"William Tuning - Terro-Human - Fuzzy 04 - Fuzzy Bones" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tuning William)

"But you don't think she's a-ummmmmm- journeyman," Helton said.

The Rev slapped his hand lightly on the bar and leaned forward slightly. "Of
course not! " he said quietly. "Otherwise she would have been working the
ship. Lots of lonely business types in the first-class. A young lady with her
looks and just the slightest amount of enterprise could rack up quite a bundle
during a six-month hypertrip."

"That's where you've missed," Helton said with a chuckle. "You don't have all
the data to draw a conclusion."
The Rev's face took on an expression of mock menace. "Well, son, you get to be
pretty damned observant in my trade."

"And in my trade," Helton said, "I travel quite a bit of the time by
commercial carrier."

"So?" The Rev was not impressed.

"So I happen to know the ship captain on this trip. His name is Hermann
Kaltenbrunner and he makes the Orthodox-Monophysites look like a bunch of
reckless hedonists. I was on the City of Malverton once-when the old boy was
stalking his quarterdeck-and I saw him put a professional gambler out the
airlock for starting up a card game on Sunday."

"Great Ghu!" The Rev gasped. "He does sound to be just a trifle on the
puritanical side. Uh-what happened to the rest of the players?"

"Nothing," Helton said flatly. "They were not professional card-players. Oh,
they got a sermon about evil-doing that would set fire to your underwear, but
that was about it."

"So someone tipped her off mighty quick," The Rev said, "perhaps in hopes of
receiving some-ahhhh-non-professional thanks."

Helton smiled. "Oh, I don't know. There are people who just have that old soft
spot in them."

"Hunh!" The Rev grumped. "I 'd hate to have to hold my breath between meeting
the first one and the next one."

"Now that you've muffed your first great deduction," Helton said, "what do you
think her game is?"

The Rev shrugged and swigged from his drink. "She might be a spoiled rich kid
who's out to get even with Mommy and Daddy-come home from Zarathustra with a 1
bundle of money and rub their noses in how it was earned. Or, she might have a
decrepit old Mum back home on Terra, and this is the only way she can earn
enough sols fast enough to let the old lady live out her last years in style
and respectability."