condensed master

Will Bonner
his head down between his arms. Will could see that he was upset. "What's the
matter, has something happened to Ed?" Tony nodded but no words came, and
as he raised his head Will could see tears in his eyes.
"He's had an accident."
"What sort of accident?"
"He was run over by a motor car."
"Where is he, is he injured?"
Tony seemed to take ages to answer, his head resting between his arms again.
He shook his head from side to side. "He's dead."
Will was dumbfounded, his mouth opening and closing but no words were
coming out. A barrage of questions were entering his brain. He had the sudden
urge to grab Tony and violently shake the answers out of him, but the numbness
he felt prevented him. They sat in silence for some minutes as Will waited for Tony
to regain his composure.
"The police say that it was a hit and run accident."
"Do you believe that?"
"It certainly looks that way."
Will's stomach was turning over, he knew this was no accident. "Are you sure
that this recent surveillance went without incident?"
"Not quite, but it wasn't significant."
"What do you mean, not significant?"
"When we got back Ed said he'd forgotten to do something before he left the
pier, so he went back."
"Did anyone see him afterwards, or go with him?"
"No."
"Where was he found?"
"Lying next to his car in the street. The police think that he'd just got out when
he was hit. The car door was still partly open."
"Were there any witnesses?"
"No, the police are looking for the car. Why are you asking me all these
questions?"
"Because when they find the car it will turn out to be stolen."
Tony's eyes opened wide, it was obvious that no one had applied any
reasoning to Ed's death. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
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