Chapter 9 Chapter 8 Killed?

When they came downstairs and were about to enter the study again, they heard voices coming from the living room.If the police officer wanted to know what happened, he walked over and opened the door to have a look.He stared and stepped in informally, Pepper and Ellery following him respectfully.Dr. Brody, smoking a cigar, was looking out the window at the cemetery, while another man—whom none of them had seen before—fiddled with Greenshaw's stinking corpse.The man straightened up immediately and looked at Dr. Brody inquiringly.So the medical assistant briefly introduced the Quinns and Pepper, saying, "This Dr. Fullerstead is Khalkis' personal doctor. He just arrived." Turn around and look out the window.

Dr. Duncan Fullerstead is well-groomed, in his fifties or early—a typical high-society famous doctor, who lives on Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, and the West Side in the high-end district. This doctor came to treat them and prolong their lives.He grunted a few polite words, then took a step back, looking down at the bloated corpse with great interest. "It appears you've been examining our findings?" said the sergeant. "Yes, very interesting. Very interesting indeed," replied Dr. Fullerstead, "but I am also puzzled. How on earth did this body end up in Khalkis' coffin all at once?"

"If we knew what it was all about, doctor, we'd be relieved." "Anyway, what is absolutely certain is that Khalkis was not there when he was buried." Pepper said indifferently. "Of course! Qi is Qi here." "I heard from Dr. Brody that you are Khalkis' personal doctor, aren't you?" the police officer asked unexpectedly. "Not bad, sir." "Have you seen this man before? Have you healed him?" Dr. Fullerstead shook his head. "I've never met this man, Officer. I've known Khalkis for years. In fact, I live across the street from this backyard—on Fifty-fifth Street." superior."

"How long has this man been dead?" Ellery asked. The forensic assistant turned his back against the window and forced a smile.The two doctors exchanged glances. "As a matter of fact," Dr. Brody said loudly, "Before you came in, Fullerstead and I were discussing this matter. It is difficult to draw conclusions from superficial examination. The body must be examined, Including its internal organs, we can draw a definite conclusion." "It is of the utmost importance," said Dr. Fullerstead, "that where the body is kept before it is buried in Khalkis' coffin."

"Oh," said Ellery quickly, "has he been dead for more than three days? Did he die before Tuesday, the day of Khalkis' funeral?" "I think so," Dr. Fullerstead replied, and Dr. Brody nodded absently. "The change in the appearance of the corpse is enough to indicate that it has been dead for at least three days." "The stiffness has been gone for a long time. There is a second limpness. It seems that the whole process of turning to livid gray is over," said Dr. Brody in a grumpy tone. That's all for now. The positive signs are especially obvious—the body was lying face down in the coffin. Any parts that are under the pressure of clothing and that come into contact with angular sharp objects or hard things are blue-gray. The speckle is clearer. But it's an irrelevant detail."

"It all means—" Ellery said immediately. "None of what I just said means anything," replied the coroner's assistant. "As for the strict determination of the time of death, although the bluish gray color certainly indicates at least three days of decay, it may have been six days ago. Wrong corpse I can't be sure of the autopsy. You know, the phenomena I'm talking about are trivial. The disappearance of rigidity after death means that death has exceeded a day to a day and a half, and it may be two days. The secondary flaccidity is the third stage - this is normal, right after death, what you see is the primary flaccid state - when everything loosens up. Then, the rigidity begins. When the rigidity disappears, Going into the second flaccidity—the muscles are back to their relaxed state.”

"Yeah, but that's not—" the inspector began. "Of course," said Dr. Fullerstead, "there are other cases. For example, the abdomen shows formed green 'spots'—one of the first signs of decay—and are visibly engulfed by gas. Swell." "It helps to date, which is good," Dr. Brody said, "but there are other factors that must be carefully considered. If the body is placed in a relatively ventilated and dry place before it is put into the coffin, it will be decomposed. Not as soon as it usually does. Three days at least, absolutely, as I said."

"Well, well," said the inspector impatiently, "you can disembowel him and study it further, doctor, and please tell us as accurately as possible how long he has been dead." "So," Pepper said suddenly, "what about Khalkis' body? Isn't there any problem with that one? I mean, is there anything strange about Khalkis' death?" The officer looked at Pepper, slapped his calf, and exclaimed, "Excellent, Pepper! What a treat... Dr. Fullerstead, you were Khalkis' clinician when he died. Yes or no?" "So, it's your death certificate."

