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Thirteen Diamonds

Thirteen Diamonds

Titel: Thirteen Diamonds Kostenlos Bücher Online Lesen
Autoren: Alan Cook
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me Carol's job when the fire alarm rings is the same as his—to see that everybody gets out of the building. She must have walked from her office toward the recreation room, checking to see that anybody in the rooms along the way was exiting the building. One reason that's important is because some of our inmates are deaf and might not hear the alarm.”
    “Because they're not wearing their hearing aids.” This remark was aimed at Tess, who sometimes forgot hers. My brain, after a layoff, was working again. “How soon after the fire alarm went off did she tell us it was okay to reenter the building?”
    “Not long. Less than five minutes.”
    I got up and paced up and down. “Assuming that Carol was at or near her office when the alarm when off, would she have had time to walk to the recreation room, back to her office and then return to the recreation room again before she told us we could go inside?”
    “No,” Tess said, positively. “Not if she checked all the rooms.”
    “Now for he $64 question. Was she holding anything in her hands when she told us we could go in?”
    “Not that I can recall.”
    “Nor I.” I stopped in front of Tess. “One of our biggest problems in proving that a murder was committed is that a bowl that might have contained shellfish was never found. Remember, that when the doctor took the casserole dish to analyze, it was the only dish there? There were paper plates for veggies and cookies, but that was it.”
    “Right. But are you telling me Carol might have put the shellfish in the casserole?”
    “Let's assume that's a possibility. If the shellfish was put into the casserole during the fire drill, who would have had the best opportunity to do it?”
    “Carol.”
    “And even if one of our other suspects had snuck back into the building, Carol might have caught her at it. In which case it would have come out unless Carol was in cahoots with her.”
    “You're boggling my mind, Lil.”
    I laughed. “Sorry. Let's concentrate on the question of what happened to the dish that contained the shellfish.”
    “Maybe the murderer just tossed it in the trash can.”
    “But remember, for some reason there was no trash can in the rec room that day. All the paper plates were piled up on the serving table, along with the napkins and plastic utensils.”
    “You're right; I remember there was quite a mess.”
    “Come on, Tess, we have a job to do.”
    “The only job I have remaining on my agenda for today is dinner.”
    “We have to go back to the recreation room.”
    “Oh, my poor legs!  Lil, you're going to be the death of me yet.”

CHAPTER 26
     
    “It would help if you told me what we're looking for,” Tess said, peevishly. “If there ever was a dish left in here the person leaving it would have come back and retrieved it long since.”
    “Unless she couldn't.” I looked around the recreation room, trying to think like a murderer who had to hide evidence in a hurry. Maybe Tess was right. She, whoever she was, could have stashed a small dish behind one of the folding chairs stacked in the corner. It might not have been noticed in the confusion. Then she could have come back and taken it after the hubbub had died down. If so, it was long gone.
    I remembered Joe doing his measurements for the replacement of heating ducts that ran under the floor. I saw several vents set in holes in the carpet, situated along the walls. I went to the one nearest the serving table and carefully knelt down in front of it, my old knees creaking in protest. The rectangular metal vent didn't seem to be attached to anything; it just sat on the carpet. I worked my fingers under it and lifted. After some tugging I pulled it right out of the hole.
    I could see down the hot-air duct a few feet to where it curved and disappeared from sight. Several tattered cobwebs lined the shaft, but it was clear of anything else. I could picture a small Tupperwear container bouncing down it. Then I spotted a smudge of something near the top of the metal side of the shaft that didn't belong. I summoned Tess to come over.
    She rose, protesting, from a bridge chair, and hobbled over to me. But she absolutely refused to get down on her knees. “If I do it will take a construction crane to get me up again.”
    “If I'm not mistaken,” I said, “this is the remains of some kind of food. We've got to go talk to Joe.”
    Tess looked at her watch. “It's almost five o'clock. He's probably about to leave for the

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