Chapter 12 mystery patient
In North Hills, our lives have been affected since the beginning of the war—a few brave lads died on the front line (Dr. Only in October 1944 did war come directly, in a curious fashion, a secret that had been kept for many years.
It was a gloomy Monday in October, and I was working in the office when a well-dressed, sharp-featured young man entered, who introduced himself as Robert Banovich.He was in his thirties, so I wondered why he didn't go into the army.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked.
He didn't look like a local in his clothes, and my first reaction was that he might have caught an illness on the way and just passed by Beishan Town.
"I'm fine, Dr. Hawthorne." He opened the card case, and I saw a badge and a photo ID.
"I'm Special Agent Barnovich of the FBI."
"Damn!" I was so surprised for a while that I could only say this sentence.
He smiled knowingly: "Don't worry, I'm not here to arrest you, but to convey a message to you. In two days, something will happen here. This is a top secret. I hope you will always keep it in mind. Of course, the management of the hospital Also aware of this situation, but I still need to let you know because your office is in Pilgrim Memorial Hospital and you may be involved in this operation as a medical consultant. In addition, you have passed our background check. Closer to home, we will bring a secret patient from overseas this time. He has some wounds on his body, but none of them are fatal. Because of the dual reasons of the injuries and the confidentiality of his identity, when he arrives here, his head and face will be covered with bandages."
"Is this man Hitler?" I asked with a smile.
The agent said blankly: "It's not Hitler, I have nothing else to say. During his stay in Beishan Town, he will be under strict protection, but at the same time, you are still required to keep it strictly secret. Any questions?"
"No problem. But why on earth would he be taken to Pilgrim Memorial Hospital instead of some big government general hospital?"
"It was a well-researched decision. The authorities wanted to choose a hospital on the east coast, which would be closer to Europe. At the same time, they wanted a hospital with a top-notch facility but a small town location to avoid media attention. The Chief of the Military Medical Department comprehensively considered the indicators of ten small East Coast hospitals, and finally finalized the Pilgrim Memorial Hospital."
"I think it's our pride. With all due respect, can the patient speak English?"
"A little bit. That's all I can say."
"He will be here on Wednesday, October 18?"
"That's right."
"Are you coming too?"
He nodded slightly: "Every moment he is here, my people are there."
After dinner, I told Annabelle about it.Samantha is three months old, and Annabelle takes her to work on the "Ark" for a few hours a day.She wants to be able to devote herself to work, so we need to find a nanny to take care of Samantha, but this has not yet started.
"Sam, what the hell is going on here? A Nazi prisoner of war?"
"I don't know. It's an important person anyway, otherwise the FBI wouldn't be involved."
"It's great that you passed the background check, they wouldn't guess you'd tell your wife about it."
"Necessary to let you know," I argued, "because sometimes I have to work all night and I can't go home."
News came from the front over the weekend of the death of Feld Marshall Erwin Rommel, who was said to have been seriously injured in a car accident three months earlier.It was a car accident, but we already knew that his head injury was actually caused by an Allied plane bombing in July, which hit his special car.Rommel has always had a close relationship with the leaders who assassinated Hitler, but unfortunately this plan failed. There are even rumors that once the assassination is successful, he will become the lord of a country.But with his death, a state funeral took its place.
Annabel's question when she heard the news was: "What difference does it make if Hitler is dead or not?"
I said: "If Hitler was assassinated, then Germany would have surrendered immediately, instead of lingering on." Unfortunately, the planner of the assassination operation died, and a half-mad Hitler still controlled the German army, and the victory of the Allies was repeatedly delayed. .
On Tuesday morning, the hospital was no different, but from the annexe where my office is located, some preparations were well underway for the arrival of the secret patient.Lincoln Jones, the black doctor who delivered Annabelle, passed by my office and came in to ask how Samantha was doing. I told him everything was fine, and Samantha even worked with my wife for a few hours a day.Then Lincoln asked, "Did something happen to the hospital? They closed some wards in the south corridor and moved some equipment in."
"This is very confidential," I said. "Tomorrow we have a secret patient transferred to our hospital, and the FBI will take care of it."
"Why transfer to our hospital?"