"Exactly, sir." "Is there anything queer about his death?" Dr. Fullerstead lowered his face. "My dear sir," he said coldly, "do you think, if not absolutely true, that I should formally judge him to have died of a heart attack?" "What about the complications?" Dr. Brody asked loudly. "Died without complications. Khalkis, however, had been very ill all these years; he had suffered from a form of malignant compensatory dystrophy - an enlarged heart due to a defect in the mitral valve - for at least twelve years. .Then there was a leak in the house and it was raining. About three years ago, he had a stomach ulcer attack. I couldn't do the surgery because of the heart, so I took the intravenous treatment. But there was bleeding again, which caused his eyes. blindness."

"Is such a progression common?" Ellery asked curiously. Dr. Brody said, "It's not often mentioned in our medical literature, Quinn. It's not common, but it happens all the time after bleeding from a stomach ulcer or cancer. The circumstances. Why this is so, no one can tell why." "Anyway," Dr. Fullerstead nodded, continuing his words, "the ophthalmologist I had, and myself, expected the blindness to be temporary. Sometimes this kind of blindness heals itself, like a disease. It was also mysterious and unpredictable. However, the illness has remained unchanged, and Khalkis has never seen the light again."

"It's all very noteworthy, I can say that with certainty," said the Inspector, "but our greater concern is the possibility that Khalkis didn't die of a heart attack, but—" "If you have any doubts about the veracity of the announced cause of death," Dr. Fullerstead interrupted, "you may wish to ask Dr. Woz. Was there too. No violence, no usual farce, Officer Quinn. The IV for the ulcer, plus the strict diet he was naturally forced to put on, put a strain on the heart. Besides. , he violated my special dissuasion by insisting on constant access to the General Collection, even if only through Mr Sloane and Mr Sujza. Quite simply, he is heart failure." "But—what about poison?" insisted the inspector. "I'm sure I'll tell you, there is no trace of anesthesia." The officer beckoned to Dr. Brody. "You'd better do an autopsy on Khalkis too," he said. "I want to know for sure. There's been a murder here—although we trust Dr. Fullerstead, we How can you say there was no second murder?" "Can you successfully perform an autopsy on Khalkis?" Pepper asked anxiously. "He was embalmed, you know." "That's irrelevant," said the coroner's assistant. "The embalming doesn't affect the major organs. If there's anything wrong, I'll find out. In fact, the embalming helps the dissection. It keeps the body— leaving it without the slightest sign of decay." "I think," said the sergeant, "that we've got a little more to discover about Khalkis' death, and maybe we'll get a clue out of that fellow Grimshaw. Doctor, you're responsible for the two bodies." Just a moment, okay?" Dr. Fullerstead put on his hat and coat, and said goodbye with a icy expression.When the officer arrived at Khalkis' study, he found the fingerprint specialist from headquarters busy in the room.He looked up and saw the police officer, and quickly finished what he was doing. "Jimmy, did you find anything?" the officer asked softly. "Find a lot, but nothing of significance. There's a lot of fingerprints. They're all over the place. I understand that there are millions of people going out and in during the whole week." "Well," sighed the officer, "you do what you can. Or go over there in the living room and check the fingerprints on the body. That man, we think, is Grimshaw. Bring the file from headquarters. Yet?" "Bring it." Jimmy hurried out of the study. Flint came in and reported to the officer, "The body truck has arrived." "Let the lads come in. But tell them to wait until Jimmy finishes his work in the hall." Five minutes later, the fingerprint expert entered the study with a satisfied expression: "That's Grimshaw, all right," he said. "The fingerprints match the ones in the criminal photo exhibition room." His face was still down again, "I also checked the fingerprints on the coffin," he said disgustedly, "but there are a lot of fingerprints on it .Can't find any clues, it seems that the police all over the city have left their paw marks on it." The shooting started, the room was quiet, and the room was filled with flashes of spotlight.The study room became a small battlefield.Dr. Brody came in to say good-bye; the two bodies and the coffin were carted away; Come into the study and close the door.