Blood Test by Kellerman, Jonathan

and out, how the family had been behaving, who

had called them. If you believed him, the motel was

an oasis of innocence and he was the original see-no-evil,

hear-no-evil kid.

The patrolmen cordoned off the area around room

fifteen. The sight of their squad car in the center of

the motorcourt must have ruffled some feathers–I

saw fingers drawing back comers of curtains in

several of the rooms. The policemen noticed, too,

and joked about calling Vice.

Two additional black and whites pulled into the

85

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Jonathan Kellerman

lot and parked haphazardly. Out of them stepped

four more uniforms, who joined the first two for a

smoke and a huddle. They were followed by a crime

scene technical van and an unmarked bronze Matador.

The man who got out of the Matador was in his

midthirties, big and heavily built, with a loose,

ungainly walk. His face was broad and surprisingly

unlined, but bore the stigmata of severe acne. Thick

drooping brows shadowed tired eyes of a startling

bright green hue. His black hair was cut short around

the back and sides but worn full on top in defiance

of any known style. A thick shock fell across his

forehead like a frontal cowlick. Similarly unchic

were the sideburns that reached to the bottom of

his softlobed ears and his attire–a rumpled checked

madras sportcoat with too much turquoise in it, a

navy shirt, gray-and-blue striped tie, and light blue

slacks that hung over the tops of suede desert boots.

“That one’s got to be a cop,” said Beverly.

“That’s Milo.”

“Your friend–oh.” She,was embarrassed.

“It’s okay, that’s what he is.”

Milo conferred with the patrolmen then took out

a pad and pencil, stepped over the tape stru. ng

across the doorway to room fifteen, and went inside.

He stayed in there awhile and came out taking

notes.

He loped over to the front office. I got up and

met him at the entrance.

“H’lo, Alex.” His big padded hand gripped mine.

“Hell of a mess in there. Not really sure what to

ca]] it yet.”

He saw Beverly walked over, and introduced

himself.

BLOOD TEST 87

“Stick with this guy,” he pointed to me, “and

inevitably you’re going to get into trouble.”

“I can see that,”

“Are you in a hurry?” he asked her.

“I’m not going back to the hospital,” she said.

“All I’ve got, otherwise, is a run at ‘three thirty.”

“Bun? Oh, like in cardiovascular stimulation?

Yeah, I tried that but the chest began to hurt and

visions of mortality danced before my eyes.”

She smiled uneasily, not knowing what to make

of him. Milo’s great to have around–in more ways

than one–when your preconceptions get overly

calcified.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be out of here long before

then. Just wanted to know if you could wait while I

interview Mr.–” he consulted the pad, “Fahriz-

badeh. Shouldn’t take long.”

“That would be fine.”

He escorted the desk clerk outside and over to

fifteen. Beverly and I sat in silence.

“This is horrible,” she said,finally. “That room.

The blood.” She sat stiffly in her’chair and pressed

her knees together.

“He could be okay,” I said without much convie-tion.

“I hope so, Alex. I really do.”

After a while Milo returned with the desk clerk,

who slunk behind the counter without a glance at

us and disappeared into the back room.

“Very unobservant guy,” said Milo. “But I think

he’s on the level, more or less.. Apparently his

brother-in-law owns the place. He’s studying business

administration at night and works here instead

of sleeping.” He looked at Beverly. “What can

you tell me about these Swope people?”

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Jonathan .Kellerman

She gave him a history sjnilar to the one I’d

received in the Laminar Airflow Unit.

“Interesting,” he reflected, chewing on his pencil.

“So this could be anything. The parents taking

the kid out of town in a hurry, which might not.be

a crime at all unless the hospital wants to make a

thing out of it. Except if that was the case, they

wouldn’t leave the car behind. Hypothesis 13 is the

cultists did the job with the parents’ permission,

which is still no crime. Or without, which would

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