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

"Just get in the car," Tirrell said, shaking his head.

"Anybody recognize Macvey's drawing?" Tonio asked as Tirrell pulled away from the curb.

"Nope," Tirrell said. "Not that that's a terrific surprise, of course. Macvey didn't have a lot to work
with, and drawing a face minus its beard is an iffy proposition at best."

"Especially when your witness isn't very observant."

Tirrell raised an eyebrow. "That comment sounded rather portentious. Is there some juicy bit of
evidence you've been saving for my birthday or something?"

"No, I just heard it this afternoon. It seems Mr. Oliver had been hanging around that park longer than
Lenna Thuma said."

"How much longer?"

"According to two of the boys Colin played with, they were chatting to the guy as early as the
beginning of March. That's over three months ago."

"Yes, I can count." Tirrell gnawed his lower lip. "Did you get any details?"

"Only that he always seemed friendly and they never saw him except on Saturdays. Oh, yesтАФhe also
used a bench near the conetrees in the center, not the one Lenna pointed out yesterday. Apart from
thatтАФ" Tonio shrugged. "Pretty much a blank. None of the children ever saw him anywhere except
the park, and they all assumed he knew Colin or his parents from somewhere, which is why they
never reported the conversations."

"Only on Saturdays, eh?" Tirrell said, half to himself. "Interesting."

"You think Lenna's on his side?" Tonio asked.

"WhoseтАФOliver's? I doubt it. She's sat with Colin alone on several occasions recently. If the two
were in collusion she could have delivered Colin to him at one of those times and not have had to
worry about having witnesses around." Tirrell drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "No, what
I was interested in was the Saturdays-only aspect. That may imply he's an out-of-towner who
normally can't get here during the week."

Tonio digested that in silence for a block. "But this week he came on a Wednesday and a Friday."

"He did indeed. What does that suggest to you?"

"Well-l-l. He changed his pattern in case someone was watching for him?"

"Maybe. I'm guessing it's a bit more significant than that, though. Did you happen to note when
Colin's fifth birthday was?"


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A Coming of Age