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her over," said Gomez.
"Most unfortunate." The chubby sergeant tugged at a corner of his bristly
moustache. "She was quite shaken up."
"Seriously injured?"
"We're anticipating that she was not, Herr Gomez. But she is at the
Wayfarer's Hospital just now for observation--Moritz, be sure to phone later
to ask about Sister Jonquil's condition." "I intended to."
The film ended and Gomez asked, "This footage, you said, was taken by your
monitor camera system?"
"We have robocams that circulate through the town, feeding pictures back here
to our central monitor screens. That way we keep track of what's going on all
across St. Norbert."
"This snippet you've so kindly screened for me," mentioned the detective, "is
not especially lengthy. It doesn't show anyone entering the theater, not even
Sister Jonquil."
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Nodding ruefully, the sergeant replied, "Because of our last budget cuts we
can't keep the cameras running all the time."
Gomez leaned against the wall. "Have you determined what caused the
explosion?"
"Not yet," answered Dibble. "We're certain it wasn't an accident."
"What about the Bonecas?" "Alas," sighed Moritz. "Dead?"
Dibble said, "We found the remains of two people, a man and a woman, in the
ruins of the theater, along with the remains of some twenty five or so
mechanical puppets. It hasn't yet been determined if the bodies are those of
Boneca and his wife." "They aren't anywhere else," reminded
Moritz.
"True. The puppeteers left their hotel, apparently headed for the theater, a
good hour prior to the explosion. There is no trace of them anywhere in town."
"Where's the Wayfarer's Hospital located?"
After giving him directions, the police sergeant asked, "Why is the
prestigious Cosmos Detective Agency interested in this pair of
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wandering players?"
"It's a routine insurance matter," Gomez lied. Smiling at them, he eased
toward the door.
Gomez frowned over the top of the bunch of yellow plazroses he was carrying.
"Are you sure, doctor?"
The handsome blond android physician nodded. "We advised her to remain here
longer," he said, "but she insisted on signing herself out.
She had to get back to her convent at once."
The lobby of the Wayfarer's Hospital was walled with pl asti glass and
afforded a sweeping view of Alpine peaks.
Gomez let his bouquet swing down to his side. "I don't suppose
Sister Jonquil mentioned which convent she was affiliated with?" The android
medic said, "You know, she didn't." "What did she leave in--land cab or sky
cab
"As a matter of fact, she persuaded one of our robot interns to fetch her own
land car which she'd left at her hotel parking lot."
"Do you know where she headed from here?"
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"Downhill is all I saw," said the doctor. "You seem, mein herr,
most eager to find her."
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"I feel a sudden need for religious guidance," explained Gomez,
handing him the flowers. "Give these to somebody who doesn't have any."
"Why, thank you. You intend to try to find her?"
"I plan to, yes."
"It'll be next to impossible, won't it?"
"It'll be," said Gomez, "challenging."
Ten of the robot dogs started barking when Gomez entered the shop.
"Quiet, you fiends!" cried the proprietor of SnoHounds, Ltd.
"Stop that nerve wracking din!"
"I'm in search of Helmut Kolb, Jr.," shouted the detective. The proprietor, a
lean, balding man in his fifties, came out from behind
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his desk. "They're not supposed to bark like this," he said apologetically.
"Silence!"
There were fifteen mechanical dogs, most of them St. Bernard size, in the
small showroom. Each chrome plated mechanical animal occupied its own
pedestal. Seven of the largest continued to bark in deep tinny voices.
"Is Helmut Kolb, Jr." hereabouts?" asked Gomez loudly. "Just a moment, mein
herr. "The owner yanked out a stun gun Gomez pulled his stun gun as well. "If
you're contemplating--" "Nein, nein, relax. I
merely use this to control those idiotic tin hounds," he explained.
"Look, you devils! You see this gun? Stop your yowling at once!"
All but one of the robot dogs turned silent.
A huge glistening one, glaring directly at Gomez, kept on gruffing loudly.
"I warned you!" The proprietor fired.
The beam hit the big mechanical dog in the chest. He ceased barking, his mouth
snapping shut with a clang. Then, after taking three wobbly steps backwards on
his display pedestal, he teetered and fell. He smacked the showroom floor with
an echoing thunk.
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"No wonder business has been so rotten." The owner holstered his gun.
"Nobody wants to rent a mountain guide dog who is so rowdy and ill mannered
Glancing from the fallen SnoHound to the balding man, Gomez said, "I [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]