"Robert Weinberg - Logical Magician 01 - A Logical Magician" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weinberg Robert)

on things. A rash of muggings, many of them taking place near the Elevated station, had
plagued the college for the past month. Walking the three blocks from the train to the
school might be tempting fate. As far as he was concerned, one beating a day was more
than enough.
Fingering a crisp new twenty-dollar bill, Jack contemplated taking a taxi back to
campus. This was entirely different from his daydreams about spending the money on wild
living. A cab ride was a perfectly legitimate expense. Merlin had given him the Universal
Charge Card and told him to use it whenever necessary. Or, at least the magician seemed
to imply that when he gave Jack the card back in his office. Jack couldn't actually
remember Merlin saying anything about the card one way or another.
Stifling the last few twinges of guilt, Jack flagged down a cab. One of the
prerequisites of saving the world, he decided, was staying healthy long enough to get the
job done. And if that meant spending some money not his own on a few luxuries, so be it.
Settling back in the backseat of the taxi, Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone
he knew said he spent too much time making decisions. He had to admit they were
probably right. On the other hand, it might be the reason Merlin hired him.
"Ain't it somethin' about those girls disappearin' in the Loop?" the cabdriver asked,
breaking through Jack's reverie. "Real mystery, huh?"
"Sure," Jack answered, his mind on other things. Then, the meaning of the words
gradually sank into his consciousness. "Exactly what disappearances are you talking
about?"
"Been talking about it on da radio all day," said the driver. "Big story. Surprised
you ain't heard the news."
"Too busy working, I guess," said Jack. "Tell me all about it."
"Seems dat bunches of women, office workers mostly, been vanishin' from Loop
buildings durin' the past week. Police been trying to keep the story quiet, but one of the
relatives squawked to the news. Caught the cops with their pants down. I heard the chief
of police three times today, claiming they expected a big break in the case anytime now.
You know what dat means. They ain't got a clue what's happenin'."
"Bunches of women? Disappearing?" asked Jack, frowning. He wondered if the
story tied in some way with Merlin and Megan's kidnapping. A cold chill ran down his
spine. Coincidence only stretched so far.
"Forty or fifty of them, according to the radio. Missin' without a trace from offices
all over the Loop. They just vanishтАФleavin' work, goin' ta the ladies room, comin' back
from lunch. It's damned spooky."
"Only women?" asked Jack.
"You got it, boss. Just babes. Funny thing, though. Ain't only the good-looking
ones missin'. According to the news, the dames range in age from twenty to sixty. No
ransom notes, no dead bodies, no nothing turned up as of yet. Watcha think? White
slavers or somebody like dat? Grabbing the women and shipping them overseas or
somethin'? Maybe dose rich Arab sheiks are behind the whole t'ing?"
"I don't know," said Jack. Nor did he. "I truly don't know."
Jack grimaced in frustration. It seemed safe to assume that Merlin's kidnapers were
the same gang behind the other abductions in the Loop. But, if the police, with all of their
resources and manpower, were baffled by the crimes, how could he expect to solve the
mystery? He was a mathematician, not a detective.
I guess if I'm going to save the world , he thought to himself, I'll have to be both .
Somehow the thousand-dollars-a-week salary Merlin mentioned no longer seemed
that outrageous. Jack had a feeling that before too long he would be feeling underpaid.