The Search for My Great-Uncle’s Head

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by Jonathan Latimer


  I opened my eyes and said, “You can’t kill me by way of my head. I’ve already demonstrated my skull is too solid.”

  She leaped away from the bed, her eyes startled. “You’re conscious?”

  “I think so,” I said.

  She was blushing. “You lie still,” she said. “I’m going to get you some broth.”

  The soup, with crackers crumbled in it, was very good. I felt much better. “What happened to Dr Harvey?” I asked.

  “He’s locked up in Traverse City.”

  “And everybody else?”

  “They’ve gone home—even the colonel.”

  “And you stayed behind to nurse me.”

  Her gray eyes crinkled at the corners. “I had two days left of my vacation.”

  “Oh! But Burton. Where’s he?”

  “Gone too.”

  “Gone!” I sat up in bed, causing my head to spin. “You mean he didn’t wait for you?”

  “No. Why should he?”

  “You mean you’re not—there’s no understanding between you?”

  “He understands me, at least.”

  “And he’s gone?”

  “Yes.”

  I sank back in bed. Did this mean she didn’t love Burton? Would I be too bold to ask her? I felt confused, between hope and fear, so I changed the subject. “What’s happened to the poor Harvey kids?” I asked.

  “Oh, it’s terrible. They’re completely crushed. And Mrs Harvey had to be taken to the hospital. She had a breakdown.”

  “I don’t wonder. What could have made that man commit those murders?”

  “Colonel Black said the doctor had misappropriated some hospital funds and needed money to pay them back. The doctor told him this morning.” She had been sitting on the side of my bed, and now she rose.

  “Don’t go,” I said.

  “I must. You need lots of rest.” She leaned over me, her eyes suddenly solemn. “Peter, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am I ever called you a coward. That will haunt me the rest of my life. I think you did the bravest thing I ever heard of, going after Dr Harvey without a weapon.”

  “That wasn’t bravery.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “No. It was despair. I thought you cared for Burton Coffin,” I said without looking at her, “and I loved you so terribly I didn’t care what happened.”

  Her arms were about my neck. “Oh, my silly darling,” she whispered, “my darling …”

  All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 1937 by Jonathan Latimer

  Cover design by Jason Gabbert

  ISBN: 978-1-4804-8610-2

  This 2014 edition published by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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