face.”
Mac said dryly, two thousand miles away, “You seem to have made a thorough investigation, Eric. It wasn’t really necessary. We have already checked on Miss Harms at Greg’s request. She is perfectly genuine.”
“Sure,” I said. “Well, I couldn’t take her word for it I’ve got some fingerprints on a bottle, but under the circumstances I guess I’ll just forget about what’s outside and concentrate on what’s inside, which happens to be pretty good Scotch. I see you got hold of your discreet official, sir. There is an announcement in the paper, but it doesn’t say much. Did you happen to think to give them a dental description? I mean, there wasn’t much in the way of a face or fingerprints to go by, and there’s always a possibility that somebody’s being very, very clever.”
Mac said, “The possibility occurred to me, also. Gregory’s identification is positive. We can dismiss the melodramatic idea of a substitution. With regard to this girl, we can check out the fingerprints you have, if you feel it’s necessary.”
I hesitated. “No,” I said. “I think she’s genuine, all right. But—”
“What is it that disturbs you, Eric? I gather you’re not entirely satisfied.”
I told myself not to be a sentimental dope. I was a coldblooded government agent on coldblooded government business, and no damn female could deflect me from my duty by a single degree.
“I don’t like that acid, sir,” I said. “Isn’t it kind of out of character, for the subject we’re watching? I mean, the Drilling subject.”
Mac was silent for a moment, far away. Then he said slowly, “It seems to be a simple variation of the old ammonia technique. Silent and effective. If you first blind a man with a reagent that also causes excruciating, disabling pain, you can then deal with him at your leisure.”
“Sure,” I said. “But there are a couple of questions that bother me. Like, how would Mrs. Genevieve Drilling, housewife, learn about the old ammonia technique? And where would she get the drug—whatever it was, and however it was administered—that finished Greg off? I don’t think the acid killed him.”
Mac said, “It didn’t. The cause of death was cyanide or some derivative, but we don’t yet know exactly how it was administered. That angle is still under investigation. It could have been done with a dart fired from an air gun or spring gun, the kind that’s often camouflaged as a man’s cigarette case or a woman’s compact. Or it could have been done quite simply with a hypodermic, if the murderer wanted to risk working in that close.”
“I know,” I said. “But now you’re talking about real tricky spy stuff, sir. I didn’t know we were dealing with a pro.”
“Mrs. Drilling isn’t a professional, but her male friend is.”
“And just where is this guy Ruyter supposed to be hanging out with his ready stock of acids and poisons? Have we any reason to believe he’s here in Regina?”
“We have no evidence that he isn’t,” Mac said. “At the moment we do not know, unfortunately, just where Mr. Ruyter is. Of course, if he should be in Regina, he could have committed the murder himself.”
“It’s a possibility,” I said. “There’s another possibility, sir, that I think we’d better consider.”
“Go on.”
I looked at the black Volkswagen in the rain, and I thought of a girl in black pants and a white shirt, and I thought of a girl in just a white shirt.
I said, “You said it was a variation of the old ammonia technique. But there’s one big difference. The ammonia treatment generally wears off in time. As a rule it’s employed by people who don’t want to inflict permanent damage. But we’ve got a sadistic screwball loose here, somebody who likes to torment his, or her, victims before killing them.” I hesitated, and went on stiffly: “Either that or we’ve got somebody with a real big personal hate, say a girl with a marred face who’s had a
Mac said dryly, two thousand miles away, “You seem to have made a thorough investigation, Eric. It wasn’t really necessary. We have already checked on Miss Harms at Greg’s request. She is perfectly genuine.”
“Sure,” I said. “Well, I couldn’t take her word for it I’ve got some fingerprints on a bottle, but under the circumstances I guess I’ll just forget about what’s outside and concentrate on what’s inside, which happens to be pretty good Scotch. I see you got hold of your discreet official, sir. There is an announcement in the paper, but it doesn’t say much. Did you happen to think to give them a dental description? I mean, there wasn’t much in the way of a face or fingerprints to go by, and there’s always a possibility that somebody’s being very, very clever.”
Mac said, “The possibility occurred to me, also. Gregory’s identification is positive. We can dismiss the melodramatic idea of a substitution. With regard to this girl, we can check out the fingerprints you have, if you feel it’s necessary.”
I hesitated. “No,” I said. “I think she’s genuine, all right. But—”
“What is it that disturbs you, Eric? I gather you’re not entirely satisfied.”
I told myself not to be a sentimental dope. I was a coldblooded government agent on coldblooded government business, and no damn female could deflect me from my duty by a single degree.
“I don’t like that acid, sir,” I said. “Isn’t it kind of out of character, for the subject we’re watching? I mean, the Drilling subject.”
Mac was silent for a moment, far away. Then he said slowly, “It seems to be a simple variation of the old ammonia technique. Silent and effective. If you first blind a man with a reagent that also causes excruciating, disabling pain, you can then deal with him at your leisure.”
“Sure,” I said. “But there are a couple of questions that bother me. Like, how would Mrs. Genevieve Drilling, housewife, learn about the old ammonia technique? And where would she get the drug—whatever it was, and however it was administered—that finished Greg off? I don’t think the acid killed him.”
Mac said, “It didn’t. The cause of death was cyanide or some derivative, but we don’t yet know exactly how it was administered. That angle is still under investigation. It could have been done with a dart fired from an air gun or spring gun, the kind that’s often camouflaged as a man’s cigarette case or a woman’s compact. Or it could have been done quite simply with a hypodermic, if the murderer wanted to risk working in that close.”
“I know,” I said. “But now you’re talking about real tricky spy stuff, sir. I didn’t know we were dealing with a pro.”
“Mrs. Drilling isn’t a professional, but her male friend is.”
“And just where is this guy Ruyter supposed to be hanging out with his ready stock of acids and poisons? Have we any reason to believe he’s here in Regina?”
“We have no evidence that he isn’t,” Mac said. “At the moment we do not know, unfortunately, just where Mr. Ruyter is. Of course, if he should be in Regina, he could have committed the murder himself.”
“It’s a possibility,” I said. “There’s another possibility, sir, that I think we’d better consider.”
“Go on.”
I looked at the black Volkswagen in the rain, and I thought of a girl in black pants and a white shirt, and I thought of a girl in just a white shirt.
I said, “You said it was a variation of the old ammonia technique. But there’s one big difference. The ammonia treatment generally wears off in time. As a rule it’s employed by people who don’t want to inflict permanent damage. But we’ve got a sadistic screwball loose here, somebody who likes to torment his, or her, victims before killing them.” I hesitated, and went on stiffly: “Either that or we’ve got somebody with a real big personal hate, say a girl with a marred face who’s had a
Similar Books
Knot a Liar (Knotted Up Book 1)
Rose Ann Bridges
A Changing Land
Nicole Alexander
Tegan's Power (The Ultimate Power Series #4)
L.H. Cosway
Wolves among men
penelope sweet
Saturday's Child
Ruth Hamilton
The Last Girl
Joe Hart
Going to Bend
Diane Hammond
Porn Star
Keith Trimm
Nitro Mountain
Lee Clay Johnson