فصل چهل و سوم

CHAPTER 43

Crawford was stirring an AlkaSeltzer in a plastic glass when the stewardess’s voice came over the 727’S publicaddress system.

“Passenger Crawford, please?”

When he waved from his aisle seat, she came aft to him. “Mr. Crawford, would you go to the cockpit, please?” Crawford was gone for four minutes. He slid back into the seat beside Graham.

“Tooth Fairy was in New York today.”

Graham winced and his teeth clicked together.

“No. He just tapped a couple of women on the head at the Brooklyn Museum and, listen to this, he ate a painting.” “Ate it?”

“Ate it. The Art Squad in New York snapped to it when they found out what he ate. They got two partial prints off the plastic pass he used and they flashed them down to Price a little while ago. When Price put ‘em together on the screen, he rang the cherries. No ID, but it’s the same thumb that was on the Leeds kid’s eye.” “New York,” Graham said.

“Means nothing, he was in New York today. He could still work at Gateway. If he does, he was off the job today. Makes it easier.” “What did he eat?”

“It was a thing called The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun. William Blake drew it, they said.” “What about the women?”

“He’s got a sweet touch with the sap. Younger one’s just at the hospital for observation. The older one had to have four stitches. Mild concussion.” “Could they give a description?”

“The younger one did. Quiet, husky, dark mustache and hair - a wig, I think. The guard at the door said the same thing. The older woman - he could’ve been in a rabbit suit for all she saw.

“But he didn’t kill anybody.”

“Odd,” Crawford said. “He’d have been better off to wax ‘em both - he could have been sure of his lead time leaving and saved himself a description or two. Behavioral Science called Bloom in the hospital about it. You know what he said? Bloom said maybe he’s trying to stop.”