Read Online The Frankenstein Factory by Edward D. Hoch - Free Book Online Page B

the World Trade Center in New York. Our director, Carl Crader, is personally responsible to the President of the United States.”
    “Is your name really Jazine?” Tony asked.
    “Yes. And I know a great deal about medical photography and documentation too, thanks to a crash course back East. You see, our bureau investigates all varieties of computer and technological crime. I’m fairly new with CIB, but I can tell you they’ve been concerned for some time about the possibility of fraud in the various cryonics societies operating around the country. The freezing of bodies for reanimation in another era can be a very profitable business, especially when the owners of the business will be long dead before anyone can cry fraud.”
    “I resent your tone, Jazine,” Lawrence Hobbes thundered, getting to his feet. “I’ve played fair with you, talked frankly about matters that should have been confidential. Now I find you were sent here to spy on me.”
    “Investigate, not spy on,” Earl corrected.
    “He’s been recording our conversations,” Vera said. “I caught him at it.”
    “You should have told me sooner.”
    Earl couldn’t understand the reason for Vera’s sudden sharp turning against him. Did it have something to do with Freddy’s death? Did she somehow hold him responsible? “It’s only a routine investigation,” he assured them. “We were looking for a way into one of these groups when we got wind of your urgent request for a medical photographer. I took the regular man’s place, that’s all. We were especially interested in ICI because the range of your activities includes certain cryogenic research.”
    “Am I to be penalized for my research now?”
    “Certainly not. But the funding of it raises some questions. Your annual financial report filed with Washington doesn’t answer all of them.”
    “As you know, Miss Emily Watson was most generous to the institute. She helped tide us over a number of slow periods.”
    “And now she’s conveniently vanished.”
    “Her disappearance will benefit me in no way. Anything left us in her will could be tied up for years if the body isn’t found.”
    “It’ll be found,” Tony Cooper assured them. “We only have to figure out where the killer hid it.”
    “He didn’t hide Freddy,” Vera pointed out.
    “Probably didn’t have time.”
    “All right,” Earl said. “As long as you all know who I am, I’ll go along with the suggestion of Miss Morgan that I act as the legal authority here, until the proper local authorities are able to be summoned.”
    “Thanks a lot,” Tony remarked, just a bit sarcastically. “I don’t know what we’d do without someone official to keep track of the bodies.”
    “I should point out that you and Vera probably had the strongest motives for wanting Freddy dead.”
    “What!”
    “You heard me. She was even heard to remark that she’d take care of him after the operation was completed—or words to that effect.”
    “I didn’t mean I’d kill him!”
    “Probably not—but I have no way of knowing for sure.” He was going to make her sorry she’d revealed his identity.
    “All this isn’t getting us anywhere,” Hobbes argued. “Even if Vera had a reason to kill Freddy—and all of us who’ve been within earshot of him this week will grant the possibility of a motive—that still doesn’t give her a reason for killing Emily or MacKenzie.”
    “No,” Earl granted.
    “Then let’s stop looking for suspects and decide what we should do to stay alive.”
    “One thing I want for sure. There’s no need to have someone down here watching Frank, but I do think it’s important that we watch each other—sort of a buddy system.”
    “My God!” Vera chuckled. “Just like at girls’ camp!”
    “You two ladies should stay together—”
    “Wait a minute!” Tony said. “Vera stays with me. I’ll take care of her!”
    “All right,” Earl agreed reluctantly. “Then Hobbes and Hilda and Armstrong