Free Wild Cards [07] Dead Man's Hand by George R.R. Martin Page B

ever mention Chrysalis being afraid of someone?" She shook her head.
    "Some of his stories must have pissed people off. Was there anyone in particular had it in for him?"
    "Peregrine," Crash said quickly. "She and Dr. Tachyon were both angry with Digger over a story he did during the tour. He just reported what Tachyon told him."
    Dr. Tachyon was one of maybe six people that Jay was reasonably certain he could beat in an arm-wrestling contest. Peri he wasn't so sure about, but both of them were down in Atlanta anyway. "You're sure he had no history with Yeoman?" he asked. When she nodded, he said, "How about the Oddity?"
    She considered that for a minute. "Digger did a story on the Oddity years ago, when he first came on staff. He showed it to me once. It was very well written. Digger said it would have won a Pulitzer, but Lowboy spiked it and it never ran."
    "Why?" Jay said.
    Crash looked embarrassed. "It was before my time, but I guess it was because the Oddity's a joker. Lowboy is always saying that our readership doesn't want to read about jokers."
    "Was the Oddity upset that the story never ran?"
    "Not as much as Digger was," she said.
    Jay frowned. "You have any idea where Digger might have gone?"
    Crash shook her head. "All I know is he's not at home. I've phoned him a half-dozen times, but all I ever get is his machine."
    "That just means he's not answering the phone. Could be hiding under his bed, for all we know." He could be dead, too, he thought, lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, his brains leaking onto the rug. He didn't say it. "I better check." Jay. looked at her thoughtfully. "Before, you said something about my file."
    "Sure," she said. "We have files on all the aces."
    Jay put his hand on top of the computer. "Can you get at them through this thing?"
    "You can tap into our data library from any work station, if you've got the password," she said. "But I could get fired for giving unauthorized access to our files."
    "No problem," Jay said. "I'm sure Digger will understand. If he's still alive."
    Crash looked at him for a moment, then got up and pulled the dustcover off the computer. Jay leaned over her shoulder. She turned on the machine and typed in Digger's password.
    "Nose?" Jay asked.
    Crash shrugged. "It's his password, not mine. What file do you want to look at?"
    "Chrysalis got killed by someone who was inhumanly strong. Five'll get you ten that Digger's hiding from the same guy. I want to know who that could be."
    " I can call up a list of all aces on file with that power, but it's going to be awfully long. Enhanced physical strength is the third most common wild-card power, after telepathy and telekinesis."
    "Do it," Jay urged.
    Her fingers moved expertly over the computer keyboard. "You want just aces, or jokers, too?"
    "I thought Aces didn't report on jokers?"
    "We don't, but the library draws from all kinds of sources. SCARE reports, scientific papers, clippings from the daily press. The research department is very thorough."
    "If it's strong enough to pulp a human skull, I don't care if it's an ace, a joker, or a rutabaga."
    "We don't have the rutabaga data on line yet," she said, entering a series of commands. It seemed a god-awful long time before the computer completed its search.
    "Three hundred nineteen cases," Crash read cheerfully from the screen. "Not as many as I thought. That's everyone we know of who's ever displayed physical strength beyond the normal human range. Want me to print out the list?"
    "Three hundred nineteen suspects might be a little cumbersome," Jay said. "Is there some way to narrow it down?"
    "Sure," she said. "Factor in some other parameters. Some of these people are dead. We could eliminate them."
    "Dead people make lousy suspects," Jay agreed.
    Crash typed in a command. "Three hundred and two," she said. "Not much of an improvement. What if I restrict it to city residents?"
    Jay thought about that for a moment. "No," he said reluctantly.
    "Why not?" she