"They are looking for a small hospital with strong medical capabilities on the east coast. It should be an honor for us to be selected."
"Are you going to take part in the operation, too, Sam?"
"They prepared me and they might use me."
"Who do you think this patient is?"
"I figured it might be some high-ranking Nazi captive, but the FBI told me it wasn't Hitler."
Lincoln Jones said in his trademark grumble: "What's your job? To save or to kill?"
On Wednesday morning, the Dean, Dr. Dwight Pryor, came to my office.He was skinny, bespectacled, bearded, and always dressed in carefully chosen clothes—unlike other doctors, he rarely wore a white coat.I had almost no contact with him. Before that, the only time he visited was on the day he took over as the dean, he visited every doctor's office in the hospital.
"Dr. Prior," I said, rising from my chair to shake his hand, "you rarely come to the annex."
He sat down directly across from me.
"You and Dr. Jones both have your own clinic, and you are not counted as hospital staff. But now that something new has happened, I think it is necessary to talk to you. As far as I know, Special Agent Banovich has put this I've told you the basics."
"He didn't say much, I just know that a secret patient will arrive at our hospital today."
"Yes, I don't know any more than you. He will be closely monitored during his stay at our hospital, and he will leave in a few days. If his health is satisfactory, he will be transferred to another hospital. place."
"What do I need to do?"
"Dr. Francis will conduct a physical examination of the patient and will refer to you if necessary. The patient's name is Forsyth."
"It's a German name."
"Well, but don't think too much, it's nothing special."
After he left, I called Nurse Aibo to the office and told her about the very limited situation so far.Her husband was still at the front, so she was very enthusiastic about anything that could help the war effort. "I just want my Andrei to come home safe and sound," she told me. "Do you think this patient is some important Nazi war criminal? Can we get some front-line information out of him?"
"I really don't know," I replied honestly, "but I hope you can reach me anytime during this time. Whenever I'm not in the office, you can find me at a phone number."
She glanced out the window and said, "It seems that the mysterious patient has arrived."
She was right. An ambulance pulled up at the emergency entrance of the hospital, and a patient was unloaded from the car on a stretcher.I saw his head was bandaged and he was surrounded by some men in uniform.Among them was Agent Banovich. "I'd better go out and say hello to them," I said.
Also in the crowd were Dr. Pryor and Dr. Jude Francis, the doctor in charge of the operation.I have a little personal relationship with him, and his specialty is head trauma, which he has treated several of my patients. "What's the matter, Jude?" I asked him, "Is your secret patient here?"
"Hey Sam. You're right, he's just arrived. I might need your help with a physical exam of a patient. I'm doing head trauma mostly, see how it goes."
"I'm free now, do I need to start now?"
He nodded: "Okay, let's start now. If we finish the treatment one day earlier, he and these guards can leave the hospital one day earlier." He pouted his chin at the FBI agents.
"Do you know the identity of the patient?"
He shook his head and said: "He is just a patient to me, I don't care about other things. Come with me, my assistants are removing the bandages. You will participate in this treatment with me throughout."
Special Agent Banovich and his men searched every person who entered the ward carefully, and did not miss any food, water and medicine.It seems they are concerned that someone is trying to harm the patient.After passing the search, I stood by the bed and watched Doctor Francis carefully remove the bandage from the patient's head.An FBI agent stood guard at the door with his back turned to us.After removing the bandages, the patient's face came into view. It was a handsome, angular face in his fifties, with his hair shaved for treatment.The man opened his eyes and Jude Francis asked him, "Do you understand English?"
"Understand a little bit," the man moved his body slightly on the hospital bed, and asked, "Where am I?"
"You are in the United States, this place is called Beishan Town. Someone sent you here for a medical examination, and then you will continue your new journey."
"Got it." He groaned and closed his eyes.I suspect he was injected with drugs.
"I am Dr. Francis and this is Dr. Hawthorne. We will be in charge of your physical examination for the next few days. My nurse Macy O'Toole will take care of your daily routine. Mr. Forsyth, you How did you get the head injury?" This was the first time he used the patient's alias to call him.
"Forsyth?" the man almost laughed. "Is that what they named me?"
"yes."
"I think it's a good name. My head injury is a long story. I was sitting in the car three months ago, and I was bombed by enemy planes."
