George H. Smith

“ The youngest of the security agents rose from where he had been kneeling beside Ballard and crossed to me.
"You're Green, aren't you?" I nodded and he continued, "How did you know it was murder?"
I laughed at him. "How the hell could a man bash in his own brains that way?"
The gray haired man stepped into the breach. He gave us all a thorough going over, but concentrated on MacKinney and me. He seemed to think it peculiar that neither of us could give any reason for Ballard's being alone with Edith. ”

“ Edith blinked several times. I was shaking with apprehension for her. A mind so delicate and noble should not be faced with such a dilemma.
Yes, she typed back.
"Did you witness the murder?"
There was a longer pause this time. "You must answer the question," MacKinney reminded her.
I was here.
"Is it true that you do not lose your perceptive qualities when we turn you off?" MacKinney asked this on his own.
It is true.
"We might as well get to the heart of the matter," the coroner said. "Did Mr. Thompson kill Ballard?"
Edith clicked and her eyes glowed. No.
"Did Mr. MacKinney kill Ballard?" ”

“ Edith was silent, and would be, until we turned her on and fed the tapes into her.
"It looks as though this is what did it," MacKinney said, indicating a large spanner lying on the floor beside Ballard. He touched it gingerly with his foot. His face was white and strained and it occurred to me that he was more upset than I thought he should be. After all, he had as much reason to hate the dead man as the rest of us. Ballard had taken advantage of his position as head of the research project to make passes at Jane Currey and MacKinney wasn't at all a cool scientist when it came to Jane. ”