"Shadow - Back Pages - 401201 - Hook McGuire Gives A Bowling Lesson" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moffat George Allan)

Professor Minton's eyes darted toward the test tubes back of Hendrick. In
these were blinding acids. In that split-second, the old professor moved. It was a
futile, almost hopeless, last gesture. His knee came up, caught Hendrick in the
stomach, and then, with every ounce of strength left in his aging body, Professor
Minton sent his fists out to drive the killer backward.
The will was there, but not the strength. Hendrick took the blow to the
stomach with a grunt, whirled around, escaping the fists of the old professor. The
professor went head-long himself toward the acid vials, but he didn't reach them.
The gun in Hendrick's hand roared. A bullet cut through Minton's back. He
went down, blood was gushing from his mouth. He struggled to his knees, and
then drove his dying body forward. He hit Hendrick just above the knees, sending
him backward again.
A bellow of rage came from Hendrick's thin lips. He bounded back from the
table, and his gun roared twice. Professor Minton went to the floor, groaned once,
and then his body went limp.
Hendrick reached down, touched the limp head. There was no life left in it.
He smiled coldly, slipped the gun into his coat packet, and darted out of the
laboratory.
Twenty minutes later, a police ear with patrolmen to guard the home of
Professor Minton, drove up to the house. Two cops knocked, and, getting no
answer, entered the home and found the lifeless body of Professor Minton
crumpled on the floor of his laboratory.
Hook McGuire and Chief of Police Ryan entered the laboratory five minutes
later.

Hook's face was tense, and as he looked down at his dead friend, he wet his
lips and said: "I warned Professor Minton, but be wouldn't heed it. We should have
sent our men out here before."
"You can't send cops to a man that refuses to have them around," Chief Ryan
growled. "The government should have had men out here. But crying over spilled
milk won't help. Who killed him?"
Hook had kneeled down beside the body of the professor. There was a broken
vial near the dead man's head. McGuire picked up the pieces and laid them in his
handkerchief.
"If you hadn't been so interested in bowling," Chief Ryan continued, "you
might have stayed here a little longer tonight."
"I wouldn't have been here at all, if it hadn't been for the professor's interest in
bowling," Hook shot, back. "This is one crime you can't charge to bowling, chief."
"And this is one crime" the chief grunted, "that bowling isn't going to help
solve."
"The professor put up a fight," Hooks said. "The broken vial shows that. He
was standing with his back to the door when the killer entered. He whirled,
lunged at the killer, but missed. The position of the body shows that he turned
around and made a second lunge."
"Interesting, but not very helpful," Ryan grunted.
Hook McGuire didn't answer. He saw something red on the floor. He reached
down and picked it up. It was the stub of a ticket to the State college auditorium.
"What did you find?" Chief Ryan demanded.
"A State college auditorium ticket stub," Hook answered. "Maybe the killer
dropped it, and maybe he didn't."