"I see, but it's almost better, right?"
"I still get headaches a lot."
"What's the frequency?"
"Several times a week."
"It's probably within the normal range, but to be on the safe side, we'll do a brain scan—I'm in charge here," he liked to say. "Dr. Hawthorne is in charge of the rest of your body."
Forsythe, unmoved by his one-liners, lay silent.It seems that I can take the opportunity to leave. "I'll see you later," I said to the patient.
When I got out, I met Macy O'Toole, who had been assigned to care for the patients.Maisie O'Toole was a pretty young girl, twenty-five years old, whose brother had been killed in North Africa.I don't know her well, although we have chatted a few times. "I heard you're taking care of our new patients," I said.
"That's what they told me. The F.I.A. had a lot on me."
"Don't worry, it's his job."
She chuckled and said, "It's not that simple, he wants to date me."
Coming home at night, I was given a good interrogation by Annabelle.
"Who is that man?" she asked curiously. "A German war criminal?"
"It's possible that he can't speak English very well, and he has an obvious German accent. Since the FBI attaches so much importance to him, he must have some important secrets."
"You just said that Jude Francis was the attending doctor?"
I nodded: "Because the part of his injury was on the head, but he had already undergone careful treatment when he was sent to our hospital. Zhu De performed a comprehensive and detailed examination on his head and neck. At first I just Showing up when needed, it turned out somehow to be me doing the comprehensive physical."
The wife laughed and said, "It must be because the FBI has verified your background information and confirmed that you are not a bad person."
"It's possible. I'll check his body tomorrow morning, and maybe there will be some new discoveries."
The next morning, I walked by the office and told Aibo that I would be giving Mr. Forsyth a medical exam in the next few hours.In the ward, Macy O'Toole was brushing the patient's teeth and washing his face.
"He's still very weak, but he's recovering. Isn't he, Mr. Forsyth?"
"Ah... yes." His mouth was full of toothpaste, and he squeezed out a few illegible words, it seemed that the effects of the sleeping pills hadn't completely passed.
"It's not sunny today, maybe later I can take you outside in a wheelchair to get some air." Nurse O'Toole flicked her brown hair as she spoke, as if flirting with a patient.But so did she and other doctors and patients.
After her work was over, it was my turn to take the patient's pulse, temperature, and blood pressure, and to ask routine health-related questions.In conversation with him, I learned that he is now fifty-two, but will be fifty-three next month.He admitted that he was German, but said nothing about how he was sent to North Hill by the FBI.He once asked me such a question: "What date is it today?"
"Thursday, October nineteenth," I answered him.
"Really? Why do I think it should be much later than this date."
Gradually I was able to understand his English with a German accent.
"You seem to be in very good shape. I guess they will send you out of here soon."
"Where are you going?"
"I don't know that."
The next day, when the two of us were alone, he talked to me more.
"How long will I stay here?" He asked after I measured his body temperature and other physical indicators.
"Maybe there is only one day left. Our director, Dr. Pryor, hopes that the hospital can return to normal as soon as possible."
"Did I disrupt your work?"
"It has nothing to do with you, mainly those agents."
"Then I'm sorry."
"You are a big shot, so they dare not relax."
"I am a nobody," he said quietly, "and I am dead."
Before I could ask him what he meant, Banovich interrupted our conversation: "Doctor, are you finished here? I have to talk to Mr. Forsyth."
"It's just over." With that said, I backed out of the room.
After lunch, Dean Prior came to my office to find out.
"Sam, are all the patient exams over?"
"All that's left is the blood test and the results will be available tomorrow morning."
"Great job! Jude Francis has completed a review of the head injury of the highest concern."
"Where is he going next?"
Pryor said in a low voice, "It is said that he will be taken to Shangri-La to meet the president."
"where is that?"
"A secret base, in the mountains of Maryland, where President Roosevelt will join him from Washington."
"Is this person so important?"
"Obviously."
"I'll provide the results of the blood test tomorrow morning." I gave him another reassurance.
Saturday morning was my last chance to speak to patients, and I certainly didn't let it go.Banovich was on duty at the door, but he was more focused on flirting with Nurse O'Toole than on our conversation.
