demille.thegeneralsdaughter-第36部分

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terrogate　Moore；　and　if　you　think　he　didn't　kill　her；　then　ask　him　for　his　list　of　suspects。　That　bastard　knew　everything　about　her；　and　if　he　tells　you　it　is　privileged　information；　let　me　know　and　I'll　put　a　pistol　in　his　mouth　and　tell　him　he　can　take　the　information　to　the　grave　with　him。〃
　〃I　might　be　a　little　more　subtle。〃　I　informed　him；　〃I'm　trying　to　get　Moore's　office　padlocked　until　I　can　get　clearance　to　bring　it　here。〃
　〃You　should　just　put　the　damn　cuffs　on　him。〃　Kent　looked　at　me　and　said；　〃Anyway；　you　see　why　I　didn't　want　the　local　CID　guys　in　on　this。〃
　〃I　guess　I　do　now。　Were　any　of　them　involved　with　her？〃　He　pondered　a　moment；　then　replied；　〃The　CID　mander；　Major　Bowes。〃
　〃Are　you　certain　of　that？〃
　〃Ask　him。　He's　one　of　your　people。〃
　〃Do　you　and　Bowes　get　along？〃
　〃We　try。〃
　〃What's　the　problem？〃
　〃We　have　jurisdictional　problems。　Why　do　you　ask？〃
　〃Jurisdictional　meaning　criminal　activity；　or　meaning　something　else？〃
　He　looked　at　me；　then　replied；　〃Well　。。。　Major　Bowes　had　bee　possessive。〃
　〃He　didn't　like　to　share。〃
　Kent　nodded。　〃A　few　of　her　boyfriends　got　that　way。　That　was　when　she　dumped　them。〃　He　added；　〃Married　men　are　real　pigs。〃　He　thought　a　moment；　then　said；　〃Don't　trust　anyone　on　this　post；　Paul。〃
　〃Including　you？〃
　〃Including　me。〃　Kent　looked　at　his　watch。　〃Is　that　it？　Did　you　want　to　see　me　for　something　in　particular？〃
　〃Well；　whatever　it　was；　it's　not　real　important　now。〃
　〃Right。　I'm　going　home。　You　can　reach　me　there　until　0700；　then　I'll　be　in　my　office。　Where　can　I　find　you　tonight　if　something　es　up？〃
　Cynthia　replied；　〃We're　both　in　the　VOQ。〃
　〃All　right。　Well；　my　wife's　probably　been　trying　to　call　me　from　Ohio。　She'll　start　thinking　I'm　having　an　affair。　Good　evening。〃　He　turned　and　left；　making　the　long　walk　with　a　lot　less　spring　in　his　step　than　when　he'd　entered。
　Cynthia　mented；　〃I　can't　believe　this。　Did　he　just　tell　us　that　Ann　Campbell　slept　with　most　of　the　senior　officers　on　post？〃
　〃Yes；　he　did。　Now　we　know　who　those　men　were　in　her　photos。〃
　She　nodded。　〃And　now　we　know　why　this　place　seemed　so　strange。〃
　〃Right。　The　suspect　list　just　got　real　long。〃
　So；　I　thought；　Colonel　Kent；　Mr。　Clean；　Mr。　Law　and　Order；　broke　nearly　every　damned　rule　in　the　book。　This　brittle；　stuffy　man　had　a　libido；　and　it　led　him　right　to　the　dark　side　of　the　moon。　I　said　to　Cynthia；　〃Would　Bill　Kent　mit　murder　to　safeguard　his　reputation？〃
　Cynthia　replied；　〃It's　conceivable。　But　I　think　he　was　indicating　that　his　secret　was　public　knowledge；　and　his　career　was　just　waiting　for　General　Campbell　to　have　a　chance　to　ax　it。〃
　I　nodded。　〃Well；　if　not　to　avoid　disgrace　and　humiliation；　as　it　says　in　the　manual；　then　how　about　jealousy？〃
　She　thought　a　moment；　then　said；　〃Kent　is　also　indicating　that　his　relationship　with　Ann　Campbell　was　just　sport　for　him。　A　little　lust；　but　no　emotional　involvement。　I　can　believe　that。〃　She　saw　that　I　wanted　more　from　her；　and　she　pondered　a　moment；　then　added；　〃On　the　other　hand；　the　motive　he　assigned　to　Major　Bowes…possessiveness　and；　by　extension；　jealousy　may　not　be　true　and　may　actually　be　what　Bill　Kent　himself　felt。　Remember；　this　guy's　a　cop；　and　he　read　the　same　manual　we　did。　He　knows　how　we　think。〃
　〃Precisely。　Yet；　I　find　it　hard　to　think　of　that　guy　as　passionate；　jealous；　or　emotionally　involved　with　any　woman。〃
