"David,.Peter.-.Howling.Mad" - читать интересную книгу автора (David Peter)

bringing this guy in."
Parsons looked at the maimed corpse in front of him and said, "Cause of death?"
DeFalco looked at the body clinically. "I'd have to say being gutted is what
caused it."
"Doctor," said Parsons stiffly. "I hardly think this is an appropriate time for
levity.''
"Why not? Afraid we're going to offend the patient?" DeFalco harrumphed to
himself.
"What caused thisЕ this hideousness? Some sort of accident?''
"Accident, my ass," replied DeFalco. "Something very deliberately ripped this
poor bastard apart. Consumed part of him, includingЕ" and he read off a quick
list he'd jotted down of missing or partially devoured organs and limbs. Then
with his rubber-gloved hands he picked up a bone. "Thigh bone," he said. "Used
to be connected to the hip bone. And the hip bone's conЧ"
"DeFalco, you'll be pleased to know that I have every intention of sending you
on a lengthy vacation after this. What's the point of this recitation? I want
you to answer myЧ"
"I am answering it," said DeFalco patiently. He pointed to the lower half of the
bone. "Teeth marks."
"Human?"
DeFalco's face twisted in disgust. "Now you're making me ill. No, of course not
human. Canine. Lupine, if I'm not mistaken."
"A wolf did this?" Parsons frowned. "That's very unusual. I don't recall
instances of wolves just coming into the city and attacking someone. Perhaps it
was rabid?"
"Maybe. I'll try running blood tests or see if I can find some trace of the
animal's saliva, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it." He adjusted his glasses
once more. "But the thing I really wanted to call your attention toЧ"
"There's more?" said Parsons with marked unenthusiasm.
"Oh, yeah. What, you thought I just wanted to gross you out?"
Parsons leaned back and drummed his fingers on a gurney. "It crossed my mind."
"I found something that scares the crap out of me. I took measurements on the
teeth marks. As near as I can tell, judging from the width, estimating the size
of the head of the creature that did the bitingЧI'd say we're dealing with a
wolf that's at least eight feet long."
Parsons stared at him for a moment and then started to laugh. "You're joking, of
course."
"I wish. You wish."
"Why don't you just say he was eaten by a great white shark? It's certainly
about as believable. What kind of wolf grows to be eight feet long?"
DeFalco waved the thigh bone. "The kind who can do this. Without breaking a
sweat."
Parsons stopped drumming his fingers. "DoctorЕ who else have you told about
this? The police? Anybody?"
"The police know he was killed by a wild animal, obviously. But they don't know
about the size of it. They figured a bear, not a giant wolf.''
"Good. So let's keep this between ourselves, all right? No sense in alarming the
city. The press hasn't picked up on this yet, so let's see if we can keep things
quiet.''
"Sounds like a great idea to me."