"Doherty, Jim - Death And Taxes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doherty Jim)

УPossible, but not likely. The doors are all locked at midnight. The only way
in is with a key or by buzzing the front desk clerk. That would mean heТd be
seen. Of course, he could have picked the lock to one of the side entrances of
the room wings. I doubt theyТre exactly state-of-the-art, but why bother when
all he has to do is check in, wait Сtil the few guests staying here are
asleep, and take care of business at his leisure. Besides, if it was somebody
from the outside, weТre screwed before we start. HeТs long gone by now. СTil
we can prove different, letТs just play the percentages, and assume itТs
somebody at hand.
УHow do we eliminate suspects?Ф asked Carpenter. He and Shep were starting to
get into this. Me too. I hadnТt exactly been passionate about being dragooned
into a murder case, but I had to admit it was stimulating. I mean, really this
was a transcendent law enforcement experience! Here I was snowbound in a
remote rural area with a small group of people, one of whom was (probably) a
professional killer, and I didnТt know which one. I was living an Agatha
Christie situation! How many copsТd that ever happened to?
УAgain, we play the odds. If weТre right about its being a professional job,
it wasnТt any of the Inn staff. TheyТve all been working here for years.
YesterdayТs Problem-Solving Day was scheduled just a few months ago, and
Coogan didnТt make reservations to stay here Сtil last week. Too much of a
coincidence for a contract killer to already be employed by the place his
victimТs staying.Ф
УOkay,Ф said Shep. УWho else?Ф
УWell, I know I didnТt do it, so I immediately eliminate myself. And as I
said, IТm reasonably sure you guys didnТt do it, because I happen to know that
you,Ф I pointed at Shep, Уreally are a computer consultant and free-lance
photographer, and you,Ф indicating Carpenter, Уreally are an eminent
psychiatrist and broadcast personality. Of course, these could be really
well-developed covers for your activities as hit men, but the odds are against
it. Getting a genuine degree in medicine or computer science is a lot of
trouble to go to just to conceal your criminal career. Coming up here was
whose idea?Ф
УMine,Ф said Carpenter.
УWell, Doc, of the two of you, youТre the least likely to be an undercover hit
man, just on account of your being way too high-profile. And if coming up here
was your idea, that helps eliminate Shep, because that means his being here at
the same time as Coogan is just a coincidence, not part of a carefully
worked-out plan.Ф
УYouТve convinced me,Ф said Shep. УWeТre both innocent. Who else?Ф
УI think Nelson and Fleischer, the two IRS guys staying up here, are out of
it,Ф I said, Уfor the same reason as both of you. We know theyТre bona fide
IRS employees. Of course, infiltrating a government agency would be very
advantageous for a professional criminal, but, once more, the percentages are
against it. I havenТt eliminated them as completely as you two, but, for the
moment, IТm not seriously considering them. The killerТs far more likely to be
someone whose background we know nothing about. That narrows it down to three
possibilities.Ф
УWhoТre they?Ф asked Carpenter.
УFather Hannigan, the priest, and Mr. and Mrs. Scalisi, the young couple. The
desk clerk says that the Scalisis made their reservation a few days after