"Arkady & Boris Strugatsky - The Ugly Swans" - читать интересную книгу автора (Strugatski Arkady)

Victor waited at the door and watched her walk around the large room and close all the windows. There
were puddles on the floor.
"And what was he doing there in the middle of the night?" asked Victor.
"Where?" asked Diana, not turning around.
"On the trail. You knew he was there, didn't you?"
"Well, you see," she said, "they have a hard time with medi-cal supplies in the leprosarium. So sometimes
they come here to request...."
She closed the last window and took a quick walk around the room, checking the tables, the instruments,
and the glass-ware.
"The whole thing is shitty," said Victor. "What a govern-ment. No matter where you look, there's some
dirty business going on. Let's get out of here, I'll freeze to death.
"One second," said Diana.
She took a dark piece of clothing off a chair and shook it out. It was a man's evening suit. She hung it
neatly in the
The Ugly Swans 47

wardrobe for lab coats. "What's that suit doing here?" thought Victor. "I've seen it somewhere."
"All right," said Diana. "I don't know what you want to do, but I'm going to take a hot bath."
"Listen, Diana," said Victor carefully. "Who was that . . . with a nose like this, yellowish face? The one
you were dancing with?"
Diana took him by the hand.
"As a matter of fact," she said after a short silence, "he's my husband. My former husband."
Chapter IV
"I haven't seen you for a while," said Pavor. He had a cold.
"Not that long," objected Victor. "Only two days."
"May I join you, or would you prefer to be alone?" asked Pavor.
"Please," said Diana politely.
Pavor took a seat across from her and looked for the waiter. "A double cognac!" he called out. It was
getting dark; the door-man was letting down the blinds over the windows. Victor switched on the table
lamp.
"I really admire you," Pavor turned to Diana. "To live in a climate like this and maintain such a rosy
complexion." He sneezed. "Excuse me. These rains will be the end of me. How's the work going?" he
asked Victor.
"Not too good. I can't work when it's gray outтАФall I want to do is have a drink."
"What about this scene you pulled at the police chief's?" asked Pavor.
"A lot of crap," said Victor. "I was seeking justice."
"What happened?"
"That bastard of a burgomaster was hunting slimies with traps. One of them got caught and hurt his leg. I
took the trap, went to the police station, and demanded an investiga-tion."
"I see," said Pavor. "And then?"
48
The Ugly Swans 49

"They have some odd laws in this town. Insofar as the victim did not file a complaint, in legal terms there
was no crime at all, but only an accident, in which nobody but the victim was to blame. I told the police
chief that I'd take note of that. He declared that that was a threatтАФwhich is where we left it."
"Where did all this happen?" asked Pavor.
"Around the health resort."
"Around the health resort? What would a slimy be doing around the health resort?"
"I think that's none of anybody's business," said Diana curtly.