"Tell me what happened," I urged. "You may be leaving later today, and we'll never see each other again in our lifetime. I heard the next person you're going to see is our President."
Forsyth stared at me sadly and said: "You are a good doctor, skilled in medicine. What day is it today? Is it Saturday? Tell you my story. It happened last Saturday. They came To my house - I used to think they were trustworthy companions. Many of us were under suspicion after the failed attempt to assassinate the Führer in July. They left me alone because I was wounded earlier For a while, until last Saturday. The fact that I had nothing to do with the whole assassination, the problem was that I knew all the details in advance - and that was enough to incriminate me. I had two options - either Take a little cyanide capsule and it will kill me in three seconds, or I'll stand trial for treason and destroy my family. So there's only one way I can really choose, and that's It was suicide by taking poison. So I took a special car with them to the place of execution, and I had nothing left, except for the person who was watching me by my side, who used to be my friend. I held the small capsule tightly."
"But what do you—"
"Run away? Did you mean to ask this question? That man still regarded me as a friend. He drove his car onto a dirt road and sent me to a clearing where a small, unremarkable plane was waiting to take off. He helped me All this arrangement may cost him his life, and I will remember him forever. It is obviously impossible for the authorities to make public the news that I absconded to the Allied forces. They announced that I was seriously injured in a car accident and died. For this reason, the government will hold A state funeral," he said with a wry smile, "a funeral without a body."
"who are you?"
He shook his head and said, "Just call me Foxy, it doesn't matter what my real name is."
I held out my hand to him and we shook hands goodbye.
"Wherever your next stop is, good luck."
"I will remember the care you gave me, Dr. Hawthorne. We live under the same sky, it's just that politics sometimes keeps us at odds."
For me, it became his last words.That night, I was awakened by the news of the patient's death.
When I arrived at the hospital, it was still dark, but Sergeant Lan Si had already arrived at the scene.Although I don't yet know the cause of death, the sheriff's presence makes me vaguely uneasy.
"Why are you here? Is it related to a man named Foxy?"
"It should be, doctor. Dean Prior reported that it might be poisoning."
"No way! He's got a bunch of FBI agents watching."
"Go in and see what's going on."
The first person we meet in the hospital is Agent Banovich, who looks strangely bewildered and terrified.
"It's absolutely impossible," he told us. "No one can poison us. We checked every single piece of food and water that was sent to the wards."
"We'd like to speak to Dr. Pryor first," said Inspector Lens.
We found the dean at the door of the ward where Forsyth lived, and he was too frightened to breathe.
"What happened?"
"We were in disarray too. Dr. Francis was in the emergency department dealing with a car accident until three o'clock in the morning, and then he decided to go to see if Forsyth was sleeping well. It was Banovich who was on duty at the door, so the two We went into the room together to check on the patient's condition, but he was dead. There was a smell of bitter almonds in the room—"
"Cyanide?"
"We did an autopsy right away and the results are coming out right away. We presume it's cyanide."
Sergeant Lan Si asked as if asking for help: "What's your opinion, doctor?"
I thought about it, and decided to get some information first, so I asked Agent Banovich, "Have you been guarding the door last night?"
"yes."
"Do you have any records of people entering the patient's room?"
"Of course there is."
"We'd better check the list."
Dr. Prior said eagerly, "I must state in advance that Pilgrim Memorial Hospital does not store cyanide in any form because it is not needed for medical needs here. If anyone is poisoned with cyanide, it must be brought from outside by himself. entered."
"Let's talk in your office," I suggested.So Pryor led the way to his office, with Banovich, the sheriff, and me following behind him.
It wasn't long before Jude Francis joined us. "I can't believe all of this," he said, taking a chair in the dean's office, "doesn't anyone even know this patient is here?"
"We have already started an investigation," Sergeant Lan Si told him, "First of all, I want to know the identity of this mysterious patient."
"We don't know who he is either," Dr. Prior said confidently. "You'd better ask the FBI directly."
The sheriff then posed the same question to Detective Banovich, who held up his hands in resignation and said, "All I know is that he's a German with a lot of background, and he flew out of Germany last Saturday night. Maybe A high-level political prisoner, like Rudolph Hayes."
"Just no name?"
