璇玑之心刃·冷血悍将-第130章

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‘Ex…Navy；　Vietnam　vet。‘
‘Do　you　have　any　reason　to　believe　that　he‘s　a　drug　user；　sir？‘
‘Not　a　chance；‘　Rosen　answered；　a　slight　edge　on　his　voice。　‘His　physical　condition　is　too　good　for　that；　and　I　saw　his　reaction　when　we　found　out　that　Pam　was　using　pills。　I　had　to　calm　him　down。　Definitely　not　an　addict。　I‘m　a　physician；　I　would　have　noticed。‘
The　policeman　was　not　overly　impressed；　but　accepted　it　at　face　value。　The　detectives　would　have　a　lot　of　fun　with　this　one；　he　thought。　What　had　appeared　to　be　a　simple　robbery　was　now　at　least　a　kidnapping　as　well。　Wonderful　news。　‘So　what　was　he　doing　in　that　part　of　town？‘
‘I　don‘t　know；‘　Sam　admitted。　‘Who‘s　this　Lieutenant　Allen？‘
‘Homicide；　Western　District；‘　the　cop　explained。
‘I　wonder　why　they　had　an　appointment。‘
‘That‘s　something　we‘ll　get　from　the　Lieutenant；　sir。‘
‘Was　this　a　robbery？‘
‘Probably。　It　sure　looks　that　way。　We　found　his　wallet　a　block　away；　no　cash；　no　credit　cards；　just　his　driver‘s　license。　He　also　had　a　handgun　in　his　car。　Whoever　robbed　him　must　have　missed　that。　That‘s　against　the　law；　by　the　way；‘　the　cop　noted。　Another　officer　came　in。
‘I　checked　the　name　again　…1　knew　I　heard　it　before。　He　did　a　job　for　Allen。　Remember　last　year；　the　Gooding　case？‘
The　senior　man　looked　up　from　his　notes。　‘Oh；　yeah！　He‘s　the　guy　who　found　the　gun？‘
‘Right；　and　he　ended　up　training　our　divers。‘
‘It　still　doesn‘t　explain　what　the　hell　he　was　doing　over　there；‘　the　cop　pointed　out。
‘True；‘　his　partner　admitted。　‘But　it　makes　it　hard　to　believe　he‘s　a　player。‘
The　senior　officer　shook　his　head。　‘There　was　a　girl　with　him。　She‘s　missing。‘
‘Kidnapping；　too？　What　do　we　have　on　her？‘
‘Just　a　name。　Pamela　Madden。　Twenty；　recovering　doper；　missing。　We　have　Mr　Kelly；　his　car；　his　gun；　and　that‘s　it。　No　shells　from　the　shotgun。　No　witnesses　at　all。　A　missing　girl；　probably；　but　a　description　that　could　fit　ten　thousand　local　girls。　Robbery…kidnapping。‘　All　in　all；　not　that　atypical　a　case。　They　often　started　off　knowing　damned　little。　In　any　case；　the　two　uniformed　officers　had　mainly　determined　that　the　detectives　would　take　this　one　over　almost　immediately。
‘She　wasn‘t　from　around　here。　She　had　an　accent；　Texas；　somewhere　out　there。‘
‘What　else？‘　the　senior　officer　asked。　‘e　on；　doc；　anything　you　know；　okay？‘
Sam　grimaced。　‘She　had　been　the　victim　of　sexual　abuse。　She　might　have　been　a　hooker。　My　wife　said　…　hell；　I　saw　it；　evidence　of　scars　on　her　back。　She‘d　been　whipped；　some　permanent　scarring　from　welts；　that　sort　of　thing。　We　didn‘t　press；　but　she　might　have　been　a　prostitute。‘
‘Mr　Kelly　has　strange　habits　and　acquaintances；　doesn‘t　he？‘　the　officer　observed　while　making　notes。
‘From　what　you　just　said；　he　helps　cops；　too；　doesn‘t　he？‘　Professor　Rosen　was　getting　angry。　‘Anything　else？　I　have　rounds　to　make。‘
‘Doctor；　what　we　have　here　is　a　definite　attempted　murder；　probably　as　part　of　a　robbery；　and　maybe　a　kidnapping　also。　Those　are　serious　crimes。　I　have　procedures　to　follow；　just　like　you　do。　When　will　Kelly　be　up　for　a　real　interview？‘
