"Mel Gilden - Zoot Marlow 2 - Hawaiian UFO Aliens" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gilden Mel)

reality any more than I had already.
'It's a necklace made from blowfish spines.'
'Uh huh,' I said, studying the necklace.
Will smiled and went on, 'I got it in Hawaii, if that's any help. It came with some kind of certificate of
authenticity, but we lost it somewhere between the store and the hotel.'
'Sure,' I said. 'That explains everything.' I bounced the pile of spines in my hand.
'What's the matter?' Bingo said. Both she and Whipper Will waited for me to say something smart.
Instead of doing that, I said. 'The necklace just kind of reminds me of a little item I thought you could
only find in Bay City.'
What item?' Whipper Will said. 'Sort of a piece of native handicraft.'
When I didn't continue, Will said, 'Anything you say, Zoot.'
 Will wasn't helping me. He might not be able to help me even if I told him that I'd thought the nearest
slaberingeo spines were aboard the Philip Marlowe, somewhere off the coast of Malibu.
To change the subject, I said. 'What is this other stuff?'
'Beads and trinkets for the natives. Household tikis for good luck, puka shell necklaces, plastic leis,
beach sand in a bottle.'
'Cowabunga,' Will said seriously. 'I guess it really did have your name on it.' He looked around the
room. The little statues and bottles of sand had been lined up on the fireplace mantle. Hanger was
wearing a shell necklace, and Mustard was on the floor again, a plastic lei draped casually around a foot
beating time to the music on a TV car commercial that was otherwise being ignored.
A little too loudly, Will said, 'Zoot, will you help us haul our traps into the bedroom?'
I slipped the necklace around my neck and flicked my tie over it. Matching Will's delivery, I said that
I would be delighted, and picked up an overnight bag I could carry without dragging it on the ground.
Will and Bingo and I manhandled the luggage into the bedroom. Bill walked to the Rotwang 5000 and
said, 'Anybody for a quick game of Motorcycle Contra-Zombies?'
'Not right now, Bill,' I said. 'Come over here.'
He joined me at the doorway while Bingo and Whipper Will began to unpack. From the bottom of
one suitcase Will pulled a folded newspaper that he handed to me. Bill looked at it over my wrist as I
read the big words at the top of the front page: The Interstate Eyeball. Under it were headlines that
screamed, 'Elvis is my Pool Man!' and 'Chickens From Atlantis Lay Crystal Eggs that Restore Women's
Sight?' and, 'Man Attacked by his Toupee!'
'Wow!' said Bill. 'A lot happened while you were gone.'
I said, 'Yeah. A lot of creative journalism. Is this what passes for news in Hawaii?'
'Only in supermarket checkout lines. But take a look at this.' He turned a few pages, folded the paper
into a compact package so that even I couldn't miss what he had in mind, and handed it back.
At the top of the page was a grainy photograph that might have been a frame out of the film we'd just
seen on television. Below that, it said, 'UFO Buzzes Hawaii!' by somebody named Jean-Luc
Avoirdupois, Eyeball Staff Writer. I swallowed hard. The picture was pretty clear if you knew what to
look for. I said. 'I guess anything that can make an island buzz is worth a little ink.'
'Huh?'
'Read the story.'
I didn't have to read Mr Avoirdupois' story, but I read it anyway, just to keep busy. As I knew it
would, it gave the same facts as the TV special. Evidently this unidentified thing had come in low over
Hilo, heading southwest. Nobody knew what it was, but certain unnamed experts were sure it was a
vehicle from another planet. I let my nose twitch. Nobody on Earth would know what it meant.
I folded the paper and said, 'It wasn't me, if that's what you have in mind.'
He and Bingo were watching me carefully. Will smiled a little, as if he weren't sure it was OK. 'I guess
they don't have that kind of ride in Bay City.' Bill took the paper from me and began to shuffle through it
eagerly. 'No. Not in Bay City.'
Will ran his hand through his long, dark hair and looked at Bingo. She shrugged and sat on the bed.