Mr. Fortune's PracticeBailey, H. C. (Henry Christopher)
General
Mr. Fortune's Practice
Bailey, H. C. (Henry Christopher)
Detective and mystery stories; Forensic scientists -- Fiction
Reggie Fortune, one of the few, remained on his seat. He heard the
cheering down the course and had sufficient presence of mind to stand
up and take off his hat as the distant band began to play. Over the
heads of the crowd he saw the red coats of the postilions and a gleam
of the grey of the team as the King’s carriage swept round into the
enclosure. The rest of the procession passed and the crowd melted
away. But one man remained by the railings alone. He was tall and
thin and he leaned limply against the railings, one arm hanging over
them. After a little while he turned on his heel and fell in a heap.
Two of the green-coated wardens of the gate ran up to him. “Oh,
Lord,” Reggie Fortune groaned, “why did I be a doctor?” But before he
could get through the flurry of people the man was being carried away.
The gift of Lomas for arriving where he wants to be displayed itself.
Lomas slid through the crowd and took his arm, “Stout fellow! Come
along. It’s Sir Arthur Dean. Touch of sun, what?”
“Arthur Dean? That’s the Persia man, pundit on the Middle East?”
“That’s the fellow. Getting old, you know. One of the best.”
Into the room where the old man lay came the shouting over the first
race. By the door Lomas and an inspector of police talked in low
tones, glancing now and then at Reggie, who was busy.
“Merry Man! Merry Man! Merry Man!” the crowd roared outside.
Reggie straightened his bent back and stood looking down at his
patient. Lomas came forward. “Anything we can get you, Fortune? Would
you like some assistance?”
“You can’t assist him,” said Reggie. “He’s dead.”
“Merry Man!” the crowd triumphed. “Merry Man!”
“Good Gad!” said Lomas. “Poor fellow. One of the best. Well, well,
what is it? Heart failure?”
“The heart generally fails when you die,” Reggie mumbled: he still
stared down at the body and the wonted benignity of his face was lost
in expressionless reserve. “Do you know if he has any people down
here?”
“It’s possible. There is a married son. I’ll have him looked for.”
Lomas sent his inspector off.
“I saw the old man with a woman just before he died,” Reggie
murmured, and Lomas put up his eyeglass.
“Did you though? Very sudden, wasn’t it? And he was all alone when he
died.”
“When he fell,” Reggie mumbled the correction. “Yes, highly sudden.”
“What was the cause of death, Fortune?”
“I wonder,” Reggie muttered. He went down on his knees by the body,
he looked long and closely into the eyes, he opened the clothes . . .
and to the eyes he came back again. Then there was a tap at the door
and Lomas having conferred there came back and said, “The son and his
wife. I’ll tell them. I suppose they can see the body?”
“They’d better see the body,” said Reggie, and as Lomas went out he
began to cover and arrange it. He was laying the right arm by the
side when he checked and held it up to the light. On the back of the
hand was a tiny drop of blood and a red smear. He looked close and
found such a hole as a pin might make.
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