"Timothy Zahn - A Coming of Age" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

"Couple of messages for you, Stan," the preteen said. "First: the address is a phony. No one there's
ever heard of this Oliver guy or anyone with his description."

"Big surprise," Tirrell growled. "You're going to like this guy, TonioтАФhe's got your warped sense of
humor."

"What do you mean?"

"The term 'fagin' originally came from a pre-Expansion Earth book, whose title happens to be Oliver
Twist. What's the other message?"

"Colin's parents are here."

Tirrell glanced once at the men working on the bench. "Good. Let's go talk to them."

The detective had never met the Brimmers, but their reputation was well-known in official Ridge
Harbor circles. Both in their early forties, they had been foster parents to six children over the past
eighteen years, providing the close family background that seemed to best minimize the later
transitional shocks to hive, school, and adulthood. Their record had been one of the best in the city...
until now.

They were standing together near the row of police cars, obviously upset but under much better
control than the teen sitter had been. The man took a step forward as Tirrell and Tonio walked up to
them. "Are you the officer in charge here, sir?" he asked.

Tirrell nodded. "Detective First Tirrell; this is Tonio Genesee, my righthand. You are Thom and
Elita Brimmer, of course. First of all, do you know anyone named Oliver, or anyone who has gray
hair, a beard, and wears glasses?"

Both shook their heads. "We've had a few minutes to think about itтАФthe policeman who drove us
here gave us Lenna's description," Elita said. "We're quite sure we don't know anyone like that. But I
wonder whether or not the hair and beard are a disguise. In that case he probably could be almost
anyone."

"Good point." Tirrell had come to that obvious conclusion long ago. "Next: is there any reason to
suspect Colin may have been kidnapped for purposes of ransom? Or that someone might want him
in order to force you to do anything?

Again, two solid negatives. Tirrell hadn't expected anything else, but the questions had to be asked.
"All right. Then I'd like to go to your house with you and look over both Colin's things and any
photos you have of him, especially recent ones taken outside. After that I want you to tell me
everything you can about Colin, your friends and acquaintances, your daily scheduleтАФeverything
that could conceivably give us a clue."

"We're at your complete disposal, Detective," Brimmer said. "We want this man caught as badly as


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