cpatricia.blacknotice-第24部分

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　　〃You　go　on　home　and　get　some　rest；〃　I　replied。　〃I'm　going　to　do　the　same　thing。〃
　　〃Of　course　you　won't；〃　she　chided　me。　〃You'll　go　right　back　into　your　office　and　try　to　figure　everything　out。〃
　　She　was　right。　I　walked　back　to　the　building　as　she　drove　off；　and　I　wondered　how　I　could　be　so　foolish　as　to　have　gone　out　the　door　without　a　coat。　I　was　stiff　and　numb。　The　night　guard　shook　his　head。
　　〃Dr。　Scarpetta；　you　need　to　dress　warmer　than　that！〃
　　〃You're　absolutely　right；〃　I　said。
　　I　passed　the　magnetic　key　over　the　lock　and　the　first　set　of　glass　doors　clicked　free；　then　I　unlocked　the　one　to　my　wing　of　the　building。　It　was　absolutely　silent　inside；　and　when　I　turned　into　Ruth's　office；　I　stood　for　a　moment；　just　looking　around　at　upright　microputers　and　printers；　and　a　map　on　a　screen　that　showed　if　the　connections　to　our　other　offices　were　trouble…free。
　　The　floor　behind　her　desk　was　a　thick　hank　of　cables；　and　printouts　of　software　programming　that　made　no　sense　to　me　were　stacked　all　over　the　place。　I　scanned　crammed　bookshelves。　I　walked　over　to　filing　cabinets　and　tried　to　open　a　drawer。　Every　one　of　them　was　locked。
　　Good　for　you；　Ruth；　I　thought。
　　I　returned　to　my　office　and　tried　her　home　number。
　　〃Hello？〃　she　answered。
　　She　sounded　harried。　There　was　a　baby　screaming　in　the　background；　and　her　husband　was　saying　something　about　a　frying　pan。
　　〃I'm　sorry　to　bother　you　at　home；〃　I　said。
　　〃Dr。　Scarpetta；〃　she　was　very　surprised。　〃You're　not　bothering　me。　Frank；　can　you　take　her　in　the　other　room？〃
　　〃I've　got　just　one　quick　question；〃　I　said。　〃Is　there　a　place　you　keep　all　our　AOL　passwords？〃
　　〃Is　there　a　problem？〃　she　quickly　replied。
　　〃It　appears　someone　knows　my　password　and　is　signing　on　to　AOL　as　me。〃　I　didn't　mince　words。　〃I　want　to　know　how　someone　could　possibly　have　gotten　hold　of　my　password。　Is　there　any　way？〃
　　〃Oh；　no；〃　she　said；　dismayed。　〃Are　you　sure？〃
　　〃Yes：'
　　〃Obviously；　you　haven't　told　anybody　what　it　is；〃　she　suggested。
　　I　thought　hard　for　a　moment。　Not　even　Lucy　knew　my　password。　Nor　would　she　care。
　　〃Other　than　you；〃　I　said　to　Ruth；　〃I　can't　imagine　who。〃
　　〃You　know　I　wouldn't　give　it　to　anyone！〃
　　〃I　believe　that；〃　I　replied；　and　I　did。
　　For　one　thing；　Ruth　would　never　jeopardize　her　job　that　way。
　　〃I　keep　everyone's　addresses　and　passwords　in　a　puter　file　that　no　one　can　access；〃　she　said。
　　〃What　about　a　hard　copy？〃
　　〃In　a　file　in　a　filing　cabinet；　which　I　keep　locked。〃
　　〃At　all　times？〃
　　She　hesitated；　then　said；　〃Well；　not　all　the　time。　Certainly　after　hours；　but　they're　unlocked　much　of　the　day；　unless　I'm　in　and　out　a　lot。　But　I'm　in　my　office　most　of　the　time。　Really；　it's　only　when　I　get　coffee　and　eat　lunch　in　the　break　room。〃
　　〃What's　the　file's　name？〃　I　asked　as　paranoia　towered　like　storm　clouds。
　　〃E…mail；〃　she　replied；　knowing　how　I　was　going　to　feel　about　that。　〃Dr。　Scarpetta；　I've　got　thousands　of　files　filled　with　programming　codes　and　updates；　patches；　bugs；　new　things　ing　out；　you　name　it。　If　I　don't　label　them　fairly　precisely；　I　can　never　find　anything。〃
　　〃I　understand；〃　I　said。　〃I　have　the　same　problem：'
　　〃I　can　change　your　password　first　thing　in　the　morning。〃
　　〃That's　a　good　idea。　And　Ruth；　let's　not　put　it　anywhere　that　anyone　can　find　it　this　time。　Not　in　that　file；　okay？〃
　　〃I　hope　I'm　not　in　trouble；〃　she　uneasily　said　as　her　baby　continued　to　scream。
　　〃You　aren't；　but　someone　is；〃　I　told　her。　〃And　maybe　you　can　help　me　figure　out　who　that　is。〃
　　It　didn't　take　much　intuition　on　my　part　to　immediately　think　of　Ruffin。　He　was　clever。　It　was　obvious　he　didn't　like　me。　Ruth　routinely　kept　her　door　shut　so　she　could　concentrate。　I　didn't　suppose　it　would　have　been　hard　for　Ruffin　to　slip　inside　her　office　and　shut　the　door　while　she　was　in　the　break　room。
　　〃This　conversation　is　absolutely　confidential；〃　I　said　to　Ruth。　〃You　can't　even　tell　friends　or　family。〃
　　〃You　have　my　word　on　that。〃
　　〃What's　Chuck's　password？〃
