off the toe of the most badly battered male corpse and substituted mine。 His tag I pocketed； then spent a merry few minutes changing around all the other tags。 During this process I took a right shoe from the corpse with the biggest feet and jammed my frozen left foot into it。 All the tags were hung from the left big toe and I loudly cursed such needless precision。 My chest was bare where my shipsuit and bulletproof cover had been cut away。 One of my silent friends had a warm shirt he didn't need； so I borrowed that too。
Don't think for a Second that all this was easy。 I was staggering and mumbling to myself while I did it。 When it was finished I slapped off the light and cracked the door of the freezer。 The air from the hall felt like a furnace。 There wasn't a soul in sight so I closed the vault and staggered over to the nearest door。 It was to a storeroom and the only thing there that I could use was a chair。 I sat in this as long as I dared； then went looking again。 The next door was locked but the third one opened to a dark room where I could hear someone breathing evenly in his sleep。 This was more like it。
Whoever this sacktime artist was； he surely knew his sleeping trade。 I rifled the room and fumbled with the clothes I found and put them on clumsilyyet he never heard a sound。 Which was probably the best thing for him because I was in a skull…fracturing humor。 The novelty of this little affair had worn off and all I could think about was the pain。 There was a hat too； so I put this on and checked out。 I saw people at a distance； but no one was watching when I pushed open an emergency exit and found myself back on the rain…drenched streets of Freiburbad。
Chapter 12
That night and the next few days are hazy in the memory for obvious reasons。 It was a risk to go back to my room； but a calculated one。 The chances were good that Angelina didn't know of its existence or； even if she had found out； that she wouldn't have done anything about it。 I was dead and she had no further interest in me。 This appeared to be true； because I wasn't bothered after I was in the room。 I had the management send up some food and at least two bottles of liquor a day so it would look like I was on an extended and solitary bender。 The rotgut went down the drain and I picked a bit at the food while my body slowly recovered。 I kept my aching flesh drenched in antibiotics and loaded with painkillers； and counted myself lucky。
On the third morning I felt weak but almost human。 My arm in the cast throbbed when I moved it； the black and blue marks on my chest were turning gorgeous shades of violet and gold； but my headache was almost gone。 It was time to plan for the future。 I sipped some of the liquor I had been using to flush out the plumbing and called down for the newspapers of the past three days。 The ancient delivery tube wheezed and disgorged them onto the table。 Going through them carefully； I was pleased to discover that my plan had worked much better than should have been expected。
The day after my murder there had been items in every paper about it； grubbed from the hospital records by the slothful newshounds who hadn't even bothered to glance at the corpse。 That was all。 Nothing later about Big Hospital Scandal in Missing Corpse or Suit Brought Because That's Not Uncle Frim In The Coffin。 If my jiggery…pokery in the frozen meat locker had been uncovered； it was being kept a hospital family secret and heads were rolling in private。
Angelina； my sharpshooting sweetheart； must then think of me as securely dead； a victim of her own murderous trigger finger。 Nothing could be better。 As soon as I was able to I would be getting back on her trail again； the job of tracking her made immensely simpler by her believing me to be a whisp of greasy smoke in the local crematorium。 There was plenty of time now to plan this thing and plan it right。 No more funny business about who was hunting whom。 I was going to get as much pleasure out of arresting Angelina as she had derived from blasting away at me with her portable artillery。
It was a humiliating but true fact that she had outmaneuvered me all the way down the line。 She had stolen the battleship from under my nose； torn a wide swath through galactic shipping； then escaped neatly right under my gun。 What made the situation most embarrassing was that she had set a trap for mewhen I thought I was hunting her。 Hindsight is a great revealer of obviousities and this one was painfully clear now。 While escaping from the captured battleship she had not been hysterical in the slightest。 That role had been feigned。 She had been studying me； every bit of my face that could be seen； every intonation of my voice。 Hatred had seared my picture in her memory； and while escaping she must have considered constantly how I would be thinking when I followed her。 At the safest and least obvious spot in her flight she had stoppedand waited。 Knowing I would e and knowing that she would be more prepared for the encounter than I was。 This was all past history。 Now it was my turn to deal the cards。
All kinds of schemes and plans trotted through my head to be weighed and sampled。 Top prioritybefore anything else was attemptedwould be a plete physical change for me。 This would be necessary if I wanted to catch up with Angelina。 It was also required if I were to stay out of the long reach of the Corps。 The fact had not been mentioned during my training； but I was fairly sure the only way one left the Special Corps was feet first。 Though I was physically down and out there was nothing wrong with the old think box and I put it to use。 Facts were needed； and I gave a small endowment to the city library in the form of rental fees。 Fortunately there were filmcopies of all the local newspapers available； going back for years。 I made the acquaintance of an extremely yellowish journal endearingly called 〃HOT NEWS！！〃 Hot News！！ aimed at a popular readershipwith a vocabulary I estimated at approximately three hundred wordswho relished violence in its multiform aspects。 Most of the time these were just copter accidents and such； with full color photos of course。 But very often there were juicy muggings； sluggings and such which proved the quieting hand of galactic civilization still hadn't throttled Freibur pletely。 In among these exaggerated tales of violence lay the murky crime I was searching for。
Mankind has always been capricious in its lawmaking； inventing such intriguingly different terms as manslaughter； justified homicide and such； as if dead wasn't dead。 Though fashions in both crime and sentencing e and go； there is one crime that will always bring universal detestation。 That is the crime of being a bungling doctor。 I have heard tell that certain savage tribes used to slaughter the physician if his patient died； a system that is not without merit。 This single…minded loathing of the butchering quack is understandable。 When ill； we deliver ourselves pletely into the doctor's hands。 We give a plete stranger the opportunity to toy with that which we value most。 If this trust is violated there is naturally a hotness of temper among the witnesses or survivors。
Ordinary…citizen Vulff Siftemitz had formerly been the Highly Esteemed Doctor Siftemitz。 Hot News！ explained in overly lavish detail how he had mixed the life of Playboy and Surgeon until finally the knife in his twitching fingers had cut that instead of this and the life of a prominent politician had been shortened by a number of no doubt profitable years。 We must give Vulff credit for the fact that he had made an attempt to sober up before going to work； so that it was D。T。's not drunkenness that caused the fatal twitch。 His license was removed and he must have been fined most of his savings since there were later references to his having been involved in more sordid medical affairs。 Life had treated Vulff hard and dirty； he was just the man I was looking for。 On my first rubber…legged trip out of my room I took the liberty of paying him a professional call。
To a person of my abilities tracking down a pseudolegal stranger in a foreign city on a far planet presents no problems。 Just a matter of technique an