by Rex Burns
Wager turned back to Mauro. “What’s your routine when you lock up?”
“I make sure the temperature and humidity’s right in the conservatory; then I check the water timers and secure the conservatory doors. Then I check the education wing. Like Leon said, they’re supposed to lock their own areas, but I check just in case; they’ve screwed up more than once over there. Then the thermostats in the lobby area … windows in the offices and gift shop. Then I mop the toilets and the lobby. Then I leave.”
“See?” said Duncan. “He has a lot to do when he locks up.”
“Yes, sir. Do you use the north doors, too, Mr. Mauro?”
“Yeah. There’s only one set to lock.”
“Do any of you know any females matching the victim’s description—maybe twenty-five, short blond hair, regular features?”
“Do I know any?” answered Duncan. “Well, I see them around, you know, in the supermarket and such. But I sure don’t know any.”
Mauro and Mazzotti shook their heads.
“Could I have your address, Mr. Mauro, in case I have to get in touch with you again?”
“It’s 1308 Garfield. Upstairs.”
Upstairs. In that neighborhood, it meant a room or small apartment in a private home. “Do you live alone?”
“Yeah.”
Wager wondered if his weariness made Mauro seem distant and almost sullen. God knew he was too tired now to come up with any more questions, and when he reached that stage the whole world seemed sullen. But at least by now his mind told him he had done enough, and he knew it would finally let him sleep. “Thanks a lot.”
On his way back to the car, he glimpsed the lab technicians taking down the “CRIME SCENE” signs and saw the senior citizens finally line up at the admission window—and thought he heard a cracked female voice ask, “What? What do they want now?”
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
copyright © 1977 by Rex Raoul Stephen Sehler Burns
cover design by Michel Vrana
978-1-4532-4789-1
This edition published in 2012 by Open Road Integrated Media
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