Chapter Three
Konrad stood nonplussed, unsure how to proceed. How could so clear a trail vanish without trace? You are certain?
Ootapi did not deign to respond, but he expressed his opinion of Konrad’s doubts clearly enough by way of a few disgusted flicks of his sinuous tail.
All right, I apologise.
He thought of Eetapi, and Nuritov. Had the inspector caught up yet? Perhaps he was even now attendant upon one of the earlier victims.
Konrad shared this notion with Nanda, and she, for lack of a better alternative, swiftly agreed to retrace their steps.
They found Nuritov by the side of the murdered woman. The inspector wore his usual wide-brimmed rain hat and long coat; he had a pipe in his hand, which he could not possibly hope to keep lit under such wet, windy conditions, but perhaps
