The Rocket Man Read Online Free

The Rocket Man
Book: The Rocket Man Read Online Free
Author: Maggie Hamand
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I replied. One must never miss an opportunity to get at the Americans, you understand. You know about the American attempts to design gas centrifuges, don’t you? They tried to build them too big – the Americans always have to do things big. It never worked, of course, and they abandoned this project.’ Nihal had the impression that Gavrilov was really enjoying himself; he was intrigued; he had no idea what was coming next. Gavrilov took another gulp of his whisky and carried on.
    â€˜So we went from one end of the hall to the other. We were standing right at the end of the line… it was hard to hear him because of the thump of the hex solidifying against the walls of the containers. I could see Cruz and Müller packing the samples, I was going to go over to them but Oliveira shook his finger at me. ”Let us not interrupt them,” he said. ”They are very busy. Come up to my office.” Of course you do not argue or disagree somehow if there is an armed man standing by your side. So we went back to the office. He got me another cup of this disgusting coffee and after a short chat he left me there in the company of some poker-faced soldier.’
    â€˜Didn’t you think this was all a bit suspicious?’ asked Nihal.
    â€˜Suspicious? Well, of course, in a way it is suspicious… but this kind of thing goes on all the time, you know that. It’s a bit humiliating, I suppose, to be treated as some kind of industrial spy, but then, we Russians are used to such things, well, it’s a humiliating thing to be a Russian nowadays.’
    He paused for a moment, turning the glass round in his hands. ‘Anyway, the real point of this long story is this; while I was waiting in the office Oliveira told me something I thought you might like to know… please don’t attribute it to me. You see, there is no question that these military types would love to build a bomb. He said to me: “Of course, the decision not to make a bomb is purely political. We have the capability. The first nuclear bomb was exploded nearly fifty years ago… it would be inconceivable for Brazil not to master a technology that is fifty years old.”‘

II
    T he inquest into the death of Hans Müller took place two weeks later in a building near the Rathaus. Bob went with his other colleagues from the IAEA and Katie went with Lieselotte. She sat next to her on the wooden bench, holding her hand, hoping to give support, but Lieselotte sat expressionlessly through the whole proceedings.
    The evidence was fairly straightforward. The cause of death was unquestionably the barbiturate capsules which he had taken on a empty stomach, washed down with whisky, which had resulted in death within the hour. Müller’s doctor testified that the pills used were not the non-addictive ones he had prescribed recently when Müller had complained of inability to sleep. There was no explanation for where the drugs had come from; the small brown bottle bore no label, so it had not been possible to trace them through the local pharmacies; perhaps he had obtained them on one of his frequent trips abroad. Doctors abroad might prescribe less cautiously, and in some countries it was often possible to obtain such drugs over-the-counter.
    Then came the question of the suicide note. It had been written on his own notepaper, with his own pen. It was unquestionably his writing. The fact that the writing had deteriorated at the end of the note could have been due either to emotion or to the fact that he was confused or already slipping into unconsciousness after taking the drug. The coroner made the point that his wife had said that she thought the note was odd; it seemed stilted, not how he would have normally expressed himself. The lawyer’s name had been misspelt, though again, this could have been caused by stress or confusion. At this point Lieselotte turned to Katie and she could see that she was hoping
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