Christ Clone Read Online Free PDF Page A

number?' Logan asked.
    'No, but I've still got the same home number.'
    Logan checked the report and read the number aloud.
    Malone nodded.
    Logan made a note of Malone's number and turned to put the file back in the cabinet.
    While Logan's back was turned, Malone leaned toward the computer screen. He quickly read the address of the Salinas home, and began the task of transferring that information to his remaining memory cells. He never could use the trick where you linked the name and number to some obscure item; he had to rely on constant repetition.
    As Logan led him back through the office maze, the intermingling conversations and office noise impacted the brain cells to which he'd allocated the Salinas' address. Malone's head started to pound. They came to the main door and Malone shook the detective's hand again.
He controlled the urgency of his goodbyes and briskly exited the station. Once outside, he dived for his notepad and pen; as the contact details were consigned to paper, he felt the pressure in his head subside and he let out a huge sigh of relief. If this sort of thing is going to continue, Malone thought, I either need to grow more memory cells or find a better way to gather information.
    Having seen the state of Detective Logan's computer, Malone knew he somehow had to get online. His next stop was the Computer
Warehouse. The store was as wide as it was deep, and big enough to house a jumbo jet. There were endless rows of computers, laptops, monitors, and other peripherals, with a sectioned-off area full of boxed software. Malone was way out of his league; this was going to be a bigger mission than he'd thought.
    'You look lost,' a voice behind him said.
    Malone turned to see a heavy-set young man wearing the company uniform with a badge that announced: My name is Daniel. How can I help you? His name was a sticker attached to the badge, as replaceable as the staff member who wore it.
    Daniel was trying to be helpful; it had been a long time since Malone had seen a computer, let alone used one. He explained this to the assistant, hoping he'd be able to buy one he could at least switch on.
    'This is one of our most basic, user-friendly models,' Daniel said.
He was speaking slowly and choosing his words with care. Normally this would have bothered Malone, but his headache was returning and along with it the need for a drink, so the simple computer language helped.
    'It's ideal for the start-up beginner, internet-enabled with a thousand gigs of hard drive.' Daniel had lost him again.
    Malone just wanted to get out of the store. 'Listen, Daniel, if you were me, would you buy this computer?'
    Daniel thought about it for a moment and Malone assumed he was thinking more about the commission than the suitability. 'Yes sir,
I would,' he finally announced.
    'Fine, I'll take it. Can you have it delivered and installed?'
    Daniel, seizing an opportunity to make money on the side, said quietly, 'I'll deliver it and install it myself for fifty bucks — for another hundred I'll throw in some basic training.' He'd turned his back to the sales counter as he made the offer. Like a man selling stolen watches in an alley, he didn't want to get caught.
    Daniel's proposition was music to his ears. Malone agreed, and they wrote up the paperwork.
    The next stop was the mall. Over the years, his solitary life had made him slightly agoraphobic; both the size of the mall and the number of people inside made him want to turn and run for home.
But he took a deep breath and went inside. His heart rate sped up as he passed through the automatic doors; the cold breath of the air-conditioning hit him immediately, and the buzz of talk from the crowds in the mall.
    I'll find the closest men's store, pick up a few things and then move on, simple as that — he was thinking this way more to comfort himself than as a mission statement. He moved through the mall with his head bowed, lifting it from time to time as he looked for a mall