"That's right. And Umholtz was in the infantry, in the other war; he
served in the Twenty-eighth Division. He was trained to use a bayonet.
And he'd pick that short Mauser; it has about the same weight and balance
as a 1903 Springfield."
"Well, you know, the killer wouldn't need to have been trained to use a
bayonet," Rand pointed out. "Mick McKenna made that point, this
afternoon. There have been a lot of war-movies that showed bayonet
fighting; pretty nearly everybody knows about the technique that was
used. And against an unarmed and probably unsuspecting victim like
Rivers, a great deal of proficiency wouldn't be needed." He slowed the
car. "Up this road?" he asked.
"Yes. That's my place, over there."
Pierre pointed to a white-walled, red-roofed house that lay against a
hillside, about a mile ahead, making a vivid spot in the dull grays and
greens of the early April landscape. It consisted of a square two-story
block, with one-story wings projecting to give it an L-shaped floorplan.
It reminded Rand of farmhouses he had seen in Sicily during the War.
"Come on in and see my stuff, if you have time," Pierre invited, as
Rand pulled to a stop in the driveway. "I think I told you what I
collect--personal combat arms, both firearms and edge-weapons."
They entered the front door, which opened directly into a large parlor, a
brightly colored, cheerful room. A woman rose from a chair where she had
been reading. She was somewhere between forty-five and fifty, but her
figure was still trim, and she retained much of what, in her youth, must
have been great beauty.
"Mother, this is Colonel Rand," Pierre said. "Jeff, my mother."
Rand shook hands with her, and said something polite. She gave him a
smile of real pleasure.
"Pierre has been telling me about you, Colonel," she said. There was a
faint trace of French accent in her voice. "I suppose he brought you here
to show you his treasures?"
"Yes; I collect arms too. Pistols," Rand said.
She laughed. "You gun-collectors; you're like women looking at somebody's
new hat.... Will you stay for dinner with us, Colonel Rand?"
"Why, I'm sorry; I can't. I have a great many things to do, and I'm
expected for dinner at the Flemings'. I really wish I could, Mrs.
Jarrett. Maybe some other time."
They chatted for a few minutes, then Pierre guided Rand into one of the
wings of the house.
"This is my workshop, too," he said. "Here's where I do my writing." He
opened a door and showed Rand into a large room.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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