‘Tomorrow；　probably；　but　he‘s　going　to　be　very　rocky　for　a　couple　of　days。‘
‘Is　ten　in　the　morning　okay；　sir？‘
‘Yes。‘
The　cops　rose。　‘Somebody　will　be　back　then；　sir。‘
Rosen　watched　them　leave。　This；　strangely　enough；　had　been　his　first　real　experience　with　a　major　criminal　investigation。　His　work　more　often　dealt　with　traffic　and　industrial　accidents。　He　found　himself　unable　to　believe　that　Kelly　could　be　a　criminal；　yet　that　had　seemed　to　be　the　thrust　of　their　questions；　wasn‘t　it？　That‘s　when　Dr　Pretlow　came　in。
‘We　finished　the　blood　work　on　Kelly；‘　She　handed　the　data　over。　‘Gonorrhea。　He　should　be　more　careful。　I　remend　penicillin。　Any　known　allergies？‘
‘No。‘　Rosen　closed　his　eyes　and　swore。　What　the　hell　else　would　happen　today？
‘Not　that　big　a　deal；　sir。　It　looks　like　a　very　early　case。　When　he‘s　feeling　better　I‘ll　have　Social　Services　talk　to　him　about　…‘
‘No；　you　won‘t；‘　Rosen　said　in　a　low　growl。
‘But…‘
‘But　the　girl　he　got　it　from　is　probably　dead；　and　we　will　not　force　him　to　remember　her　that　way。‘　It　was　the　first　time　Sam　had　admitted　the　probable　facts　to　himself；　and　that　made　it　all　the　worse；　declaring　her　dead。　He　had　little　to　base　it　on；　but　his　instincts　told　him　it　must　be　so。
‘Doctor；　the　law　requires　…‘
It　was　just　too　much。　Rosen　was　on　the　point　of　exploding。　‘That‘s　a　good　man　in　there。　I　watched　him　fall　in　love　with　a　girl　who‘s　probably　been　murdered；　and　his　last　memory　of　her　will　not　be　that　she　gave　him　venereal　disease。　Is　that　clear；　doctor？　As　far　as　the　patient　is　concerned；　the　medication　is　for　a　post…op　infection。　Mark　the　chart　accordingly。‘
‘No；　doctor；　I　will　not　do　that。‘
Professor　Rosen　made　the　proper　notations。　‘Done。‘　He　looked　up。　‘Doctor　Pretlow；　you　have　the　makings　of　an　excellent　technical　surgeon。　Try　to　remember　that　the　patients　upon　whom　we　perform　our　procedures　are　human　beings；　with　feelings；　will　you？　If　you　do　so；　I　think　you　will　find　that　the　job　is　somewhat　easier　in　the　long　run。　It　will　also　make　you　a　much　better　physician。‘
And　what　was　he　so　worked　up　about？　Pretlow　asked　herself　on　the　way　out。
C8
　　　　CHAPTER　8
Concealment
It　was　a　bination　of　things。　June　20　was　a　hot　day；　and　a　dull　one。　A　photographer　for　the　Baltimore　Sun　had　a　new　camera；　a　Nikon　to　replace　his　venerable　Honeywell　Pentax；　and　while　he　mourned　for　his　old　one；　the　new　camera；　like　a　new　love；　had　all　sorts　of　new　features　to　explore　and　enjoy。　One　of　them　was　a　whole　collection　of　telephoto　lenses　that　the　distributor　had　thrown　in。　The　Nikon　was　a　new　model；　and　the　pany　had　wanted　it　accepted　within　the　news…photo　munity　quickly；　and　so　twenty　photographers　at　various　papers　around　the　country　had　gotten　free　sets。　Bob　Preis　had　gotten　his　because　of　a　Pulitzer　Prize　earned　three　years　before。　He　was　sitting　in　his　car　on　Druid　Lake　Drive　now；　listening　to　his　police　radio；　hoping　for　something　interesting　to　happen；　but　nothing　was。　And　so　he　was　playing　with　his　new　camera；　practicing　his　lens…switching　skills。　The　Nikon　was　beautifully　machined；　and　as　an　infantryman　will　learn　to　strip　and　clean　his　rifle　in　total　darkness；　Preis　was　changing　from　one　lens　to　another　by　feel；　forcing　himself　to　scan　the　area　just　as　a　means　of　keeping　his　eyes　off　a　procedure　that　had　to　bee　as　natural　and　automatic　as　zipping　his　pants。