　〃I　know。　But　it's　the　cool　ones　who　burn　hot　at　the　center。　I've　seen　his　type　before；　Paul。　Authoritarian；　control　freaks；　conservative；　and　obsessed　with　rules　and　regulations。　It's　a　mechanism　they　use　because　they're　frightened　of　their　own　passions；　and　they　know　what　lurks　beneath　the　neat　suit　or　uniform。　In　reality；　they　have　no　natural　checks　and　balances　on　their　behavior；　and　when　they　spin　out　of　control；　they're　capable　of　anything。〃
　I　nodded。　〃But　maybe　we're　getting　too　psychobabbly。〃　She　shrugged。　〃Maybe。　But　let's　keep　an　eye　on　Colonel　Kent。　He's　got　a　different　agenda　than　we　do。〃
　
　CHAPTER　NINETEEN
　
　Cal　Seiver　said　he　was　finished　with　Ann　Campbell's　study；　or　what　was　once　her　study；　so　I　sat　on　her　sofa　and　played　another　videotape　of　her　psy…ops　lecture　series。　Around　me；　the　men　and　women　of　the　forensic　laboratory　went　about　their　occupation　of　examining　the　microscopic　particles　of　a　person's　existence；　the　type　of　stuff　that　other　people　called　dirt…hairs；　fibers；　dust；　fingerprints；　smudges；　and　stains。
　In　and　of　themselves；　hairs；　fibers；　prints；　and　all　that　were　innocuous；　but　if；　for　instance；　a　set　of　fingerprints　was　lifted　from　a　liquor　bottle　in　Ann　Campbell's　cupboard；　and　if　the　prints　turned　out　to　belong　to；　say；　Colonel　George　Fowler；　then　the　possibilities　were　two：　he　gave　the　bottle　to　her　and　she　took　it　home；　or　he　was　in　her　home。　But　if　Fowler's　prints　were　found；　say；　on　the　mirror　of　her　bathroom；　that　would　be　presumptive　evidence　that　he　was　actually；　in　the　bathroom。　In　fact；　however；　the　latent…fingerprint　section；　using　prints　on　file；　had　not　yet　matched　any　known　prints　to　the　ones　they'd　found；　except　mine；　Cynthia's；　Ann　Campbell's；　and　Colonel　Kent's…which　could　be　explained　two　ways。　Eventually；　they　would　match　prints　to　Chief　Yardley；　and　again；　Yardley；　being　one　of　the　polluters　of　the　stored　evidence；　had　an　explanation。　They'd　find　Moore's　prints；　too；　but　as　her　boss　and　neighbor；　that　was　meaningless。　And　since　we　had　no　further　access　to　things　like　Ann　Campbell's　bathroom　mirror　or　her　shower；　those　kinds　of　prints；　which　were　very　suggestive；　were　not　going　to　be　found　by　us；　but　by　Chief　Yardley；　who　would　have　the　whole　house　dusted　by　now。　And　any　prints　he　didn't　like；　such　as　his　son's；　would　disappear。
　Knowing　who　had　been　in　her　house　might　eventually　lead　to　her　killer　in　a　conventional；　plodding　type　of　homicide　investigation；　and　knowing　who　was　in　her　basement　boudoir　would　give　me　a　list　of　men　who　suddenly　had　a　lot　to　lose　unless　they　cooperated　fully。　But　that　room　remained　sealed　for　now；　and　that　might　be　a　false；　though　very　scenic　trail　to　follow。
　Knowing　who　was　at　the　crime　scene　was　more　to　the　point；　and　we　were　close　to　establishing　that　Colonel　Charles　Moore　was　there；　though　when　he　was　there　and　what　he　was　doing　there　needed　clarification。
　Colonel　William　Kent。　Now；　there　was　a　man　who　suddenly　had　a　career　problem；　not　to　mention　the　little　chat　he'd　eventually　have　to　have　with　Mrs。　Kent。　Thank　God　I　don't　have　those　kinds　of　problems。
　Kent　had　made　what　amounted　to　a　confession　of　sexual　misbehavior；　dereliction　of　duty；　and　actions　unbeing　an　officer；　to　name　just　three　charges　that　the　JAG　office　could　e　up　with。　People　often　do　this　in　a　murder　investigation；　like　making　a　small　sacrifice　on　the　altar　of　the　goddess　of　Justice；　hoping　that　the　goddess　will　accept　it　and　go　someplace　else　to　find　a　human　blood　sacrifice。
