Page 29 - Brokenclaw - John Gardner

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LORDS AND LORDS DAY

The Bureau Chief, the senior FBI agent working out of San Francisco, was a
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stocky, battered-looking man in his mid-forties. He sat in his shirtsleeves, his
tie pulled loose, the desk of his cluttered office giving the impression that he

was not happy with paperwork. His name was Broderick, and he also did not
seem to be happy with James Bond.
‘Captain Bond RN,’ he announced to Bond, as though passing on uncertain
information. ‘Captain James Bond. Uh?’

‘How can I help?’ 007 was not going to open the batting.
‘Well,’ Broderick ran stubby fingers through greying unruly hair. ‘Well,
we’ve been asked to hand you over to your own people. In fact they asked us to
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keep an eye on you yesterday.’ He grunted again. ‘Truth to tell, I’m a tad angry

with myself. The boys are just angry. We all get that way when one of our own
meets an untimely and brutal end. You ever set eyes on this man?’ He tossed a
five-by-four matt photograph across the desk, and Bond found himself looking
into a pleasant young face staring out of the picture with eyes that seemed full

of hope and determination.
‘Yes. Yes, I saw this man last night.’
‘Uh-hu? Tell me about it.’
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Bond told him, for the photograph was undoubtedly Porpoise, the man he
had seen clubbed to death in the Chinatown alley. When he had finished the
story, Broderick sighed and nodded. ‘You didn’t think to tell anybody about
this?’
‘Yes. I did think about it. But it was necessary for me to wait. There’s

someone I felt I had to talk to first.’

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