JК
The Lunatic Cafe :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 34 из 234He had saidthank you.
"The likes of me? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Let it go, Anita."
I looked up at Dolph. I didn't want to let it go. I sipped at the coffee. The smell alone made me feel less angry, more relaxed. I stared into Titus's little piggy eyes and smiled.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
I opened my mouth to say, you, but the coffee man interrupted. "I'm Samuel Williams. I'm the caretaker here. I live in the little house behind the nature center. I found the body." He held his now-empty tray down at his side.
"I'm Sergeant Storr, Mr. Williams. These are my associates, Detective Perry, and Ms. Blake."
Williams dunked his head in acknowledgment.
"You know all of us, Samuel," Titus said.
"Yes, I do," Williams said. He didn't seem too excited about knowing them all.
He nodded at Chief Garroway and his deputies. "I told Deputy Holmes that I didn't think it was a natural animal. I still don't, but if it is a bear, it slaughtered that man. Any animal that'll do that once will do it again." He looked down at the snow, then up, like a man rising from deep water. "It ate parts of that man. It stalked him and treated him like a prey animal. If it really is a bear, it needs to be caught before it kills somebody else."
"Samuel here has a degree in biology," Titus said.
"So do I," I said. Of course, my degree was in preternatural biology, but hey, biology is biology, right?
"I'm working on my doctorate," Williams said.
"Yeah, studying owl shit," Aikensen said.
It was hard to tell, but I think Williams blushed. "I'm studying the feeding habits of the barred owl."
I had a degree in biology. I knew what that meant. He was collecting owl shit and regurgitated pellets to dissect. So Aikensen was right. Sort of.
"Will your doctorate be in ornithology or strigiology?" I asked. I was proud of myself for remembering the Latin name for owls.
Williams looked at me with a sense of kinship in his eyes. "Ornithology."
Titus looked like he'd swallowed a worm. "I don't need no college degree to know a bear attack when I see it."
"The last reported bear sighting in St. Gerard County was in 1941," Williams said. "I don't think there's ever been a bear attack reported." The implication just sat there. How did Titus know a bear attack from beans if he'd never seen one?
Titus threw his coffee out on the snow. "Listen here, college boy—"
"Maybe it is a bear," Dolph said.
We all looked at him. Titus nodded. "That's what I've been saying.
"The likes of me? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Let it go, Anita."
I looked up at Dolph. I didn't want to let it go. I sipped at the coffee. The smell alone made me feel less angry, more relaxed. I stared into Titus's little piggy eyes and smiled.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
I opened my mouth to say, you, but the coffee man interrupted. "I'm Samuel Williams. I'm the caretaker here. I live in the little house behind the nature center. I found the body." He held his now-empty tray down at his side.
"I'm Sergeant Storr, Mr. Williams. These are my associates, Detective Perry, and Ms. Blake."
Williams dunked his head in acknowledgment.
"You know all of us, Samuel," Titus said.
"Yes, I do," Williams said. He didn't seem too excited about knowing them all.
He nodded at Chief Garroway and his deputies. "I told Deputy Holmes that I didn't think it was a natural animal. I still don't, but if it is a bear, it slaughtered that man. Any animal that'll do that once will do it again." He looked down at the snow, then up, like a man rising from deep water. "It ate parts of that man. It stalked him and treated him like a prey animal. If it really is a bear, it needs to be caught before it kills somebody else."
"Samuel here has a degree in biology," Titus said.
"So do I," I said. Of course, my degree was in preternatural biology, but hey, biology is biology, right?
"I'm working on my doctorate," Williams said.
"Yeah, studying owl shit," Aikensen said.
It was hard to tell, but I think Williams blushed. "I'm studying the feeding habits of the barred owl."
I had a degree in biology. I knew what that meant. He was collecting owl shit and regurgitated pellets to dissect. So Aikensen was right. Sort of.
"Will your doctorate be in ornithology or strigiology?" I asked. I was proud of myself for remembering the Latin name for owls.
Williams looked at me with a sense of kinship in his eyes. "Ornithology."
Titus looked like he'd swallowed a worm. "I don't need no college degree to know a bear attack when I see it."
"The last reported bear sighting in St. Gerard County was in 1941," Williams said. "I don't think there's ever been a bear attack reported." The implication just sat there. How did Titus know a bear attack from beans if he'd never seen one?
Titus threw his coffee out on the snow. "Listen here, college boy—"
"Maybe it is a bear," Dolph said.
We all looked at him. Titus nodded. "That's what I've been saying.