It　was　the　crows　that　caught　his　attention。　Located　off…center　in　the　irregularly　shaped　lake　was　a　fountain。　No　example　of　architectural　prowess；　it　was　a　plain　concrete　cylinder　sticking　six　or　eight　feet　up　from　the　water‘s　surface；　and　in　it　were　a　few　jets　that　shot　water　more　or　less　straight　up；　though　today　shifting　winds　were　scattering　the　water　haphazardly　in　all　directions。　Crows　were　circling　the　water；　trying　occasionally　to　get　in；　but　defeated　by　the　swirling　sheets　of　clear　white　spray；　which　appeared　to　frighten　them。　What　were　the　crows　interested　in？　His　hands　searched　the　camera　case　for　the　200mm　lens；　which　he　attached　to　the　camera　body；　bringing　it　up　to　his　eyes　smoothly。
‘Sweet　Jesus！‘　Preis　instantly　shot　ten　rapid　frames。　Only　then　did　he　get　on　his　car　radio；　telling　his　base　office　to　notify　the　police　at　once。　He　switched　lenses　again；　this　time　selecting　a　300mm；　his　longest。　After　finishing　one　roll；　he　threaded　another；　this　one　100…speed　color。　He　steadied　the　camera　on　the　windowsill　of　the　tired　old　Chevy　and　fired　off　another　roll。　One　crow；　he　saw；　got　through　the　water；　settling　on　…
‘Oh；　God；　no　。。。‘　Because　it　was；　after　all；　a　human　body　there；　a　young　woman；　white　as　alabaster；　and　in　the　through…the…lens　optics；　he　could　see　the　crow　right　there；　its　clawed　feet　strutting　around　the　body；　its　pitiless　black　eyes　surveying　what　to　the　bird　was　nothing　more　than　a　large　and　diverse　meal。　Preis　sat　his　camera　down　and　shifted　his　car　into　gear。　He　violated　two　separate　traffic　laws　getting　as　close　to　the　fountain　as　he　could；　and　in　what　was　for　him　a　rare　case　of　humanity　overing　professionalism；　slammed　his　hand　down　on　the　horn；　hoping　to　startle　the　bird　away。　The　bird　looked　up；　but　saw　that　whatever　the　noise　came　from；　there　was　no　immediate　threat　here；　and　it　went　back　to　selecting　the　first　morsel　for　its　iron…hard　beak。　It　was　then　that　Preis　made　a　random　but　effective　guess。　He　blinked　his　lights　on　and　off；　and　to　the　bird　that　was　unusual　enough　that　it　thought　better　of　things　and　flew　away。　It　might　have　been　an　owl；　after　all；　and　the　meal　wasn‘t　going　anywhere。　The　bird　would　just　wait　for　the　threat　to　go　away　before　returning　to　eat。
‘What　gives？‘　a　cop　asked；　pulling　alongside。
‘There‘s　a　body　on　the　fountain。　Look。‘　He　handed　the　camera　over。
‘God；‘　the　policeman　breathed；　handing　it　back　after　a　long　quiet　moment。　He　made　the　radio　call　while　Preis　shot　another　roll。　Police　cars　arrived；　rather　like　the　crows；　one　at　a　time；　until　eight　were　parked　within　sight　of　the　fountain。　A　fire　truck　arrived　in　ten　minutes；　along　with　someone　from　the　department　of　Recreation　and　Parks；　trailering　a　boat　behind　his　pickup。　This　was　quickly　put