　Cynthia's　estimation　of　Kent　was　interesting　because　literally　no　one　would　think　that　William　Kent　was　a　passionate；　possessive；　or　jealous　man。　But　in　some　instinctive　way；　she　saw　or　sensed　something　that　I　never　did。　What　we　knew　now　was　that　Kent　had　had　sexual　relations　with　Ann　Campbell。　And　I　don't　believe　Kent　is　into　sport…fucking。　Ergo；　Kent　was　in　love　with　her　and　killed　her　out　of　jealousy。　But　I　didn't　know　that；　and　there　were　too　many　suppositions　on　the　way　to　that　ergo。
　One　of　the　side　benefits　of　having　forensic　lab　people　all　over　the　place　is　that　you　can　lie　to　suspects　about　this　or　that；　though　it　doesn't　say　so　in　the　manual。　I　had　to　know；　or　suspect；　of　course；　that　a　person　was　here　or　there　or　did　this　or　that　before　trying　to　bully　and　deceive　that　person。　And　sometimes　you　get　your　head　handed　to　you；　the　way　Kent　did　to　me。　Still；　I　think　I　smoked　him　out　with　the　accusation。
　My　mind　returned　to　the　television　screen　and　I　focused　on　Ann　Campbell。　She　stood　in　front　of　me；　speaking　directly　to　me；　and　we　made　good　eye　contact。　She　wore　the　light　summer　green　B　uniform　with　a　short…sleeve　blouse　and　a　skirt；　and　now　and　then　she'd　walk　away　from　the　lectern　and　stand　at　the　edge　of　the　stage　in　the　lecture　hall；　speaking　as　she　moved　around；　very　much　at　ease　in　her　gestures；　body　language；　and　facial　expressions。
　For　all　her　reported　coolness；　she　seemed　accessible　during　her　lecture。　She　smiled；　looked　directly　at　a　questioner　in　the　audience；　and　laughed　at　her　own　occasional　joke　and　at　amusing　ments　from　the　hundred　or　so　men　in　the　lecture　hall。　She　had　this　sexy　habit　of　throwing　back　her　head　and　brushing　her　long　blond　hair　away　from　her　face。　Now　and　then；　she'd　bite　her　lip　in　thought　or　look　wide…eyed　as　a　bat　veteran　told　an　interesting　anecdote；　then　she'd　ask　intelligent　questions　of　her　own。　This　was　no　programmed　android　droning　on　behind　the　lectern　like　so　many　Army　and　academic　lecturers；　as　I'm　sure　Colonel　Moore　was。　This　was　a　woman　with　an　inquiring　mind；　a　good　sense　of　when　to　talk　and　when　to　listen；　and　an　exuberance　for　her　slightly　offbeat　subject。　Now　and　then；　the　camera　would　scan　the　audience　and　you　could　see　a　lot　of　alert　men　out　there　who　clearly　enjoyed　what　they　were　hearing　as　much　as　what　they　were　seeing。
　Ann　Campbell　was　talking　about　psychological　operations　directed　at　specific　individuals；　and　I　tuned　in　to　what　she　was　saying。　〃We've　spoken　about　psy…ops　directed　toward　enemy　bat　soldiers；　toward　support　personnel；　and　toward　the　civilian　population　as　a　whole。　Now　I'd　like　to　speak　about　psychological　operations　directed　toward　individuals；　specifically　enemy　military　manders　and　political　leaders。〃
　Cynthia　sat　down　beside　me　with　a　fresh　cup　of　coffee　and　a　plate　of　donuts。　She　asked　me；　〃Good　movie？〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃Can　we　turn　this　off？〃
　〃No。〃
　〃Paul；　why　don't　you　go　get　some　sleep？〃
　〃Quiet。〃
　Cynthia　stood　and　walked　away。　Ann　Campbell　continued；　〃And　the　last　time　we　used　this　tool　effectively　was　in　World　War　II　against　the　Nazi　political　and　military　leaders。　We　had　the　advantage　of　knowing　something　about　them；　about　their　personal　histories；　their　superstitions；　their　sexual　preferences；　their　beliefs　in　the　occult　or　in　omens；　and　so　forth。　And　what　we　didn't　know；　we　found　out　through　various　intelligence…gathering　sources。　Thus；