She Had to Have Gas

Inspector Beale has seen many brutal crimes in his career, but this one takes the cake. The body of a young woman is seen, then it disappears, then it pops up again, only this time the head, and lower arms and legs have been cut off and are missing. Instead, tennis rack covers are taped to the neck and the two upper arms. But not the legs. So far, it’s just one of the goriest c...

Inspector Beale has seen many brutal crimes in his career, but this one takes the cake. The body of a young woman is seen, then it disappears, then it pops up again, only this time the head, and lower arms and legs have been cut off and are missing. Instead, tennis rack covers are taped to the neck and the two upper arms. But not the legs. So far, it’s just one of the goriest crimes he and his journalist pal, Tony Purdon, have ever seen. But then a second body is found — and it’s missing head, arms and feet. What is going on?

鲁伯特·潘尼（1909—1970）本名Ernest Basil Charles Thornett，出生于英国康沃尔。第二次大战期间他在英国政府的密码学校工作，战后仍然在政府的通信总部（GCHQ）工作。他从1936年到1941年间发表了八部侦探小说，都以解谜为特色，有的还 插入了类似埃勒里·奎因的挑战读者，颇具游戏精神。