demille.thegeneralsdaughter-第79部分

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　Ann　Campbell's　home　was　still　there；　as　well　as　the　humvee　and　her　BMW；　but　her　office　was　gone。　Nevertheless；　Grace　Dixon　sat　at　a　camp　desk；　yawning；　in　front　of　an　IBM　personal　puter。
　She　looked　up　at　us　as　we　approached　and　said；　〃I　requisitioned　another　PC。　I'm　sorting　files；　reading　letters　and　diaries；　but　not　printing　out；　as　you　said。　You　got　that　stuff　on　Yardley　that　I　sent　you？〃
　〃Yes；〃　I　replied。　〃Thanks。〃
　Grace　said；　〃This　is　very　hot　stuff　here。　I　love　it。〃
　〃Take　a　cold　shower　tonight；　Grace。〃
　She　laughed　and　wiggled　her　ample　rear　end　in　the　seat。　〃I'm　sticking　to　the　chair。〃
　Cynthia　asked；　〃Where　are　you　staying　tonight？〃
　〃Guest　house　on　post。　I'll　sleep　with　the　disk。　No　men。　Promise。〃　She　added；　〃The　post　chaplain　is　in　this　diary。　Is　nothing　sacred？〃
　I　wanted　to　point　out　that　sleeping　with　a　goddess　was　itself　a　sacrament；　but　I　didn't　think　either　of　the　two　ladies　would　appreciate　it。　I　asked　Grace；　〃Can　you　print　out　all　entries　that　mention　the　name　of　Colonel　William　Kent？〃
　〃Sure。　I've　seen　him　in　here。　I　can　scan　for　that。　What's　his　job　or　title　in　case　it's　under　that？〃
　〃He's　the　provost　marshal。　Known　to　friends　as　Bill。〃
　〃Right。　I　saw　him　in　here。　You　want　printouts　every　time　his　name　appears；　right？〃
　〃Correct。　Also；　the　FBI　may　be　around　tonight　or　early　tomorrow。　The　MPs　outside　will　not　stop　them　from　ing　through　that　door。　But　if　you　see　the　type　walking　across　the　hangar；　you　take　the　disk　out　and　make　believe　you're　typing　a　report。　Okay？〃
　〃Sure。　But　what　if　they　have　a　court　order　or　a　search　warrant　or　something？〃
　It's　easier　to　deal　with　military　types　because　they　follow　orders。　Civilians　want　explanations　and　ask　too　many　questions。　I　replied　to　her；　〃Grace；　you're　just　typing　reports。　Put　the　disk　on　your　person；　and　if　they　want　to　look　under　your　dress；　slap　them。〃
　She　laughed。　〃What　if　they're　cute？〃
　Obviously；　something　had　fired　up　this　woman's　libido。
　Cynthia　said　to　her；　〃It's　really　important；　Grace；　that　no　one　but　us　three　sees　that　stuff。〃
　〃Okay。〃
　I　asked　her；　〃Is　Cal　Seiver　still　here？〃
　〃Yes。　He's　grabbing　some　cot　time　over　there。〃　Grace　was　playing　with　the　keys　again。　I　don't　know　much　about　puters；　and　I　want　to　know　less。　But　people　like　Grace；　who　are　into　them；　are　a　little　weird。　They　can't　seem　to　break　away　from　the　screen；　and　they　sit　there；　talk；　type；　mumble；　curse；　squeal　with　delight；　and　probably　go　without　sex；　sleep；　and　food　for　extended　periods。　Actually；　I　guess　that　goes　for　me；　too。　Cynthia　and　I　left　Grace　without　bothering　her　with　a　farewell。
　I　rolled　a　chalkboard　in　front　of　her　so　that　anyone　ing　in　the　door　wouldn't　see　her；　then　we　found　Cal　Seiver　in　a　deep　sleep　on　a　cot；　and　I　woke　him。　He　stood　unsteadily　and　seemed　confused　by　his　surroundings。
　I　gave　him　a　few　seconds；　then　asked　him；　〃Did　you　find　anything　new　and　interesting？〃
　〃No；　we're　just　putting　it　all　in　order　now。〃
　〃You　have　disqualifying　footprints　and　fingerprints　from　Colonel　Kent？〃
　〃Sure。〃
　〃Did　you　find　any　of　his　prints　out　at　the　scene？　On　the　humvee；　on　her　handbag；　the　latrines？〃
　He　thought　a　moment；　then　said；　〃No。　But　his　bootprints　are　all　over。　I　took　boot　impressions　from　him　to　disqualify　those。〃
　〃Did　you　get　Colonel　Moore's　shoes？〃
　〃Sure　did。　I　pared　them　to　unidentified　plaster　casts。　They　lead　right　to　the　body；　then　back　to　the　road。〃
　〃Do　you　have　a　diagram　yet？〃
　〃Sure。〃　He　walked　over　to　a　rolling　bulletin　board　and　snapped　on　a　portable　light。　Tacked　to　the　board　was　a　four…foot…by…eight…foot　diagram　of　the　murder　scene。　The　scene　took　in　a　stretch　of　road；　the　victim's　parked　humvee；　the　beginning　of　the　bleachers；　and；　on　the　other　side　of　the　road；　a　small　section　of　the　firing　range　that　included　a　few　pop…up　targets　and　a　sketch　of　a　spread…eagled　figure　that　the　artist　had　rendered　sexless。