"No, we call him Mr. Forsyth."
"Have you notified Washington of the patient's death?"
"Of course, the White House is awaiting further reports."
"What report?" I asked.
"I haven't reported the possibility of poisoning yet, and I hope to contact the headquarters after the results of the investigation are clear."
He handed me an FBI list of people who had visited the ward since I left.
Just before six o'clock Dr. Prior entered the patient's room. "I hope he can leave here as soon as possible," the dean explained. "His arrival has disrupted the normal operations of the hospital, and this is a highly confidential job. We can't even make money by increasing our visibility."
"Was someone frisking you when you came in?" As a doctor, I was subjected to a very cursory frisk search, so I wasn't very comfortable with the capabilities of the FBI.
"Of course." Prior replied.
"Me too," Jude Francis told us. "I went there around eight o'clock, and the patient seemed to be well rested. Then he had a dry throat, and I had Nurse O'Toole prepare some ice water."
Sergeant Lan Si looked at Banovich knowingly, and the latter said quickly: "I have tasted the water, and we have carried out the same strict inspection on every food and water sent to the ward. After I tasted it, he I also drank a few mouthfuls. It’s just water, nothing else.”
"Are there no other visitors?"
"About midnight, the nurse came back to take his blood pressure, but I was there at the time. He was almost asleep, but he kept asking when he could leave. I told him soon."
"Did you do it?" Sergeant Len Si asked Banovich.
"Me? Of course not! Why should I kill him?"
"The Germans are our enemies."
"But he has left Germany and come to our side."
"Perhaps that's why he was killed," said Dr. Pryor thoughtfully, "to silence the Nazis and keep those Nazi secrets from the Allies."
I smiled back and asked, "You think there's a Nazi spy lurking at Pilgrim Memorial Hospital?"
"Well, maybe it's not the reason. Anyway, there is a murderer."
I went back to the conversation with Banovich: "Let's go through the whole thing in order again. First of all, I believe that Fossy has undergone a strict body search when he arrived at this hospital?"
"We searched every inch of skin," the detective said. "The patient's clothing was changed at the hospital. The patient himself carried nothing. To conceal his identity, we changed his own clothes in England before we Fly to America."
"Second point, no one at Pilgrim Memorial Hospital can get cyanide?"
"No one," said Dr. Pryor with certainty, "cyanide is a gas. The solid form of cyanide is usually potassium cyanide, and if taken on an empty stomach, the stomach acid reacts rapidly with it to regenerate the gaseous cyanide, and result in immediate death."
"Three seconds," I murmured, and what Forsyth had said came back to my mind.
"The third point, the moment the patient died, was there anyone in the room?"
Banovich shook his head and said, "I was sitting on a chair by the door. After the inspection in the middle of the night, no one had entered the ward. I went back to the door and half-closed it."
"Of course there is no other exit from the ward, and there is no one in the bathroom." Jude Francis added, "Before the patient was found dead, I went to the bathroom once to refill the empty water glass. The bathroom was empty at the time. "
"We need to extrapolate the time of death," I told the group, "and that might be a useful clue."
Pryor nodded and said, "We'll have the preliminary autopsy results early in the morning."
When I got home, Annabelle and Samantha were up, and I told her what had happened. "Sam, who do you think he is? Did he really have any important information that was silenced?"
"I'll have to go through the autopsy first and talk to some people."
"What kind of person can escape such strict monitoring and go in to poison? What is the motive?"
"I'll find out sooner or later."
"Why you? Isn't there someone from the FBI?"
"People from the FBI are also suspects."
I was going to catch up on a good night's sleep, but I was on my way back to the hospital before eight o'clock.Jude Francis is waiting for me in my office with the autopsy report: "Sam, this report is preliminary, but as we suspect, it's confirmed to be cyanide. The coroner did the autopsy at five in the morning. , the deceased had been dead for three to four hours, which means that he died between one and two o'clock in the morning, and we can only estimate so accurately."
"Thanks, Jude," I scanned the report and returned it to Jude, "So the last people to enter the ward were Agent Banovich and Nurse O'Toole in the middle of the night? I need to talk to them."
"Macy won't be here until noon. And the FBI is calling all agents because of the death of the care recipient."