　　〃R…O…O…S…T　R。　I　remember　because　it　irritated　me　when　he　wanted　it　assigned　to　him。　As　if　he's　the　rooster　in　the　henhouse；〃　she　said。　〃His　address；　as　you　probably　know；　is　C…H…U…K…O…C…M…E；　as　in　Chuck；　Office　of　the…Chief　Medical　Examiner。〃
　　〃And　what　if　I　were　signed　on　and　someone　else　tried　at　the　same　time？〃　I　then　asked。
　　〃The　person　trying　would　be　kicked　off　and　told　someone　was　already　signed　on。　There　would　be　an　error　message　and　an　alert。　Now　the　reverse　isn't　true。　If；　let's　say；　the　bad　guy's　already　signed　on　and　you　try；　although　you　get　the　error　message；　he　isn't　alerted　at　all。〃
　　〃So　someone　could　try　to　do　it　while　I'm　already　logged　on；　and　I'm　not　going　to　know　it。〃
　　〃Exactly。〃　。
　　〃Does　Chuck　have　a　home　puter？〃
　　〃He　asked　me　one　time　what　to　get　that　was　affordable；　and　I　told　him　to　try　a　consignment　shop。　I　gave　him　the　name　of　one。〃
　　〃The　name？〃
　　〃Disk　Thrift。　It's　owned　by　a　friend　of　mine。〃
　　〃Any　way　you　could　call　this　person　at　home　and　find　out　if　Chuck　bought　anything　from　them？〃
　　〃I　can　try。〃
　　〃I'll　be　at　the　office　for　a　while；〃　I　said。
　　I　brought　up　the　menu　on　my　puter　and　looked　at　the　icon　for　AOL。　I　logged　on　without　a　problem；　meaning　no　one　else　had　done　so　first。　I　was　tempted　to　sign　on　as　Ruffin　to　see　who　he　might　be　corresponding　with　and　if　it　；might　tell　me　more　about　what　he　was　up　to；　but　I　was　afraid。　I　was　chilled　by　the　thought　of　breaking　into　someone's　mailbox。
　　I　paged　Marino；　and　when　I　got　him　on　the　phone；　I　explained　the　situation　to　him　and　asked　his　opinion　about　what　I　should　do。
　　〃Hell；〃　he　said　without　pause。　〃I'd　do　it。　I　always　told　you　I　didn't　trust　that　little　shit。　And　you　know　what　else；　Doc？　How　do　you　know　he　hadn't　gone　into　your　mail　and　deleted　things；　or　even　sent　things　to　people　other　than　Rose？〃
　　〃You're　right；〃　I　said；　infuriated　by　the　idea。　〃I'll　let　you　know　what　I　find。〃
　　Ruth　called　back　minutes　later　and　sounded　excited。
　　〃He　bought　a　puter　and　printer　last　month；〃　she　reported。　〃For　about　six　hundred　dollars。　And　the　puter　came　with　a　modem。〃
　　〃And　we　have　AOL　software　here。〃
　　〃Tons　of　it。　If　he　didn't　buy　his　own；　he　certainly　could　have　gotten　his　hands　on　it：〃
　　〃We　may　have　a　very　serious　situation　on　our　hands。　It's　vital　you　don't　say　a　word；〃　I　reminded　her　again。
　　〃I've　never　liked　Chuck。〃
　　〃And　you　can't　say　that　to　people　either；〃　I　said。
　　I　hung　up　and　put　my　coat　on　and　felt　bad　about　Rose。　I　was　certain　she　was　upset。　It　wouldn't　have　surprised　me　if　she　had　cried　all　the　way　home。　She　was　stoical　and　rarely　conveyed　how　she　felt；　and　I　knew　if　she　thought　she　had　hurt　me；　she　would　be　undone。　I　went　out　to　my　car。　I　wanted　to　make　her　feel　better　and　I　needed　her　help。　Chuck's　e…mail　would　have　to　wait。　；〃
　　Rose　had　gotten　weary　of　running　a　house　and　had　moved　into　an　apartment　in　the　near　West　End；　off　Grove　Avenue；　several　blocks　from　a　café　called　Du　Jour；　where　I　now　and　then　ate　Sunday　brunch。　Rose　lived　ir~　an　old　three…story　dark　red　brick　building　shaded　by　big　oaks。　It　was　a　relatively　safe　area　of　town；　but　I　always　scanned　my　surroundings　before　I　got　out　of　my　car。　As　I　parked　next　to　Rose's　Honda；　I　noticed　what　looked　like　a　dark…colored　Taurus　several　cars　away。
　　Someone　was　sitting　inside　it；　engine　and　lights　off。　I　knew　that　most　unmarked　Richmond　police　cars　were　Tauiuses　these　days；　and　I　wondered　if　there　was　a　reason　a　cop　might　be　waiting　out　here　in　the　dark；　cold　air。　It　was　also　possible　the　person　was　waiting　for　someone　to　e　down　to　go　somewhere；　but　again；　one　generally　didn't　do　that　with　headlights　and　engine　off。
　　I　felt　I　was　being　watched　and　got　my　seven…shot　Smith　&　Wesson　revolver　out　of　my　satchel　and　slipped　it　into　my　coat　pocket。　I　followed　the　sidewalk　and　caught　the　car's　tag　number　on　the　front　bumper。　I　mitted　it　to　memory。　I　felt　eyes　on　my　back。
　　The　only　way　to　get　to　Rose's　third…floor　apartment　was　to　take　stairs　illuminated　wanly　by　a　single　light　overhead　at　each　landing。　I　was　anxious。　I　paused　every　few　steps　to　see　if　anyone　might　be　ing　up　behind　me