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scales started to form. She felt the large, powerful coils squeezing her, and
she shook her head, gasping for breath.
"No! No, please, don't...."
And then she screamed.
"Lord Carfax?" Blood said.
"You know him?" asked Kira.
"Only by reputation," Blood replied. "He's the latest social darling, young
and
fabulously wealthy. Must have inherited it all, because it seems no one knows
exactly what it is he does, assuming he does anything at all. Hasn't been in
England long. Arrived recently from Hong Kong or Japan or Sri Lanka or some
damn
exotic place there seems to be some question about where. There's always
something about him in the papers. Apparently he keeps to himself a great
deal
and avoids the press, won't be photographed, yet on the other hand he throws
all
these lavish parties, which are supposed to be quite exclusive and rather on
the
wild side. As a matter of fact, only the other day I was speaking to my
brother,
Andrew, about..." His voice trailed off.
"Go on," said Wyrdrune. "What is it?"
"Interesting coincidence," said Blood. "He called me to pick my brain about
the
Ripper case. He wanted to have some inside dope that he could use for party
chat. My younger brother was something of a social butterfly. We didn't have
very much in common, I'm afraid. I recall he was quite excited over having
secured an invitation to one of Lord Carfax's celebrated parties, and he went
on
about it a great deal. I'm afraid I didn't pay very much attention. I was
rather
anxious to be rid of him," he added with a grimace that underscored the
irony.
"And the very next morning he was found dead."
"I'm sorry," Kira said.
Blood shrugged. "We were never really close. I feel a bit guilty about that
now.
To be honest, Andrew didn't have a lot of character, but to go like that..."
He
sighed. "Hard to believe it was only yesterday. Time doesn't pass, you know,
it
stretches. Especially when you're drunk. The newspapers will doubtless make
him
out to be another of the Ripper's victims, but I don't believe he was. The
M.O.
didn't match, and serial killers generally stick to the same pattern. Poor
Andrew looked as if he'd been torn apart by some wild animal. Won't know for
certain till I see the lab results."
"Is there any way you can get hold of them right now?" asked Wyrdrune.
"Yes, I expect so," Blood said. "Danny Shavers is a good man, he'll cover for
me. Why? What are you thinking? You suspect Carfax?"
"You're a cop," said Wyrdrune, "you tell me."
"There's absolutely no evidence against Mm," Blood said. "Not even
circumstantial."
"But what does your instinct tell you?" Wyrdrune said.
"My instinct is telling me to be very leery of your lot," said Blood. "If I
antagonize a man in Carfax's position "
"Just what exactly is his position?" Wyrdrune asked. "Is he actually a lord?"
"Well, difficult to say," said Blood. "Since the Collapse there's been
nothing
like Burke's or Debretts. Records have been lost and no one really pays very
close attention to that sort of thing these days. The House of Lords is more
a
gentleman's political debating society than anything else, and only a handful
of
the so-called 'old aristocracy' go in for it. And even they probably couldn't
stand very careful scrutiny. I suppose, to anticipate your next question,
that
given enough imagination, money, social contacts, and the right sort of
manners,
one could easily phony up a title. Or simply buy one outright."
"And Carfax has plenty of money, and his parties undoubtedly provide him with
all the social contacts he needs," said Wyrdrune. "Seems interesting that no
one
knows exactly what he does or where he came from, doesn't it? I wonder if
anyone's ever seen his passport. For that matter, I wonder if there's even a
record of his entry into this country."
"You're an extremely suspicious young man," said Blood. "Ever think about
becoming a policeman?"
"Not even once."
Blood smiled. "It's like that, is it? Still, I should think if he'd gotten
into
the country illegally, the press would have ferreted it out by now. They all
dearly love to unearth any sort of scandal."
"And they also love to get pictures of people who don't like being
photographed," said Wyrdrune. "They usually manage somehow, don't they? Has
Carfax ever been photographed?"
"Damned if I know," Blood said. "I don't really read the society pages." He
got
up and walked over to the computer. "Jacqueline, can I cadge one of your
cigarettes?"
She offered him the pack.
"Doctor, have you any more of that inexhaustible fairy Scotch of yours?"
"Coming right up, Michael."
"Right, men," said Blood, sitting down. "Archimedes, if I might avail myself
of
your keyboard and modem for a moment?"
"At your service, Chief Inspector," said the computer.
"My sergeant's got a computer terminal with a secure line on his desk," said
Blood, looking at the others. "I'll see if I can't get him to find out a
thing
or two for us...." He started typing. Moments later words appeared on the
screen.
"Chief Inspector? Is that you?"
"It's me. Canny." Blood typed. "How are things over there?"
"How are things? Don't you know? Where have you been, for God's sake?
Everyone's
screaming for you. from the superintendent on down to the press! Haven't you
heard what's happened? Where are you? Why didn't you call? Why are you
contacting me via my terminal?"
"I can't explain now. I've heard all about what's happened, Danny. Don't ask
any
questions. I'm Blood hesitated slightly, then typed, "...undercover. I think
I
may be on to something, but I'll need your help, no questions asked.
Understood?"
"Understood."
"Good man. First: Hyphen-Smythe must immediately stop sending out his decoy [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]