“come in, mister eggwhistle. have a seat.”
“thank you, sir.”
mr eggwhistlle was a small man, with a head and face small even for his size. he wore a gray suit that did not look either cheap or expensive, and a neatly knotted plain blue tie. he carried a white panama hat in his hand , and kept in his lap when he sat down.
the director’s secretary closed the door behind her, leaving mr eggwhistle alone with the director.
mr eggwhistle waited for the director to speak.
a light rain pattered on the one small window of the director’s office. all the windows in the establishment were small, as a precaution against the wards and guests of the establishment crawling out of them.
“you gave satisfaction the last time we employed you, mr eggwhistle,” the director began. “we have another similar case, perhaps a bit more challenging.”
<
mr eggwhistle nodded. “does this case involve another escapee?”
“yes, it does.”
“just one ? one person?”
“yes, just one.” the director smiled slightly. “more than one, it might have made the newspapers, heaven forbid.”
“and in what way might it be more challenging?” mr eggwhistle asked.
“in two ways. first, the escapee has, so far as we know, no friends or family, no one he can reach out to or contact. “
“that should make things easier,” mr eggwhistle said.
“perhaps, “the director agreed.
“and what else?”
the director paused. “let me explain the general situation. there is a disagreement as to how dangerous this individual is. put briefly, for as long as he was in our care, there was a great discrepancy between his actions and his words. he was one of the most docile inmates we ever had. he never threatened either an attendant or another inmate. he never had to be restrained. he never gave any trouble, and always did exactly as he was told.”
mr eggwhistle smiled. “a model human being, in short.”
“yes,” the director agreed. “a model living creature.”
“so where was the discrepancy?”
“in the way he talked.”
“ah - of course.”
“though he never threatened anyone here, he was full of fire, brimstone, and dire threats for the world in general, and especially those whom he considered had wronged him. so - to get to the point, the police have taken the attitude that he is harmless, and although they will not come right and say so, it is obvious that , a certain time having passed, they feel no urgency at this point in pursuing him. “
mr eggwhistle nodded. “that is understandable.”
“no doubt. but it is the institute, and not the police, who will face recriminations, bad publicity and lawsuits if his actions do turn out to match his words. that is why we have decided to once again employ your services.”
“i see. at the same terms as last time.”
“basically. we propose to give you twice the fee, and give you twice the time to find him - four weeks. would that suit you?”
”i should think so. you must want this fellow pretty badly.”
“i do. i say, i do, because it was i who prevailed on the board to offer such terms.. i have a bad feeling about this fellow.”
“well then, i thank you.”
“the basic terms are exactly the same as before. you get a flat fee, no expenses. you keep the fee, no matter how quickly you find him, or if you do not find him at all. of course if you do not find him at all , that might count against considering you in any further opportunities , and count against any recommendation we might be asked to make about you.”
“yes, that is all understood,” mr eggwhistle replied with the barest hint of impatience. “now, what information can you give me about my prey?”
“not nearly as much as i would like,” the director sighed. he opened a drawer in his desk and took a thin manila folder out of it.
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