Read Aloud the Text Content

This audio was created by Woord's Text to Speech service by content creators from all around the world.

Text Content or SSML code:

"But," she insisted, "that would be the most efficient way for us to gather information." Her continued use of the plural indicated she considered herself part of my team. I laced my fingers to- gether behind my head. "Have you ever heard of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle?" I asked. "Of course." She did a poor job of hiding her surprise that I'd heard of it, but I'd learned some physics in my study of philosophy. "What is your understanding of it?" I asked. She played along. "It's a principle of quantum mechanics that holds that it is im- possible to measure the position and velocity of an object at ex- actly the same time because the very attempt to do so affects both the position and velocity of the object." "That's exactly right," I said, "and that's the situation we've got here. If these deaths are related, someone took great pains to make them appear unrelated. That suggests what in my Marine Corps days we used to call a 'highly motivated individual-someone who would not hesitate to kill again if he felt threatened. We don't know who the killer is or what his motive was, but the very attempt to find out might alert him to my investigation and put all of us in danger. It's vital that this remains a secret. I want your word on that." I was coming on strong, but I believed what I was saying and wanted her to. "But," she pleaded, "we'd just be contacting other math people." "Mary Pat," I said, "if these deaths are related, the killer almost certainly has some link to the mathematical community." She broke eye contact and gazed at the floor. "I guess you're right," she admitted. "Sometimes I dig in before I've considered all the arguments." "Me too," I said. "It's a hard habit to break." I unclasped my hands and switched legs so that my left crossed over my right. There was a brief pause, but I enjoyed talking with her and didn't want to leave. "So," I began, "you're working on your master's?"