mc.risingsun-第10章

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or　something　doesn't　work；　I　tell　somebody。　And　they　e　right　down；　and　they　know　the　system　…　how　it　works　…　and　we　go　over　the　problem　together；　and　it　gets　fixed。　Right　away。　Problems　get　fixed　here。　That's　the　difference。　I　tell　you：　these　people　pay　attention。〃
　〃So　you　like　it　here。〃
　〃They　always　treated　me　okay；〃　Phillips　said；　nodding。
　That　didn't　exactly　strike　me　as　a　glowing　endorsement。　I　had　the　feeling　this　guy　wasn't　mitted　to　his　employers　and　a　few　questions　could　drive　the　wedge。　All　we　had　to　do　was　encourage　the　break。
　〃Loyalty　is　important；〃　Connor　said；　nodding　sympathetically。
　〃It　is　to　them；〃　he　said。　〃They　expect　you　to　show　all　this　enthusiasm　for　the　pany。　So　you　know；　I　always　e　in　fifteen　or　twenty　minutes　early；　and　stay　fifteen　or　twenty　minutes　after　the　shift　is　over。　They　like　you　to　put　in　the　extra　time。　I　did　the　same　at　Van　Nuys；　but　nobody　ever　noticed。〃
　〃And　when　is　your　shift？〃
　〃I　work　nine　to　seven。〃
　〃And　tonight？　What　time　did　you　e　on　duty？〃
　〃Quarter　to　nine。　Like　I　said；　I　e　in　fifteen　minutes　early。〃
　The　original　call　had　been　recorded　about　eight…thirty。　So　if　this　man　came　at　a　quarter　to　nine；　he　would　have　arrived　almost　fifteen　minutes　too　late　to　see　the　murder。　〃Who　was　on　duty　before　you？〃
　〃Well；　usually　it's　Ted　Cole。　But　I　don't　know　if　he　worked　tonight。〃
　〃Why　is　that？〃
　The　guard　wiped　his　forehead　with　his　sleeve；　and　looked　away。
　〃Why　is　that；　Mr。　Phillips？〃　I　said；　with　a　little　more　force。
　The　guard　blinked　and　frowned；　saying　nothing。
　Connor　said　quietly；　〃Because　Ted　Cole　wasn't　here　when　Mr。　Phillips　arrived　tonight；　was　he；　Mr。　Phillips？〃
　The　guard　shook　his　head。　〃No；　he　wasn't；〃
　I　started　to　ask　another　question；　but　Connor　raised　his　hand。　〃I　imagine；　Mr。　Phillips；　you　must　have　been　pretty　surprised　when　you　came　in　this　room；　at　a　quarter　to　nine。〃
　〃You　damn　right　I　was；〃　Phillips　said。
　〃What　did　you　do　when　you　saw　the　situation？〃
　〃Well。　Right　away；　I　said　to　the　guy；　'Can　I　help　you？'　Very　polite　but　still　firm。　I　mean；　this　is　the　security　room。　And　I　don't　know　who　this　guy　is；　I've　never　seen　him　before。　And　the　guy　is　tense。　Very　tense。　He　says　to　me；　'Get　out　of　my　way。'　Real　pushy；　like　he　owns　the　world。　And　he　shoves　past　me；　taking　his　briefcase　with　him。
　〃I　say；　'Excuse　me；　sir；　I'll　have　to　see　some　identification。'　He　don't　answer　me；　he　just　keeps　going。　Out　the　lobby　and　down　the　stairs。〃
　〃You　didn't　try　and　stop　him？〃
　〃No；　sir。　I　didn't。〃
　〃Because　he　was　Japanese？〃
　〃You　got　that　right。　But　I　called　up　to　central　security　…　it's　up　on　the　ninth　floor　…　to　say　I　found　a　man　in　the　room。　And　they　say；　'Don't　worry；　everything　is　fine。'　But　I　can　hear　they're　tense；　too。　Everybody　is　tense。　And　then　I　see　on　the　monitor　。　。　。　the　dead　girl。　So　that's　the　first　I　knew　what　it　was　about。〃
　Connor　said；　〃The　man　you　saw。　Can　you　describe　him？〃
　The　guard　shrugged。　〃Thirty；　thirty…five。　Medium　height。　Dark　blue　suit　like　they　all　wear。　Actually　he　was　more　hip　than　most　of　them。　He　had　this　tie　with　triangles　on　it。　Oh　…　and　a　scar　on　his　hand；　like　a　burn　or　something。〃
　〃Which　hand？〃
　〃The　left　hand。　I　noticed　it　when　he　was　closing　the　briefcase。〃
　〃Could　you　see　inside　the　briefcase？〃
　〃No。〃
　〃But　he　was　closing　it　when　you　came　in　the　room？〃
　〃Yes。〃
　〃Was　it　your　impression　he　took　something　from　this　room？〃
　〃I　really　couldn't　say；　sir。〃
　Phillips's　evasiveness　began　to　annoy　me。　I　said；　〃What　do　you　think　he　took？〃
　Connor　shot　me　a　look。
　The　guard　went　bland：　〃I　really　don't　know；　sir。〃
　Connor　said；　〃Of　course　you　don't。　There's　no　way　you　could　know　what　was　in　somebody　else's　briefcase。　By　the　way；　do　you　make　recordings　from　the　security　cameras　here？〃
　〃Yes；　we　do。〃
　〃Could　you　show　me　how　you　do　that？〃
　〃Sure　thing。〃　The　guard　got　up　from　the　desk　and　opened　a　door　at　the　far　end　of　the　room。　We　followed　him　into　a　second　small　room；　almost　a　closet；　stacked　floor　to　ceiling　with　small　metal　boxes；　each　with　stenciled　notations　in　Japanese　kanji　script；　and　numbers　in　English。　Each　with　a　glowing　red　light；　and　an　LED　counter；　with　numbers　running　forward。
