Going Nuclear. Stephen Hart
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Название: Going Nuclear
Автор: Stephen Hart
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Зарубежная драматургия
isbn: 9781456620745
isbn:
“If there’s something there; if we can find some sort of connection. We’ll just have to see what you can come up with.”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can learn.”
“Fine, fine. You do that.”
That afternoon, Vic called his wife at work from a pay phone. “Hello, Cathy?”
“Hello, Vic. Is something wrong?”
“No, no emergency or anything. Why do you ask?”
“I don’t think you’ve ever called me at work before.”
“Well, I was just wondering if you were going to be late this evening.”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to tell. Things always seem to come up at the last minute. Why, is something going on this evening? Do you have something planned?”
“No. I’ve just had a bad day, that’s all. I wasn’t planning anything special. I thought maybe we could talk.”
“Oh, I see. What happened?”
“It’s just . . . this new guy I have to report to now. And it’s my new assignment, too. It’s like everything is changing. I don’t know if things are going to work out all that well.”
“You’re not thinking about quitting, are you? You have at least five years until you can retire. You’re going to make it, aren’t you?”
“I guess. It’s just that I feel like I’m getting caught up in something dirty, and this new guy isn’t anything like John used to be. I mean, I could talk to John. This new guy is ambitious and sounds like he wants to make a reputation for himself at other people’s expense, and—”
“Oh, hold on a second. Bob just handed me a note. Let me read it real quick here. Okay, I am going to have to stay late tonight. I’m sorry, but I just got this.”
“That’s okay. I’m getting used to it.”
“Well, it’s not like we were going to do anything, and this really is a good job.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll see you whenever.” Vic pulled down hard on the phone as he hung up.
That same day, Arthur stopped by the campus newspaper rack on his way out of the chemistry building and picked up a copy of the latest edition. But as he made his way toward the exit, his eye caught the headline on the front page, and he came to an abrupt halt. Splashed across the top was a picture to Joshua with a story reporting that he had been found dead in his apartment. Arthur couldn’t believe it. He went outside to the front steps of the building and sat down. What the hell was going on? Did this have anything to do with Joshua’s activism in SDS? The recent demonstration? Had the campus police finally gone completely insane? According to the article, the police had no idea who killed Joshua or why. But the whole thing seemed extremely fishy to Arthur, and before he knew it, he found himself at the campus police station demanding to see someone.
“We have a special investigator working on this case,” droned the uniformed police officer at the counter, sounding bored. “Mr. Ringham, FBI.”
“Why the FBI?”
“I think it has something to do with Joshua Taylor being from another state. The investigation is going to go beyond what we would normally do locally. Mr. Ringham will be here this afternoon. If you want to come back, I’m sure he’ll happy to see you. In the meantime, I can take your name and address.”
“Fine. I’ll be here.”
That afternoon, Arthur was ushered into a back office where Mr. Ringham, a thin man with short gray hair and wearing a gray flannel suit sat behind a desk. “Would you like something to drink?” Ringham asked. “We have coffee and water. I think there’s a Coke machine.”
“No, thanks. I came here because this whole thing sounds suspicious as hell to me. Why would anyone murder a grad student for no reason?”
“Suppose you tell me,” Ringham replied patiently. He leaned forward.
“I have no idea. I didn’t know Joshua, except for seeing him around the chemistry department. The only thing I can think of is, it may be related somehow to what happened last Friday.”
“What happened last Friday?”
“Joshua and I were at an antiwar demonstration in front of the administration building, and the campus police tried to break it up. When they did, Joshua yelled something at them, and then one of the cops came after him and tried to hit him with a club. The cop ended up chasing us across campus.”
“So you were participating in the demonstration as well?”
“Yes, I was. It’s not against the law, you know.”
“I know,” Ringham sighed. “And now you think the campus police killed him in retribution because he yelled something at one of them.”
“Blacks have been killed for less in this country. Joshua was from a poor background, probably ghetto. He was used to seeing police brutality.”
“Right. Of course, we are talking about the campus police at the University of Illinois.” Ringham let out another small sigh. “I hate to disillusion you, but I think you’ll find that the police here have an excellent record when it comes to handling student demonstrations. I think you’ll find that police brutality and murder are not exactly problems. Like everyone else these days, the University has had to put their people through rigorous training aimed at handling protesters.”
“Of course, you would say that.”
“Why?” said Ringham, raising his eyebrows. “You think I’m part of the department here? I’m not. I’m an investigator for the federal government, FBI. And my guess is, we’re more interested in finding out what happened to Mr. Taylor than you are. But the campus police are not on our list of suspects.”
“So you have a list of suspects?”
“We have some leads. By the way, do you know the whereabouts of a white girl named Billie Lee, blonde, about five-seven?”
“No, but I told you I didn’t know Joshua very well, or his friends either, for that matter. Could that have been the problem, though? Him dating a white girl?”
“I don’t think so, but I do believe you when you say you didn’t know Joshua Taylor very well.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just so you know, Mr. Taylor did not come from a ghetto background. His father is a high school principal in St. Louis, and his mother is a history teacher there. Mr. Taylor was a high school track star and an honor student. As an undergraduate, he regularly made the dean’s list and participated in student government. He was middle class all СКАЧАТЬ