"Stephen Goldin - The Sword Unswayed" - читать интересную книгу автора (Goldin Stephen)

soothe her old friend while she herself was anything but tranquil.

"I tried to call you, I swear it," Dinh said, "but your p-code was on and I couldn't slice through, so I
thought I should come by in person and try to waken you, but I was so nervous and it was so dark that I
wasn't sure what to do --"

"Slow down," Rabinowitz advised. She reached out to momentarily stroke Dinh's short, black hair.
"Breathe a little. Don't say anything more until you can figure out where the periods go in your
sentences."

Dinh took some deep breaths and a few more sips of her drink. Finally she said, "Where should I
begin?"

"Well, what did you do after I left you at the banquet?"

"I returned to my room and teeped to K'tolu'tan." Dinh snapped her fingers twice as she pronounced the
alien word. From her own experience, Rabinowitz guessed that was just an approximation of the real
sound.

"Is that a planet? I thought I'd heard of almost everyplace, but I'm not familiar with that one. Why'd you
go there?"

"I was meeting a publisher. He wants to commission a book from me."

"Is that why you wanted me to stay with you after the banquet?"

"Well, one reason. But I don't think it will do any good now."

"Why not?"

"Because he's . . .he's dead. I discovered him lying on the floor."

"Natural causes?" Rabinowitz asked hopefully.

"There was a knife through his chest."

"Doesn't sound terribly natural. Have you notified any authorities?"

"I didn't know who to call on K'tolu'tan, and you know what I think of our own police. The only person I
could think of was you. You're always so . . .organized."

Rabinowitz paused for a moment. "I have no idea who to contact on . . .K'tolu'tan, was it? -- but I think I
know a way to get things started. Phone: Voice only. Interpol, San Francisco office, Detective William
Hoy."

Dinh's eyes widened. "Interpol? You?"

"Relax. It's not what you think. It's not even what he thinks."

"Detective Hoy is not on duty at this hour," came the voice from the Interpol switchboard. "Will some