Read Online Kronberg Crimes 01 - The Devils Grin by Annelie Wendeberg - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Annelie Wendeberg
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was looking at Holmes now. ‘You are,’ he looked back at me, ‘Dr Anton Kronberg from Guy’s? I mean, I kind of thought so as you entered. But…’ He shook his head and stared at me, then back at his friend.
‘Have you ever met Dr Kronberg, Watson?’
‘Er… In fact, I went to one of his talks on the works of Dr Snow. I mean, one of…her…her talks.’
The poor man was completely dumbfounded and I started to feel sorry for him.
‘Ah! Watson, my friend.’ Holmes leaned over to clap his friend on the shoulder. ‘Even a man like me came to accept that there are indeed women with a sharp mind. Although quite rare specimens, one cannot help but run into them once or twice.’
Coughing, I held on to my forehead, while Watson shot a wild glance at the mantelpiece. Noticing the missing picture, he said sheepishly, ‘You took it away. I thought you were fond of her?’
Holmes ignored Watson’s remark and I decided to swallow my surprise or any comments on that matter. Instead, I held out the package to Holmes. ‘I wonder whether you can tell me anything about the man who wore these.’
Holmes took the bundle from my hands and laid it on his knees, undid the knot, and opened the paper wrapping. He gazed down at the pile of severed clothes and two worn boots, then studied the soles.
‘Mr Big Boots,’ he noted. ‘You dissected him today?’
‘Yes. He had been found by the porter of Guy’s. The man reported that he heard the whinnying of a horse and the crack of a whip just before he heard the gasps of the man he then found just outside the gate. Together with a colleague he carried him into my ward. Unfortunately, the man died within minutes. At first, I was unaware that he was Big Boots. I used him as the study subject for a lesson today. We found that he had no entry wound for tetanus and I remembered the man from Hampton, so I checked for restraint marks or needle punctures, but found none. But even if he had been restrained or injected, the marks would have healed during the course of a whole week.’
‘But you found something that brought you here, together with the shoes.’
‘Yes, I did, indeed. If he had eaten an animal with tetanus, he should have had the infection somewhere in his gastrointestinal tract, but there was nothing of that kind. I thought of strychnine next, until I finally found the tetanus infection. Hold on to your armchair Mr Holmes,’ I said. He merely raised an eyebrow. ‘It was in his heart.’
‘In his heart!’ he cried. ‘How could it have got there?’
‘I don’t know,’ I sighed and rubbed my eyes, while uncomfortable thoughts started creeping into my head.
‘What is it?’ Holmes enquired while Watson was silently listening and digesting the fact that I was not only a female medical doctor, but a well-known one on top of it.
‘The man from Hampton hadn’t had any infection in his guts either,’ I explained quietly. ‘Well, aside from cholera. But no tetanus infection. Neither of the two men seemed to have ingested tetanus germs. For the toxins alone to be lethal, one would have to eat quite a lot of diseased animal, the size of a human to equal the amount of a lethal dose, I’d guess.’
‘You did not section the left hemisphere of the Hampton man’s brain,’ noted Holmes.
‘No.’
‘Is there a way to obtain the hemisphere?’
‘Sadly not. Cholera fatalities are burned as soon as possible. The man is ash, Mr Holmes. I am very sorry.’
The man next to me started stirring. ‘Would someone be so forthcoming as to explain why Dr Kronberg is a woman and why the two of you are investigating a case where, quite obviously, a crime has not been committed?’
~~~
I could not help but think of the body-snatcher business many years ago. Anatomical research needed bodies for dissections, but only hanged murderers were delivered to medical schools. The result was that these corpses were reused so often that their remains looked more than just
‘Have you ever met Dr Kronberg, Watson?’
‘Er… In fact, I went to one of his talks on the works of Dr Snow. I mean, one of…her…her talks.’
The poor man was completely dumbfounded and I started to feel sorry for him.
‘Ah! Watson, my friend.’ Holmes leaned over to clap his friend on the shoulder. ‘Even a man like me came to accept that there are indeed women with a sharp mind. Although quite rare specimens, one cannot help but run into them once or twice.’
Coughing, I held on to my forehead, while Watson shot a wild glance at the mantelpiece. Noticing the missing picture, he said sheepishly, ‘You took it away. I thought you were fond of her?’
Holmes ignored Watson’s remark and I decided to swallow my surprise or any comments on that matter. Instead, I held out the package to Holmes. ‘I wonder whether you can tell me anything about the man who wore these.’
Holmes took the bundle from my hands and laid it on his knees, undid the knot, and opened the paper wrapping. He gazed down at the pile of severed clothes and two worn boots, then studied the soles.
‘Mr Big Boots,’ he noted. ‘You dissected him today?’
‘Yes. He had been found by the porter of Guy’s. The man reported that he heard the whinnying of a horse and the crack of a whip just before he heard the gasps of the man he then found just outside the gate. Together with a colleague he carried him into my ward. Unfortunately, the man died within minutes. At first, I was unaware that he was Big Boots. I used him as the study subject for a lesson today. We found that he had no entry wound for tetanus and I remembered the man from Hampton, so I checked for restraint marks or needle punctures, but found none. But even if he had been restrained or injected, the marks would have healed during the course of a whole week.’
‘But you found something that brought you here, together with the shoes.’
‘Yes, I did, indeed. If he had eaten an animal with tetanus, he should have had the infection somewhere in his gastrointestinal tract, but there was nothing of that kind. I thought of strychnine next, until I finally found the tetanus infection. Hold on to your armchair Mr Holmes,’ I said. He merely raised an eyebrow. ‘It was in his heart.’
‘In his heart!’ he cried. ‘How could it have got there?’
‘I don’t know,’ I sighed and rubbed my eyes, while uncomfortable thoughts started creeping into my head.
‘What is it?’ Holmes enquired while Watson was silently listening and digesting the fact that I was not only a female medical doctor, but a well-known one on top of it.
‘The man from Hampton hadn’t had any infection in his guts either,’ I explained quietly. ‘Well, aside from cholera. But no tetanus infection. Neither of the two men seemed to have ingested tetanus germs. For the toxins alone to be lethal, one would have to eat quite a lot of diseased animal, the size of a human to equal the amount of a lethal dose, I’d guess.’
‘You did not section the left hemisphere of the Hampton man’s brain,’ noted Holmes.
‘No.’
‘Is there a way to obtain the hemisphere?’
‘Sadly not. Cholera fatalities are burned as soon as possible. The man is ash, Mr Holmes. I am very sorry.’
The man next to me started stirring. ‘Would someone be so forthcoming as to explain why Dr Kronberg is a woman and why the two of you are investigating a case where, quite obviously, a crime has not been committed?’
~~~
I could not help but think of the body-snatcher business many years ago. Anatomical research needed bodies for dissections, but only hanged murderers were delivered to medical schools. The result was that these corpses were reused so often that their remains looked more than just
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