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.I ve got something to show you. It sat on the desk in the office on a piece of plastic. Ever seen anything like it? What the hell is it? A composite I constructed from the pawprint casts Tom Rilker gave me.Whatevermade those prints has paws very much like this one. My God.It looks so Lethal.And that s exactly what it is.An efficient weapon.One of the best I ve everseen in nature, as a matter of fact. He picked it up. These long, jointed toes can grasp, Ithink, quite well.And the claw retracts.Very beautifully and very strange. He shook hishead. Only one thing wrong with it. Which is? It can t exist.Too perfect a mutation.No defects at all.Plus it s at least three stepsahead of its canine ancestors.Maybe if it was a single mutation it would be acceptable, butthere are the prints of five or six different animals in here.There must be a pack of thesethings. He turned the plaster model in his hand. The odds against this arebillions trillions to one. But not impossible? He held the model out to Wilson, who stared but didn t touch. We have the evidenceright here.And I want to know more about the creatures that made these prints.Rilkercouldn t give me a damn bit of information.That s why I called you.I didn t want to getinvolved, but frankly I m curious. Wilson put on a sickly smile. You re curious, he said. That s very nice.We re allcurious.But we can t help you.You ve just told us a lot more than we knew.You re theone who can answer questions. The scientist looked puzzled and a little sad.He took his glasses off, then dropped intohis chair and put the plaster model back on the desk. I m sorry to hear that.I had hoped you d have more information for me.But I don t think you realize how little I know.Where did the prints come from can you tell me that? The scene of a crime. Oh come on, George, don t be so close-mouthed.They came from the scene of theDiFalco-Houlihan murders out in Brooklyn. The two policemen? Right.They were found all around the bodies. What s being done about this? Exactly nothing, Wilson snapped. At the moment the case is officially closed. But what about these prints? I mean, here s clear evidence that something out of theordinary is at work.This is no dog or wolf paw, you realize that? Surely somebody mustbe doing something about it. Wilson shot Becky a glance and kept staring as if surprised.The feeling that sheexperienced confused and pleased her not because of what the look communicated butbecause of the way his eyes lingered. Nobody s doing anything about it, Doctor, she said. That s why we re here.We are the only two police officers in New York on this case andwe re about to be reassigned. You understand that this claw belongs to a fearsome killer. He said it like it was arevelation. We know, Becky replied patiently.In her mind s eye she once again saw the faces ofthe dead.Doctor Ferguson seemed to withdraw into himself.His hands hung down at his sides,his head bowed.Becky had seen this kind of reaction to stress before, usually in those whohave been unexpectedly close to murderers. How many have died? he asked. Five so far that we know about, Wilson replied. There ve probably been more, Ferguson said faintly, maybe many more, if what Isuspect is right. Which is? He frowned. I can t say right now.I m not sure about it.If I m wrong it could harmmy career.We could be dealing with some kind of murderers hoax.I don t want to gettaken in by a hoax. Wilson sighed. You got any cigarettes? he asked.Ferguson produced a pack.Wilsontook one, tore off the filter and lit up.He did this all very quickly so that Becky wouldn thave a chance to stop him. You know, you shouldn t clam up on us.If you don t tell uswhat you think we aren t going to be able to help you. The scientist stared at them. Look, if I get tripped up by a hoax if I go out on a limbabout this thing and it turns out to be a fake I would lose my reputation.I don t knowwhat would become of me.Or I guess I do.Teaching at some backwoods college andnever quite reaching tenure. He shook his head. It s not much of a career. You re not presenting a paper here.You re talking confidentially to two New YorkCity policemen.There s a difference. True enough.Maybe I m exaggerating. So tell us your theory.For God s sake help us! The words came out of Wilson like abark, causing a sudden pause in the bustle of the workroom beyond the little office. I m sorry, he said more softly, I guess I m a little upset.Me and my partner here, we re theonly ones who even suspect what we re up against.And we ve had some badexperiences. Becky broke in. These things don t just kill.They hunt.They nearly got us in a houseup in the Bronx a few days ago.They hid on an upper floor.One of them tried to lure mewith the cries of a baby while the others Stalked me.They tried to separate us. And I think they might have been outside my apartment last night. The words had come in a rush out of both of them, driven by their rising sense ofisolation
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