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Circus of the Damned :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 143 из 210Bert finally picked it up and growled, "Yeah, what is it?"
He listened for a minute, then glared at me. "It's for you." His voice was incredibly mild as he said it. "Detective Sergeant Storr, police business."
Bert's face was smiling, butter wouldn't have melted in his mouth.
I held out my hand for the phone without another word. He handed me the receiver. He was still smiling, his tiny grey eyes warm and sparkling. It was a bad sign.
"Hi, Dolph, what's up?"
"We're at the lawyer's office that your friend Veronica Sims gave us. Nice that she called you first and not us."
"She called you second, didn't she?"
"Yeah."
"What have you found out?" I didn't bother to keep my voice down. If you're careful, one side of a conversation isn't very enlightening.
"Reba Baker is the dead woman. They identified her from morgue photos."
"Pleasant way to end the work week," I said.
Dolph ignored that. "Both victims were clients with dying wills. If they died by vampire bite, they wanted to be staked, then cremated."
"Sounds like a pattern to me," I said.
"But how did the vampires find out that they had dying wills?"
"Is this a trick question, Dolph? Someone told them."
"I know that," he said. He sounded disgusted.
I was missing something. "What do you want from me, Dolph?"
"I've questioned everyone, and I'd swear they were all telling the truth. Could someone have been giving the information and not remember?"
"You mean could the vampire have played mind games, so that the traitor wouldn't know afterwards?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Sure," I said.
"Could you tell which one the vampire got to if you were here?"
I glanced at my boss's face. If I missed another night during our busiest season, he might fire me. There were days when I didn't think I'd care. This wasn't one of them. "Look for memory losses; hours, or even entire nights."
"Anything else?"
"If someone has been feeding info to the vampires, they may not remember it, but a good hypnotist will be able to raise the memory."
"The lawyer is screaming about rights and warrants. We've only got a warrant for the files, not for their minds."
"Ask him if he wants to be responsible for tonight's murder victim, one of his own clients?"
"She; the lawyer's a woman," he said.
How embarrassing and how sexist of me. "Ask her if she's willing to explain to her client's family why she obstructed your investigation."
"The clients won't know unless we let it out," he said.
"That's true," I said.
He listened for a minute, then glared at me. "It's for you." His voice was incredibly mild as he said it. "Detective Sergeant Storr, police business."
Bert's face was smiling, butter wouldn't have melted in his mouth.
I held out my hand for the phone without another word. He handed me the receiver. He was still smiling, his tiny grey eyes warm and sparkling. It was a bad sign.
"Hi, Dolph, what's up?"
"We're at the lawyer's office that your friend Veronica Sims gave us. Nice that she called you first and not us."
"She called you second, didn't she?"
"Yeah."
"What have you found out?" I didn't bother to keep my voice down. If you're careful, one side of a conversation isn't very enlightening.
"Reba Baker is the dead woman. They identified her from morgue photos."
"Pleasant way to end the work week," I said.
Dolph ignored that. "Both victims were clients with dying wills. If they died by vampire bite, they wanted to be staked, then cremated."
"Sounds like a pattern to me," I said.
"But how did the vampires find out that they had dying wills?"
"Is this a trick question, Dolph? Someone told them."
"I know that," he said. He sounded disgusted.
I was missing something. "What do you want from me, Dolph?"
"I've questioned everyone, and I'd swear they were all telling the truth. Could someone have been giving the information and not remember?"
"You mean could the vampire have played mind games, so that the traitor wouldn't know afterwards?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Sure," I said.
"Could you tell which one the vampire got to if you were here?"
I glanced at my boss's face. If I missed another night during our busiest season, he might fire me. There were days when I didn't think I'd care. This wasn't one of them. "Look for memory losses; hours, or even entire nights."
"Anything else?"
"If someone has been feeding info to the vampires, they may not remember it, but a good hypnotist will be able to raise the memory."
"The lawyer is screaming about rights and warrants. We've only got a warrant for the files, not for their minds."
"Ask him if he wants to be responsible for tonight's murder victim, one of his own clients?"
"She; the lawyer's a woman," he said.
How embarrassing and how sexist of me. "Ask her if she's willing to explain to her client's family why she obstructed your investigation."
"The clients won't know unless we let it out," he said.
"That's true," I said.