"I'd better find Banovich quickly."
Sure enough, he was preparing to leave. "There's no need to stay here," he told me.
"Aren't you going to solve the murder case before leaving?"
He sighed and said, "I said, Dr. Hawthorne, our task is to take good care of this man. It is the job of the local police to solve the case. Unless you can point out which federal law we have violated, we have to leave immediately."
He stumped me, and I could only seize the time to ask: "Did you go to the patient's bedside in the middle of the night last night?"
"Nurse Ottoler wanted to take the patient's blood pressure before leaving get off work. I thought it was a standard procedure in the hospital, so I agreed. I entered the ward with her and stayed at the bedside. She asked the patient if he needed any help, and he Said it wasn't necessary."
"Didn't he ask for sleeping pills or something?"
"No, so the nurse took the blood pressure and left. We only stayed for about two minutes, and nothing was left behind. I said good night to the nurse, and then returned to my post."
"When can you rest?"
"At six o'clock at the earliest, I was on the night shift yesterday."
"Are you leaving today?"
He nodded. "In fact, most of my men have already left. I plan to catch up on sleep before driving to Boston."
"Let's talk before you go," I told him.
Since it was Sunday, I had no patients to attend to.At noon, I stayed on the floor where Macy O'Toole worked so that I could meet her.
"I've just heard about Mr. Forsyth," was the first thing she saw me say.
"That Detective Banovich said he was alive when you two visited the patient in the middle of the night."
She nodded, her brown hair dancing up and down: "I checked his blood pressure and asked him if he needed water, but he said he wasn't thirsty. I thought he was going to leave today, but I didn't expect him to go out sideways."
"Did Banovich touch or move the patient's body in any way?"
"At least I didn't see it when I was around. And why would the FBI kill people?"
"Probably not one of their people did it," I said, "but there's a murderer anyway, and I'm going to catch him."
I decided to spend most of the afternoon in the hospital library as I took the time to study the literature on cyanide.At last I found a course of action, so I telephoned Dr. Pryor and Sheriff Lens and asked them to gather the others at Pryor's office at five o'clock.
When I entered, Jude Francis and Nurse O'Toole had arrived, followed by Sheriff Lens and Detective Banovich. "I've got to get back to Boston!" Banovich said impatiently, but I begged him to be patient.
"It's only a few minutes, and I don't think you want to leave the report incomplete."
"Go on," urged Dr. Prior.
"Guys, this is a really weird locked room problem for me, because it's an unlocked room. Hospital ward doors are usually unlocked, and the only problem is where the deadly poison comes from. There are no Any form of cyanide or its compounds was stored, and all water and food were strictly inspected before being brought into the room, and according to the testimony of Agent Banovich, the patient was determined to be Alone. Naturally, my first thought was that he was lying. The problem is, even if Nurse Ottoler came home from get off work, but there were other nurses on duty on that floor, if he dared to leave his post and sneak into the ward, he might Someone will notice, and when the body is found, stab him out."
"Thank you for your trust." Banovich said slightly mockingly.
"Dr. Pryor and Jude Francis have both visited patients, as well as Nurse O'Toole. Is it possible that they started in this process? For example, by taking the opportunity to measure the body temperature, inserting a thermometer with a poisonous end into the patient's mouth The answer is no, because cyanide is known to be an instant lethal drug. The three medical staff did not enter the ward after twelve o'clock in the evening, and both Banovich and Ottoler swore that at that time The patient is alive and well. So far, what conclusions can we draw? Is there anyone hiding in the room waiting for the opportunity to get off the phone between one and two o'clock? The more important question is, who has the opportunity to get the poison? I kept asking myself, and found the only possible answer: the dead man himself!"
"He wasn't carrying cyanide," Banovich protested.
"But he used to carry it. Yesterday he talked to me about his previous experience in the United States. He refused to say his name, but said that because he offended Hitler, he faced two choices-martial court or suicide by taking poison. The latter can go Quite respectably, with a heroic state funeral, he chose to take poison, holding a capsule of cyanide in his hand, before a friend of his drove him onto a long-awaited plane. He has been holding this miniature capsule in his hand!"
"When he arrived in Meiwei, I'm sure he didn't have it," Banovich said firmly, "and he couldn't swallow the capsule, or he would have died."
