The Ambulance Made Two Trips

Detective Sergeant Fitzgerald has an awkward problem: someone keeps leaving expensive presents at his door. He suspects Big Jake Connors, whose influence is making the local police less eager to challenge his business dealings. Fitzgerald gives his latest gift to an orphanage, then investigates a series of strange incidents surrounding a cleaning establishment. Its owner, Brink, receives reports of threats and failed attacks with a composure the detective finds deeply irritating.

Murray Leinster's science fiction short story brings police work into contact with apparently impossible luck. Books on psychokinesis, a peculiar plastic machine and a twitching eyelid suggest that Brink's confidence has an unusual explanation. The exchanges between the suspicious detective and the unruffled cleaner give the story a dry comic edge. Readers who enjoy speculative ideas worked into everyday surroundings will find a tale of intimidation, stubborn honesty and mishaps that repeatedly upset the expected balance of power.