"Lumley, Brian - Necroscope - The Lost Years Volume 2" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lumley Brian)

'No, you had,' McGowan told him. 'But me, Ah have several theories. See, if ye'd no told me about they other murders, or that this John Moffat was a suspect, Ah'd still be thinkin' in terms o' a wild yin. And deep down inside, Ah still am.'
'A wild one? How long ago since there was a wild wolf in Scotland, Angus?'
Two hundred and fifty years, that we know of,' the other answered. 'But Scotland's a big place, and plenty of wild country still. All over the world the wolves are stealin' back down frae the north, so why not here?'
'Because we're an island, Angus, that's why!'
'Is that so? Then explain the big cats on Bodmin Moor, and Dartmoor, and other places. Sheep killers, them -- and real!'
'Not proven,' lanson said.
'Proven for mah money!' McGowan snorted. 'Ah was down in Devon and Cornwall, remember? They called me in on it. No, Ah didnae see the beasts in question, but Ah saw their handiwork! Big cats, George. Take mah word for it!'
'My God, you'll be swearing an oath on Nessie yet!' lanson grinned. They called you in on that one, too, didn't they?'
That American team? Three months' work there, George. It was the easiest money Ah ever made in mah life! What? A summer holiday on the banks o' Loch Ness, with all found and money in the bank?' McGowan chuckled and smacked his lips, and then was serious again. 'Anyway, Ah was only a "technical adviser." Ah didnae have tae believe...no as long as they thought Ah did! But a wolf is no a plesiosaur, George. They big yins have been gone a long time, but there are still wolves in the world.'
'Not in Scotland,' the other was stubborn.
'Ah, but there could be soon enough!'
'Eh?'
There's talk o' stocking a sanctuary somewhere up north. They'd have tae cull them, o' course, or shoot any that strayed too far. But there's a study on it.'
'Really?'
'Well why not? The wolves have been here just as long as we have. And there are still foxes, after all. Even the cities have foxes! Ah mean, is it no ridiculous? The Irish have their Irish wolfhounds -- and never a wolf to be found!'
'Except here?'
But Angus only shrugged. From now on he would take a back seat and only do or say what was expected of him. He had talked of men and he had talked of wolves, but he'd not once mentioned the creature in between. Nor would he. Unlike the Loch Ness Monster, who really didn't exist, that would be just too close for comfort But in the final analysis -- if and when it should come to it -- it would be no bad thing for Inspector George lanson to have a wolf on his mind...or even a werewolf. For as a legend the creature was far enough removed from certain other myths to make it unique in its own right No one in his right mind would confuse an isolated case (or even an outbreak) of strictly medical or pathological lycanthropy with vampirism. It might alert humanity to the one type of monster in its midst, but the other would remain obscure as ever...
While the Inspector talked to the girl, Margaret Macdowell, old Angus spent the time on the telephone. When both were done they thanked the girl for coffee and sandwiches, then walked back to lanson's car. It was snowing again and the path was white under foot.
On their way into Edinburgh, they talked:
'No whore, that lady,' lanson said. 'She sells booze, not her body. Works at a wine bar in Edinburgh. That's why she was late home: late opening hours. It might easily have been later still, but her boss lets
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Necroscope: The Lost Yean -- Vol. II
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her off early if the forecast is bad. As you probably overheard, Moffat had been frequenting the bar, chatting up the other girls, too, but paying particular attention to Margaret Macdowell. She knew his first name, that's all. She did recognize him, however -- barely, or briefly -during the attack, after he'd dragged her into his...what, his den? And she knew that he would kill her. Before she passed out she sensed that someone else was there. And she woke up to...all that mess! She thinks she remembers snarling and savage motion, and something of Mof fat's gibbering. And that's about it'
'Ye spoke to her before the police drove me up here,' old Angus was thinking out loud. 'Didnae ye get any o' this then?'
'She was tired, shaken, shocked,' lanson shrugged. 'Still is, but refuses treatment Can't say I blame her. She has a few bruises, that's all. She's young and the shock won't last Yes, I got something of it, but the stuff about the snarling is new. She may remember more as she settles down.'
'So, no whore,' McGowan mused.
'But easily mistaken for one,' the other returned. 'A bar girl -- all long legs, a backside like an apple, and a half-bare bosom -- decked out in a short dress, black stockings and garters, serving drinks to a mainly male clientele. Oh, our Mr Moffat could easily get the wrong idea, I'm sure.'
'A modern Jack the Ripper,' McGowan grunted.
'Except this one got ripped,' lanson reminded him, grimly. 'And no surgical instruments did that to him, be sure.'
'A man and his dog,' old Angus mused. 'But no tracks...'
The snow,' the Inspector grunted.
'So, what's next?'
'For you? I expect you'll carry on contacting and checking out all the zoos and wild-life parks in the area,' lanson glanced at the smaller man. 'So that we can be absolutely sure that there's been no escape. I'd certainly appreciate it, Angus, for theyTl talk more easily to you than to me. As for me...Ill need to be talking to the other girls at Margaret Macdowell's place of work: B J.'s Wine Bar, in town. But I've little doubt they'll corroborate all she's said.'
'So why bother?'
'Oh, routine,' lanson shrugged. *Who knows, maybe they can tell me more about John Moffat? Did he have any enemies or such that they might know of? That sort of thing.'
'Like a man and his dog?'
'Just so..."
Or, the Inspector wondered, maybe a woman and her dog? On that point, there'd been several occasions when the old vet had mentioned a 'she' in connection with his wolf, like 'she' was a big yin, and so forth. And anyway, why had Angus strayed so far from his argument,
his original conclusion? Had he or hadn't he given up on his wolf theory? What about his telephone calls?
'Who did you speak to, Angus?' lanson glanced at him. The zoo people in Edinburgh?'
They're on mah list Ah have tae do it ye understand, if only tae settle it in mah own mind.'
'But in fact you've given up on it now?'
Old Angus merely shrugged.
ХWell?'
'Murder by dog. It seems more and more feasible...'
The Inspector was mildly concerned. McGowan was saying so very little now; probably because he was...what hiding something? This was usually how he was before making some surprise move on the chess board. Maybe lanson should look more closely at the case from old Angus's point of view -- wherever that was coming from! Since he now seemed to be making light of his wolf theory, perhaps the Inspector should pay more attention to it
Except if Angus was onto something, lanson felt certain he wouldn't get much more out of him just yet. Wherefore a second opinion might be in order. And if his memory served him, he knew just where he might find a lead to that second opinion: in the unsolved files at Police HQ in Edinburgh...