The Impossibles | Page 7

sudden introduction of a completely new name confused Malone

for an instant, but he recovered gamely. "Sergeant Jukovsky was the
man who investigated the car," he said.
"That's right," Burris said. "Except that he didn't."
Malone sighed.
"Those four officers--the witnesses--they weren't paying much attention
to what looked like the routine investigation of a parked car," Burris
said. "But here's their testimony. They were standing around talking
when this Sergeant Jukovsky came out of the station, spoke to them in
passing, and went on across the street. He didn't seem very worried or
alarmed about anything."
"Good," Malone said involuntarily. "I mean, go on, Chief," he added.
"Ah," Burris said. "All right. Well. According to Jukovsky, he took a
look at the plate and found the numbers checked the listing he had for a
stolen Connecticut car. Then he walked around to take a look inside the
car. It was empty. Get that, Malone. The car was empty."
"Well," Malone said, "it was parked. I suppose parked cars are usually
empty. What's special about this one?"
"Wait and see," Burris said ominously. "Jukovsky swears the car was
empty. He tried the doors, and they were all locked but one, the front
door on the curb side, the driver's door. So he opened it, and leaned
over to have a look at the odometer to check the mileage. And
something clobbered him on the back of the head."
"One of the other cops," Malone said.
"One of the--who?" Burris said. "No. Not the cops. Not at all."
"Then something fell on him," Malone said. "Okay. Then whatever fell
on him ought to be--"
"Malone," Burris said.

"Yes, Chief?"
"Jukovsky woke up on the sidewalk with the other cops all around him.
There was nothing on that sidewalk but Jukovsky. Nothing could have
fallen on him; it hadn't landed anywhere, if you see what I mean."
"Sure," Malone said. "But--"
"Whatever it was," Burris said, "they didn't find it. But that isn't the
peculiar thing."
"No?"
"No," Burris said slowly. "Now--"
"Wait a minute," Malone said. "They looked on the sidewalk and
around there. But did they think to search the car?"
"They didn't get a chance," Burris said. "Anyhow, not then. Not until
they got around to picking up the pieces of the car uptown at 125th
Street."
Malone closed his eyes. "Where was this precinct?" he said.
"Midtown," Burris said. "In the forties."
"And the pieces of the car were eighty blocks away when they searched
it?" Malone said.
Burris nodded.
"All right," Malone said pleasantly. "I give up."
"Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you," Burris said. "According to the
witnesses, after Jukovsky fell out of the car, the motor started and the
car drove off uptown."
"Oh," Malone said. He thought about that for a minute and decided at
last to hazard one little question. It sounded silly--but then, what didn't?

"The car just drove off all by itself?" he said.
Burris seemed abashed. "Well, Malone," he said carefully, "that's
where the conflicting stories of the eyewitnesses don't agree. You see,
two of the cops say there was nobody in the car. Nobody at all. Of any
kind. Small or large."
"And the other two?" Malone said.
"The other two swear they saw somebody at the wheel," Burris said,
"but they won't say whether it was a man, a woman, a small child, or an
anthropoid ape. And they haven't the faintest idea where he, she, or it
came from."
"Great," Malone said. He felt a little tired. This trip was beginning to
sound less and less like a vacation.
"Those two cops swear there was something--or somebody--driving the
car," Burris said. "And that isn't all."
"It isn't?" Malone said.
Burris shook his head. "A couple of the cops jumped into a squad car
and started following the red Cadillac. One of these cops saw
somebody in the car when it left the curb. The other one didn't. Got
that?"
"I've got it," Malone said, "but I don't exactly know what to do with it."
"Just hold on to it," Burris said, "and listen to this. The cops were about
two blocks behind at the start, and they couldn't close the gap right
away. The Cadillac headed west and climbed up the ramp of the West
Side Highway, heading north, out toward Westchester. I'd give a lot to
know where they were going, too."
"But they crashed," Malone said, remembering that the pieces were at
125th Street. "So--"
"They didn't crash right away," Burris said. "The prowl car started

gaining on the Cadillac slowly. And--now, get this, Malone--both the
cops swear there was somebody in the driver's seat now."
"Wait a minute," Malone said. "One of these cops didn't see anybody at
all in the driver's seat when the car started