"I have been in the library this afternoon researching the toxicity of cyanide. It is recorded in the book that some spies or military high-ranking officials would rather commit suicide than torture after being captured. For this, they will insert a hollow denture Inside is a small cyanide capsule. Even with the hands and feet bound, the capsule can be pulled out of the teeth with the tongue and chewed or swallowed."
Banovich opened his mouth wide in surprise: "Do you think that's what he did?"
"I can't find any other explanation. He just happened to have access to cyanide and was able to carry it with him, so this Mr. Forsyth committed suicide."
"The doctor's explanation makes sense," Sergeant Lan Si said. "In my opinion, the case can be closed."
Dr. Pryor nodded and agreed, "I agree."
Back at the office, I called Aibo and told her it was over.
"That's great," she said. "Look at the dank weather. There's going to be a flu patient at the door."
"I'll be at work tomorrow morning, get ready for a busy day."
But before that, I have work to do.It didn't take me long to go back to the hospital and find Macy O'Toole, who was tending to an elderly patient.She smiled charmingly when she saw me.
"I'm so glad you solved this strange case in one fell swoop. Our hospital hasn't been functioning properly since that man arrived."
"Messi, can we find a place where we can chat alone?"
"Why? I thought maybe the nurses lounge could hold us up for a few minutes, what's the matter?"
I waited until we were alone in the room before speaking.I looked her in the eyes and asked, "Why the poison?"
She didn't speak for a while, perhaps considering the weight of my words.Finally she said slowly, "Because my brother was killed in North Africa. How did you know it was me?" Her eyes filled with tears.
"There is no cyanide in our hospital, the poison must have come from outside. So my denture theory seems plausible. Forsyth didn't know what fate awaited him, so he hid the capsule in the denture. If we send him to court as a war criminal, maybe that's a way to get away with it."
“但根本没有人告他！大家都说总统要接见他，这种礼遇活像个英雄。”
“怎么可能！我敢肯定他会被作为战犯关押起来的。”
“然后战争一结束就被释放！我一定要找个人给我哥哥报仇。他要为此付出代价。我杀的是费尔德·马歇尔·艾尔文·隆美尔，非洲军团的指挥官。”
“我知道，我相信医院里的其他人应该也猜到了。他的代号福西斯在德语里是狐狸的意思，这正是隆美尔在北非战场的绰号，沙漠之狐。”这时我想起了他生前我们之间的对话，于是补充道，“我认为他能够理解这个略带诙谐的代号。”
“你怎么知道是我干的？”她又问了一遍。
“那天我到病房的时候刚好赶上你在给病人洗漱，可能你就是在那时发现了藏在牙齿里的胶囊。你猜到了胶囊的作用，于是私下保存起来。他可能还处在半昏睡状态，因此没有发现。当我开始怀疑你拿到氰化物之后，剩下的问题就是杀人手法。接着，我想起朱德·法兰西斯昨天晚上让你给病人准备一杯冰水。”
“巴诺维奇探员尝过那杯水，福西斯接过杯子也立即喝了几口。”
“他们喝了水，但是忽略了冰块。你把那粒胶囊冻在其中一个冰块里。等到冰块融化，胶囊便浮上了水面，福西斯夜里口渴，喝完了剩下的水，在黑夜里，他很有可能压根没发现水里有别的东西。等他意识到的时候，一只脚已经踏进死亡了。”
“您现在打算怎么做？”她紧张地问，呼吸也开始变得急促。
“不知道，”我坦然道，“如果真是隆美尔，从某种意义上来说，他是非洲战役的死难者，可以说是你的哥哥打死了他，而战场上的杀戮不能称之为谋杀——尽管我有时候并不同意这个观点。”
后来一个月不到，梅西·奥图勒就离开了医院，从北山镇搬走。我再没见到过她。发生在朝圣者纪念医院的福西斯先生之死并未引起任何关注。战后，隆美尔亡故的消息正式发布，干篇一律地说他被朋友陪着在轿车里服毒自尽。至于他有没有带着致命的胶囊飞越重洋来到北山镇，则成了一个永无对证的谜。
(Finish)
Notes:
Notes: