Detective and mystery stories; Forensic scientists -- Fiction
“So I photographed the wound and the bruise. Well, when I saw Weston,
I saw she had really been drugged. Contracted pupils, bluish pallor.
Morphia. Same symptoms in Ford. Why should they drug themselves and
not drug Birdie? That ruled them out. Also, I surprised Flora in
Birdie’s bedroom doing something by the bed. When I browsed round
afterwards I found a wet bloodstain under a clean rug. When Flora
knew the Weston girl was arrested and the jewels had been missed, she
chucked the ring into Weston’s room. While you were searching the
house, I drifted into Miss Flora’s room. Several medicine bottles
about. One of ’em empty. That had carried a strong solution of
morphia. So I set my chauffeur to watch for Flora. And that night she
went off to the lodgings of Nastitch. She’s been buzzing round ever
since. Well?”
“Well, sir, it’s a good thing you didn’t take to crime,” said
Superintendent Bell.
“Oh, that’s much harder,” said Reggie.
CASE III
THE NICE GIRL
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness
thrust upon them. That was Dr. Reginald Fortune’s trouble. He had
become a specialist, and, as he told anybody who would listen,
thought it an absurd thing to be. For he was interested in
everything, but not in anything in particular. And it was just this
various versatility of mind and taste which had condemned him to be a
specialist. Obviously an absurd world.
The Criminal Investigation Department, solicitors, and others dealing
with those experiments in social reform which are called crimes, by
continually appealing to his multifarious knowledge and his
all-observant eye, turned Dr. Reginald Fortune, general practitioner
at Westhampton, into Mr. Fortune of Wimpole Street, specialist
in--what shall we say?--the surgery of crime. And Reggie Fortune,
though richer for the change, was not grateful. He liked ordinary
things, and any day would have gladly bartered a murder for a case of
chicken-pox. This accounts for his unequalled sanity of judgement.
Reggie was in that one of his clubs which he liked best, because no
member of it knew anything about his profession. He had just
completed an animated discussion on the prehistoric art of the French
Congo, and was going out, when the tape machine buzzed and clicked at
his elbow, and he stopped to look.
“Murder of Sir Albert Lunt,” said the tape and, “Oh, my aunt!” said
Reggie. The tape continued the conversation--thus: “Sir Albert Lunt,
the well-known mining magnate, was found dead this afternoon in the
deer park of his estate at Prior’s Colney, Bucks. The body was
discovered by an employee, in circumstances which suggested foul
play. A medical examination led to the conclusion that the deceased
had been shot. The local police have the case in hand, and search is
being actively prosecuted for----” Words failed the tape, and it
relapsed into a buzz.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account