The surgeon nodded. “As long as you’re sleeping well and the pain is manageable, I would avoid it.”
“Anything else I should know?” Henry preferred to hear any additional warnings from Arthur rather than the gruff physician who’d tended him. Bad news was always better from a friend.
“Have you experienced confusion?”
He considered the question for a moment, knowing he could be honest with his friend. “Temporary memory loss but not confusion.”
“A relief to hear.” Arthur’s expression showed his approval. “Let me know if that changes.”
“Thank you, I will.” Henry glanced at the files on the surgeon’s desk. “Any chance you were able to look at Mr. Dunn? I know you haven’t had much time to do so.”
“I made him a priority and just finished.” Arthur sat at his desk, and pulled forward the top file on the small stack. “I can’t say I blame the coroner for not catching anything out of the ordinary. Signs of cancer were evident, but not as prevalent as I would’ve expected to have it noted as the cause of death. The body was quite…emaciated.”
“Emaciated from the fasting? The poor man.” Henry sank into the empty chair to listen to what else Arthur had found. “As if having cancer wasn’t enough.”
“It’s evident he died from cardiac arrest, but even that isn’t as interesting as the hypodermic needle puncture in his arm. I might have missed it if you hadn’t told me to look for it.”
That caught Henry’s attention.Just as Mr. Olson had mentioned. “What do you make of that?”
Arthur shrugged. “Not particularly unusual in medical care. That is, until one considers the treatments the sanatorium offers. They don’t mention anything that involves injections.”
“So what are they doing with the needles?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t notice any sign of injections on the other sanatorium patient I examined, but of course I don’t think I looked for it.” He paused for a long moment. “There are many things which could be injected that would kill someone.”
“No obvious poison or the like in his system?”
“Not arsenic or any other common ones, no.”
But there were so many, weren’t there? “The real question is, what would you say the cause of death was?”
“Unfortunately, inconclusive. It seems unlikely cancer was the reason, as it wasn’t that advanced. But I can’t say for certain.”
Frustrated, Henry considered his options. He’d hoped for evidence of wrongdoing so he could pursue the case. But now what? His instincts still insisted wrongdoings were occurring at Hollowgate Heights. The time had come to take a closer look at the sanatorium and this Dr. Thorne. Hopefully, Director Reynolds would agree.
Henry left Arthur and walked the short distance to the Yard, realizing he had more questions than answers at this point. Perhaps a conversation with the Director would prove helpful.
“Morning, sir,” Henry said after knocking on Reynolds’ open door.
“Field.” His superior took stock of Henry as if to confirm his recovery was progressing.
Henry liked to think it was, though his headache had yet to depart. To hear from Arthur that it could last another week or two was disheartening.
“I just came from the surgeon at St. Thomas’ who completed the second postmortem on the potential victim, Walter Dunn.”
“And?” Curiosity lit his eyes.
Henry’s jaw tightened. “Inconclusive, unfortunately. Signs of cancer, the cause of death noted in the original report, were evident but there was a puncture in his arm from what was most likely a hypodermic needle.”
“What was he injected with? Arsenic?”
If only it were that simple. “Not arsenic. But Mr. Taylor doesn’t know.”
“Unfortunate.” Reynolds tapped a finger on his desk as he considered the matter, then looked back at Henry. “What are your thoughts on the case?” He leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest as if waiting to be convinced.
Henry considered his words carefully. “There are too many small details that don’t add up with the sanatorium and the care they offer. Sudden deaths, unexpected changing of wills, needles when no treatment plan includes them, a doctor who didn’t train where she says. I remain convinced that something is amiss. The former patient I spoke with did mention another patient who died suddenly, so I’d like to see if we can speak with their family. It might be worthwhile to compile a list of any others who died while at the sanatorium and look into their finances.” It sounded like a long shot, even to Henry’s ears; butmoney seemed the most likely motivation, so following it could prove helpful.
The Director considered the information for a long moment. So long Henry braced himself for disappointment. “If you feel that strongly about it, then let’s proceed.”