　Footprints　were　marked　by　colored　pins；　and　there　was　a　legend　at　the　bottom　of　the　board　identifying　the　known　owners　of　the　boot…and　shoeprints；　with　black　pins　indicating　unknown　owners　or　unclear　footprints。　Little　arrows　showed　directions；　and　notes　indicated　whether　the　prints　were　fresh；　old；　rained　on；　and　so　forth。　In　cases　where　a　print　was　superimposed　on　another　print；　the　most　recent　print　had　a　longer　pin。　There　were　other　notes　and　explanations　to　try　to　add　some　clarity　to　the　chaos。　Eventually；　this　whole　board　would　be　fed　into　a　puter；　and　you　would　see　a　more　graphic　display；　including；　if　you　wished；　the　prints　appearing　one　after　another；　as　if　a　ghost　were　walking。　Also；　you　could　eliminate　or　call　up　any　set　of　prints　you　wanted。　But　for　now；　I　had　to　make　do　with　my　own　experience；　and　that　of　Cynthia　and　Cal　Seiver。
　Seiver　said；　〃We　really　haven't　analyzed　this。　That's　sort　of　your　job。〃
　〃Right。　I　remember　that　from　the　manual。〃
　He　added；　〃We've　got　to　spiffy　this　up　a　little　for　the　FBI。　There's　too　many　variables　and　unknowns　here；　including　the　fact　we　don't　have　the　footwear　that　you　wore。〃
　〃That　might　be　in　the　VOQ　now。〃
　〃When　people　hold　off　on　providing　footprints；　I　get　suspicious。〃
　〃Fuck　off；　Cal。〃
　〃Right。〃　He　looked　at　the　legend　and　said；　〃Colonel　Moore　is　yellow。〃
　I　replied；　〃Colonel　Kent　is　who　we　want。〃
　Pause。　〃Kent？〃
　〃Kent。〃　I　looked　at　the　legend。　Kent　was　blue。
　We　all　studied　the　diagram；　and；　in　the　quiet　hangar；　you　could　hear　the　puter　printer　spewing　out　paper。
　I　said　to　Cal　Seiver；　〃Talk　to　me。〃
　〃Right。〃　Seiver　began；　and；　from　what　he　was　saying；　it　appeared　that　Colonel　William　Kent　had　visited　the　body　no　fewer　than　three　times。　Cal　explained；　〃See；　here　he　walks　from　the　road　to　the　body。　Stops　very　near　the　body；　probably　kneels　or　squats　because；　when　he　turns；　his　prints　rotate；　then　he　probably　stands　and　goes　back　to　the　road。　This　was　probably　the　first　time；　when　he　went　out　there　with　his　MP　who　found　the　body　。。。　See；　here's　her　print　。。。　Casey。　She's　green。　Then　the　next　time　may　have　been　here　where　he　acpanied　you　and　Cynthia　with　her　running　shoes。　Cynthia　is　white。〃　He　managed　to　remind　me　again；　〃You're　black。　Lots　of　black。　I'll　give　you　pink　pins　when　I　get　your　boots。　But　for　now；　I　can't　tell　you　from…〃
　〃Okay。　I　get　it。　How　about　the　third　time　he　walked　out　to　the　body？〃
　Cal　shrugged。　〃He　walked　there　when　I　was　there；　but　we　had　tarps　down　by　then。　I　guess　he　went　out　to　the　body　more　than　once　before　you　two　got　there；　because　it　seems　that　we've　got　three　trails　of　his　prints　from　the　road　to　the　body。　But　even　that's　hard　to　say　for　sure　because　no　trail　is　plete。　We　got　prints　over　prints；　and　we　got　soft　ground　and　hard　ground；　and　grass。〃
　〃Right。〃　We　all　studied　the　pins；　the　arrows；　and　the　notations。
　I　said；　〃There　was　a　man　and　woman　out　there　also；　wearing　civilian　shoes。　I　could　get　you　the　shoes；　but　what　I'm　interested　in　is　Colonel　Kent。　I　think　he　visited　the　scene　earlier；　probably　in　uniform；　with　the　same　boots　he　wore　later；　somewhere　between；　say；　0245　and　0330　hours。〃
　Cal　Seiver　thought　a　moment；　then　replied；　〃But　the　body　wasn't　found　until　。。。　what　time？　。。。　0400；　by　the　duty　sergeant；　St。　John。〃
　I　didn't　reply。
　Seiver　scratched　his　bald　head　and　stared　at　the　diagram。　〃Well　。。。　could　be　。。。　I　mean；　here's　something　that　doesn't　make　sense　。。。　here's　St。　John's　bootprint。　Orange。　That's　a　definite。　The　guy　had　a　wad　of　gum　on　his　sole　and　it　printed。　Okay　。。。　so　here　we　have　St。　John's　bootprint；　and　it　seems　to　be　superimposed　on　a　bootprint　that　we　think　is　Colonel　Kent's。　Kent　had　very　new　boots　with　clear　tread。　So　。。。　I　mean；　if　St。　John　was　there　at　0400　hours；　and　Colonel　Kent　didn't　arrive　until　the　MPs　called　him　at　what　。。。　after　0500　hours；　then　St。　John's　bootprint　on　top　of　Kent's　bootprint　wouldn't　make　sense。　But　you　have　to　understand　that　while　we　can　ID　the　impressions　of　most　footwear　if　the　medium　is　good…snow；　mud；　soft　soil；　and　such…it's　not　as　precise　as　fingerprints。　And　in　this　case；　where　we　have　two　good　prints；　we　can't　say　for　certain　which　was　superimposed　on　which。〃
　〃But　you　have　St。　John's　noted　as　being　superimposed　on　Kent's。〃
　〃Well；　that's　a　judgment　call　by　the　tech。　Could　be　a　mis