“Well, they’re awful, George, just awful. Frankly, I don’t think I
can cope with this one. I need some help.”
Nugent’s back straightened even more. He nodded quickly,
eyes dancing in all directions.
Naifeh continued. “So I was thinking that maybe you’d do a
good job with this one.”
The colonel couldn’t stop himself smiling. Then the smile
disappeared and he looked serious again.
“ I’m sure I can handle it, sir.”
“ I’m sure you can too.” Naifeh pointed to a black book on his
desk. “We have a manual. There it is, the collected wisdom o f two
dozen visits to the gas chamber.”
Nugent noticed that the pages of the book were a mess. The
cover was worn and dirty. That would be his first job. The
paperwork would be perfectly organized by the time he had
finished with it.
“I’ll read it tonight, sir.” Nugent left the office, carrying the
black book carefully, like a kid with a new toy.
He’s crazy, thought Naifeh to himself, but he’ll do a marvelous
job of killing Sam Cayhall.