth, good to hear you. I did wonder if you would call. I imagine I can guess what this is about?”

“Hello, Leo. I’m sure so. You offered me the services of your math department in a possible traffic modelling exercise…”

“That’s right. As I mentioned to you when we first met, your project would be an ideal exercise for some of my post-grads. It’s a variation on a knotty mathematical puzzle known as the Travelling Salesman Problem…”

My brain glazes… “Sorry?”