Caird clamped his teeth together and sucked in breath. It had been seven obyears since he had seen such grisliness.
Caird looked around. Without the lamps, the place would have been rather shadowy. Even so, pedestrians must have been strolling on the sidewalk not fifty feet away.
"The ME says that she died exactly sixty-three minutes ago," Tony Horn said. "The body was found by a sixteen-year-old boy who was taking a shortcut through the yard to the door. From what we've been able to determine so far, Atlas had gone to a party given by Professor Storring. You know him, of course."
Caird nodded. Storring was also an immer, but he had met him only three times.
"Atlas has lived alone since she broke up with her husband," Horn said. "Two submonths ago, I believe. However..
She hesitated and looked around. Then she held out her other hand, opened her fingers, and gave him a..folded piece of paper.
"It's from Castor. I found it stuck to my door when I left my apartment after I got the call about Atlas. My God, he was right outside it immediately after he butchered her! It's a wonder he didn't try to kill me, too. But he's putting it off, wants to torture me, the sadistic bastard."
Caird opened his shoulderbag and put the paper in it.
"What does it say?"
"God-Castor refers to himself in the third person-announces proudly the death and dismemberment of God's enemy, Doctor Naomi Atlas. God also prophesies the death and dismemberment of all his enemies, notably and firstly Commissioner-General Horn and Detective-Inspector Caird. There will be other announcements naming those who will die as surely as the stars are set on their courses by God. He signed it with one name. God."
"God!"
"You'll have to get him," she said. "You'll have the best opportunity. I think he'll daybreak, and if he does you'll be traveling along with him and you can personally notify the immers in each day. They can help you."
He nodded and said, "Castor doesn't know my other identities, does he?"
"He shouldn't, but who knows what investigations he made? He always was nosy."
"Do you have anyone watching for Castor near my house?"
"Oh, yes. Two organics, immers."
"I wasn't going back tonight, but I think I'd better. Castor might want to hurt me by doing something ... hell, doing something! ... killing Ozma! He could destone her, drag her out of the stoner, and butcher her before Wednesday came out. Maybe he wouldn't care if they did. He could kill them, too!"
Her voice shook. "This is terrible. It's so terrible that I have to warn the other days that another Jack the Ripper may be loose. I can't tell them who it is, of course. They'll have a lot of personnel looking for him, and ..
"They won't know whom to look for," Caird said. "Officially, we don't know whether it's a man or a woman who did this, one or two or more people. Have they found footprints?"
"Yes. Those of about twenty different people. No instruments, no knives or saws."
"He probably dumped them in the canal."
Colonel Topenski joined them, and the three talked. If the colonel resented Caird's being given command, he did not show it. After summing up what he had found so far, no more than Horn had told Caird, Topenski took Caird over the string-surrounded area. All photographs and laboratory work had been done by then, and their footprints would not confuse the situation. Caird felt sick when he got close to the parts of the corpse, but he did not throw up. He listened while the colonel, who seemed unaffected, pointed out various things that Caird could see for himself quite well. At a quarter after eleven, the pieces were bagged by the lab personnel and taken away. They would be stoned at the morgue, and, later, destoned for extensive analysis.
Patrollers and detectives had been sent out to question everybody in the neighborhood they could before midnight. The desk workers at the local precinct would also be calling up many in the neighborhood. They would report whom they had made contact with so that the foot personnel would not duplicate efforts. Even so, only a few of the possible witnesses would be questioned before midnight.
"We've made sure that no escapee from Tamasuki has done this," Colonel Topenski said. "They're all accounted for, all locked up."
"That's good," Caird said. What was not so good was that it was possible that someone might notice the recording of Castor's transfer. If that were followed up, then HQrn would be in deep trouble. Eventually, so would Caird and all immers.
Caird looked at his watch. He said, "I have to get back home, Colonel. I live in Greenwich Village."
"Why don't you use a stoner here? There are plenty in the precinct house, only two blocks away."
"My wife isn't feeling well."
One more lie to cover up many.
"Perhaps she could stone early and go to the hospital next Tuesday."
"Thanks for the suggestion, Colonel, but I know her. She'll want me to be there with her."
Topenski shrugged and said, "Ah, well. We don't have much time left, and what'll we do with it anyway?"
"Not very much," Caird said. He started away, then stopped. "Well, yes, there is something we can do right now and so save time when we get going in the morning. We're dealing with a homicidal maniac. I think I'll put in a request for arms for the investigating personnel."
Topenski bit his lip, then said, "This situation really seems to call for extreme measures. I think the general will agree. She's over there."
Caird hurried to catch Horn, who was just about to get into an organic vehicle. She stepped back out when she heard him call and turned toward him. Caird gestured that she should join him. She understood that he wanted them to be out of earshot of the others. After hearing his suggestion that weapons should be requisitioned, she nodded.
"Of course, I'll have to justify it to the governor and the organic council. If they balk, I'll show them recordings of the scene of the crime and take them to the morgue."
"Can you get away with orders to shoot to kill if necessary?"
"Yes ... only ... the murderer has to be identified first. And the other days may not want to issue an order to shoot. At least, not until they have ID.
"As for us, we must drop any plans for stoning and hiding him. What if he were found and destoned? No. We must kill him."
"It's the right decision, hard as it is," Caird said. "Anyway, I suspect we'll have no choice. He's probably got a gun or will get one. We'll have to kill him if only in self-defense."
"Yes, but I'll have to follow routine and order the armed personnel to warn him first."
"I know. Ijust hope I get to him first."
He looked at his watch. "I need a weapon right now. Just in case Castor should be in my neighborhood when I get home."
Horn went into the car and turned on the rear seat strip. She was giving her order before he got settled in beside her. The driver took the car off as fast as the electric motor would take it, orange lights flashing, siren wailing. The traffic was thin; most people were home and getting ready to stone. By the time the few blocks had been covered, the sergeant in charge at the precinct had opened the armory. Caird and Horn went in past the organics lining up to receive their arms and got the sergeant to wait on them immediately. Rank had its privileges.
Caird put his weapon in his shoulderbag, said, "Until tomorrow, Tony," and hurried out to the car. The driver, delighted at being permitted to speed, took the car at its top velocity of forty miles an hour. Horn had arranged that the signal lights would be green for them all the way to the house on Bleecker Street. Caird did not know what excuse she might have to give for this special treatment, but he was sure that she would think of something reasonable.