Asprin, Robert Lynn – Catwoman – Tiger Hunt (With Lynn Abbey)

It seemed that the gunshot-riddled body found in the doorway of that address was causing an international fuss. The man had been identified as Stepan Kindegilen. And those portions of the old Soviet Union now known as Russia and Moldova were demanding custody of the corpse. The two republics were hurling diplomatic insults at each other, the texts of which Bonnie’s paper printed in full.

“Can you figure this out?” Selina demanded when Bonnie emerged from the darkroom with an armful of plates and cloth. “My eyes say English, but my brain says garbage.”

Bonnie hunkered down beside Selina. She muttered something about bad translations, then sat back on her heels. “It’s just a guess, but I don’t think either the Russians or the Moldovans care about this Stepan. He wasn’t supposed to be here. It says he didn’t have a visa, but it doesn’t say he’s a criminal. Both sides are interested in his corpse. Like there was something special about it . . .” Her eyes grew wide. “Radioactive! He’s some poor soul from Chernobyl . . . Wait—Chernobyl’s in the Ukraine. Where’s Moldova? Where’s my atlas—?” She crawled toward her stacks of books.

Selina grabbed her ankle. “Forget that. Suppose it was a box, about this big . . .” She made a frame with her fingers. “Maybe covered with old velvet. What could it be?” She remembered the object that had been thrown into the vehicle before it sped away.

A question had been asked, and Bonnie strove to answer it. She didn’t consider any related questions, such as why Selina mentioned a box or why Selina was so interested in a handful of foreigners. Bonnie simply tried to answer the question that had been asked. She didn’t have a photographic memory, but she did have a pretty good one, especially for things that others called trivia.