"Niven, Larry - ARM 1 - ARM" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niven Larry)

"Of course."
We followed Porter to Janice's bedroom, where he picked out a peach-colored negligee for her. I was beginning to like the guy. He had good instincts. An evening dye job was not the thing to wear on the morning of a murder. And he'd picked one with long, loose sleeves. Her missing arm wouldn't show so much.
"You call him Uncle Ray," Ordaz said.
"Yah. Because Janice did."
"He did not object? Was he gregarious?"
"Gregarious? Well, no, but _we_ liked each other. We both liked puzzles, you understand? We traded murder mysteries and jigsaw puzzles. Listen, this may sound silly, but are you sure he's dead?"
"Regrettably, yes. He is dead, and murdered. Was he expecting someone to arrive after you left?"
"Yes."
"He said so?"
"No. But he was wearing a shirt and pants. When it was just us, he usually went naked."
"Ah."
"Older people don't do that much," Porter said. "But Uncle Ray was in good shape. He took care of himself."
"Have you any idea whom he might have been expecting?"
"No. Not a woman; not a date, I mean. Maybe someone in the same business."
Behind him, Janice moaned.
Porter was hovering over her in a flash. He put a hand on her shoulder and urged her back. "Lie still, love. We'll have you out of there in a jiffy."
She waited while he disconnected the sleeves and other paraphernalia. She said, "What happened?"
"They haven't told me yet," Porter said with a flash of anger. "Be careful sitting up. You've had an accident."
"What kind of -- ? _Oh!_"
"It'll be all right."
"My _arm_!"
Porter helped her out of the 'doc. Her arm ended in pink flesh two inches below the shoulder. She let Porter drape the robe around her. She tried to fasten the sash, quit when she realized she was trying to do it with one hand.
I said, "Listen, I lost my arm once."
She looked at me. So did Porter.
"I'm Gil Hamilton. With the UN Police. You really don't have anything to worry about. See?" I raised my right arm, opened and closed the fingers. "The organ banks don't get much call for arms. You probably won't even have to wait. I didn't. It feels just like the arm I was born with, and it works just as well."
"How did you lose it?" she asked.
"Ripped away by a meteor," I said.
Ordaz said to her, "Do you remember how you lost your own arm?"
"Yes." She shivered. "Could we go somewhere where I could sit down? I feel a bit weak."
We moved to the living room. Janice dropped onto the couch a bit too hard. It might have been shock, or the missing arm might be throwing her balance off. I remembered. She said, "Uncle Ray's dead, isn't he?"
"Yes."
"I came home and found him that way. Lying next to that time machine of his, and the back of his head all bloody. I thought maybe he was still alive, but I could see the machine was going; it had that violet glow. I tried to get hold of the poker. I wanted to use it to switch the machine off, but I couldn't get a grip. My arm wasn't just numb; it wouldn't move. You know, you can try to wiggle your toes when your foot's asleep, but ... I could get my hands on the handle of the damn poker, but when I tried to pull, it just slid off."
"You kept trying?"
"For a while. Then ... I backed away to think it over. I wasn't about to waste any time with Uncle Ray maybe dying in there. My arm felt stone dead ... I guess it was, wasn't it?" She shuddered. "Rotting meat. It smelled that way. And all of a sudden I felt so weak and dizzy, like was dying myself. I barely made it into the 'doc."
"Good thing you did," I said. The blood was leaving Porter's face again as he realized what a close thing it had been.
Ordaz said, "Was your great-uncle expecting visitors last night?"
"I think so."
"Why do you think so?"
"I don't know. He just -- acted that way."
"We are told that you and some friends reached Cziller's House of Irish Coffee around midnight. Is that true?"
"I guess so. We had some drinks, then I took Drew home and came home myself."
"Straight home?"
"Yes." She shivered. "I put the car away and went downstairs. I knew something was wrong. The door was open. Then there was Uncle Ray lying next to that machine! I knew better than to just run up to him. He'd told us not to step into the field."
"Oh? Then you should have known better than to reach for the poker."
"Well, yes. I could have used the tongs," she said as if the idea had just occurred to her. "It's just as long. I didn't think of it. There wasn't _time_. Don't you understand? He was dying in there, or dead!"
"Yes, of course. Did you interfere with the murder scene in any way?"
She laughed bitterly. "I suppose I moved the poker about two inches. Then, when I felt what was happening to me, I just ran for the 'doc. It was awful. Like dying."
"Instant gangrene," Porter said.
Ordaz said, "You did not, for example, lock the elevator?"
Damn! I should have thought of that.