"Barry B. Longyear - Murder in Parliment Street" - читать интересную книгу автора (Longyear Barry)

As we reached midway in the walk, my light picked up a small still
figure on the left near the northeast wall. We descended until we were next
to it. The corpse was indeed a pigeon. The bird was lying on its right side
on the cracked gray paving, his head toward High Street, his dark pink toes
curled up, landing gear retracted in death. The birdтАЩs feathers were
disheveled particularly on the side against the pavement. There were a few
spatter marks near the corpse that could have been blood. тАЬShad.тАЭ

тАЬYeah?тАЭ

тАЬBe a good fellow and notify Sergeant Dunn of our presence. Ask him
to make available whoever it was who reported finding this body over at DC
ParkerтАЩs command post. Also, explain weтАЩre shorthanded and ask Dunn to
keep his men on duty until we clear the scene.тАЭ

тАЬYou got it.тАЭ

As Shad streaked toward High Street, I played my lights down the
length of the bird, measured its dimensions and calculated its weight. It was
a common Rock Dove model, bluish-gray wings, no wing bands but white
coloring along the wingsтАЩ leading edges. It had a partial white ring around its
neck, open in the front, and its breast was a warmer hue than the rest. The
birdтАЩs head coloring was darker, but not iridescent toward the neck as you
see with so many pigeons. As the general run of pigeons go, this one was
neither handsome nor unique. It was almost as though this model had been
chosen for its dullnessтАФits ability to blend into a background.

I checked my instruments and I picked up the fading marker beacon
of a bio receiver. This was how one bio could always identify another as a
bio, which meant the one who discovered the body was likely an amdroid or
human bio. I opened the mechтАЩs neural reader and checked the pigeonтАЩs
imprint and recall bank. Both neutral. Unless the occupant had been on
continuous sync with a neural net or a body in stasis, the memory
information was lost to wherever such energies go after life can no longer
sustain them.

тАЬWeтАЩre logged in, Jaggs,тАЭ transmitted Shad as he returned. тАЬI donтАЩt
get it. That Dunn seemed really irritated we didnтАЩt come in from High Street.
ThereтАЩre two mechs out there from the Forensic Medical Examiner. Dunn
says heтАЩll send them in to haul off the vic once weтАЩre done. There was a
newshound out there who says you know him.тАЭ
 тАЬFidelis?тАЭ I asked.

тАЬThatтАЩs the one. Sniffs out tips for BBC 228? I know him from
Rougemont Gardens.тАЭ

тАЬIтАЩve thrown him a bone on occasion. What does Fido have to say
about the news frenzy out on High Street?тАЭ

тАЬHe was told to be there and to be heavy with camera. Worthwhile