　Phillips　said；　〃These　are　our　recorders。　They　lay　down　signals　from　all　the　cameras　in　the　building。　They're　eight…millimeter；　high…definition　video。〃　He　held　up　a　small　cassette；　like　an　audio　cassette。　〃Each　one　of　these　records　eight　hours。　We　change　over　at　nine　p。m。；　so　that's　the　first　thing　I　do　when　I　e　on　duty。　I　pop　out　the　old　ones；　and　switch　over　to　the　fresh　ones。〃
　〃And　did　you　change　cassettes　tonight；　at　nine　o'clock？〃
　〃Yes；　sir。　Just　like　always。〃
　〃And　what　do　you　do　with　the　tapes　you　remove？〃
　〃Keep　'em　in　the　trays　down　here；〃　he　said；　bending　to　show　us　several　long；　thin　drawers。　〃We　keep　everything　off　the　cameras　for　seventy…two　hours。　That's　three　days。　So　we　keep　nine　sets　of　tapes　all　together。　And　we　just　rotate　each　set　through；　once　every　three　days。　Get　me？〃
　Connor　hesitated。　〃Perhaps　I'd　better　write　this　down。〃　He　produced　a　small　pad　and　a　pen。　〃Now；　each　tape　lasts　eight　hours；　so　you　have　nine　different　sets　。　。　。　。〃
　〃Right；　right。〃
　Connor　wrote　for　a　moment；　then　shook　his　pen　irritably。　〃This　damn　pen。　It's　out　of　ink。　You　have　a　wastebasket？〃
　Phillips　pointed　to　the　corner。　〃Over　there。〃
　〃Thank　you。〃
　Connor　threw　the　pen　away。　I　gave　him　mine。　He　resumed　his　notes。　〃You　were　saying；　Mr。　Phillips；　that　you　have　nine　sets　。　。　。〃
　〃Right。　Each　set　is　numbered　with　letters；　from　A　to　I。　Now　when　I　e　in　at　nine；　I　eject　the　tapes　and　see　whatever　letter　is　already　in　there；　and　put　in　the　next　one。　Like　tonight；　I　took　out　set　C；　so　I　put　in　set　D；　which　is　what's　recording　now。〃
　〃I　see；〃　Connor　said。　〃And　then　you　put　tape　set　C　in　one　of　the　drawers　here？〃
　〃Right。〃　He　pulled　open　a　drawer。　〃This　one　here。〃
　Connor　said。　〃May　I？〃　He　glanced　at　the　neatly　labeled　row　of　tapes。　Then　he　quickly　opened　the　other　drawers；　and　looked　at　the　other　stacks　of　tapes。　Except　for　the　different　letters；　all　the　drawers　looked　identical。
　〃I　think　I　understand　now；〃　Connor　said。　〃What　you　actually　do　is　use　nine　sets　in　rotation。〃
　〃Exactly。〃
　〃So　each　set　gets　used　once　every　three　days。〃
　〃Right。〃
　〃And　how　long　has　the　security　office　been　using　this　system？〃
　〃The　building's　new；　but　we've　been　going；　oh；　maybe　two　months　now。〃
　〃I　must　say　it's　a　very　well…organized　system；〃　Connor　said　appreciatively。　〃Thank　you　for　explaining　it　to　us。　I　have　only　a　couple　of　other　questions。〃
　〃Sure。〃
　〃First　of　all；　these　counters　here…　〃　Connor　said；　pointing　to　the　LED　counters　on　the　video　recorders。　〃They　seem　to　show　the　elapsed　times　since　the　tapes　began　recording。　Is　that　right？　Because　it's　now　almost　eleven　o'clock；　and　you　put　in　the　tapes　at　nine；　and　the　top　recorder　says　1：55：30　and　the　next　recorder　says　1：55：10；　and　so　on。〃
　〃Yes；　that's　right。　I　put　the　tapes　in　one　right　after　another。　It　takes　a　few　seconds　between　tapes。〃
　〃I　see。　These　all　show　almost　two　hours。　But　I　notice　that　one　recorder　down　here　shows　an　elapsed　time　of　only　thirty　minutes。　Does　that　mean　it's　broken？〃
　〃Huh；〃　Phillips　said；　frowning。　〃I　guess　maybe　it　is。　'Cause　I　changed　the　tapes　all　one　after　another；　like　I　said。　But　these　recorders　are　the　latest　technology。　Sometimes　there　are　glitches。　Or　we　had　some　power　problems。　Could　be　that。〃
　〃Yes。　Quite　possibly；〃　Connor　said。　〃Can　you　tell　me　which　camera　is　hooked　to　this　recorder？〃
　〃Yes；　of　course。〃　Phillips　read　the　number　off　the　recorder；　and　went　out　to　the　main　room　with　the　monitor　screens。　〃It's　camera　four…six　slash　six；〃　he　said。　〃This　view　here。〃　He　tapped　the　screen。
　It　was　an　atrium　camera；　and　it　showed　an　overall　view　of　the　forty…sixth　floor。
　〃But　you　see；〃　Phillips　said；　〃the　beauty　of　the　system　is；　even　if　one　recorder　screws　up；　there　are　still　other　cameras　on　that　floor；　and　the　video　recorders　on　the　others　seem　to　be　working　okay。〃
　〃Yes；　they　do；〃　Connor　said。　〃By　the　way；　can　you　tell　me　why　there　are　so　many　cameras　on　the　forty…sixth　floor？〃
　〃You　didn't　hear　it　from　me；〃　Phillips　said。　〃But　you　know　how　they　like　eff