Microsoft word - the story2-chilloux stéphanie.doc

“Ok, nice work. Bring him to the waking room number 6.” “Doctor Allen” called Mrs Watson, a nurse. “You must go to the meeting now.” “I will, thank you.” I left the operating room and I made my way to the meeting. But when I sat down, I noticed that there was nobody in front of me; Tom Dorchester was missing. « You’re looking for Tom Dorchester, aren’t you? Penelope said. I nodded. “How did you know?” “I have been expecting you to ask. I mean, he’s always been at this conference in the past. Quite a fixture. This must be the first he hasn’t come to in – What? Fifteen years? Twenty? ” “He is not here then?” “He’s dead. I’ll tell you about it, if you like. It’s an odd story. Of course, I don’t know how much you know.” “He’s dead? When?” “He died last night. Let me tell you. You remember when Tom Dorchester underwent surgery at least two years ago about his cancer?” “Of course” “Well, the disease came back and he had to undergo surgery again yesterday night.” “And what happened?” I asked. “The operation went smoothly, doctors allowed him in the waking room all night long. But in the morning, when nurses brought his breakfast, they found him dead.” “How did he die?” “We don’t know yet, a forensic pathologist is working on it. If you want to see him, he has been put in the mortuary for the day.” “Ok thanks, I will.” After the meeting, I decided to go to the mortuary to see the forensic pathologist. Tom Dorchester was laying on the working surface, he was as white as his sheet and his face expressed fear. I took photo of him. The doctor was examining him; he was doing a blood test. I came near the man and asked him if he knew how Tom died. “He died of a heart attack”, he answered me. “It occurred at half past one in the morning in the waking room number 9”. While I was walking back to the hospital, I called Tom Dorchester’s death in question. Why did he look like scared? And why did he have a heart attack if the operation went smoothly? The more I asked to me questions the more I found it strange. That is why I decided to have a word with doctor Conners. I went to his office, knocked at the door and came in. - Hi, can I see you a moment? - Sure. What’s happening? - I have just been to the mortuary, and I talked to the forensic pathologist. He said that Tom died of a heart attack. - And what’s the matter? - I can’t believe it! Did you notice the fear on his face? When somebody dies of a heart attack it’s either due to the old age or a violent shock. I think that Tom was scared of something. - What do you want to do? Maybe he died because of his cancer and nothing else. - I don’t think so, sir. - Do you want investigate on it? Ok, do all you want if it makes you feel better. You want - Can you tell me who has performed surgery on Tom Dorchester? - Of course, wait a second… there were Doctor Jones, four nurses, Mr Brown and I. - Where did he undergo surgery? - In the room number 16, in the first building. - Thank you very much; I’ll go to the waking room number 9. - See you later. I left his office and went to the waking room number 9. I decided to make investigations myself. I began to join together all the clues. So Tom died at half past one in the morning of a heart attack because something or somebody frightened him. It had to be somebody who worked in the hospital otherwise nurses wouldn’t let him come in. I went to the room. It was empty only two persons were replacing the room’s door. - Excuse me, but why are you carrying the door? I asked them. - Because this morning the door was locked on the inside. Doctor Conners forced the door to come in and a patient was found dead in the room and now we must replace the door. - Can you tell me if the windows were opened? - No, they were closed. - Thank you very much. During all the morning, I asked everybody where they had been the previous night, what they were doing… I wrote all the answers and unfortunately everybody had an alibi. So I had to find who had reasons to kill him. Tom Dorchester was a surgeon. He was about 40 years old and was not married. He was an odd person because he had never smiled, never laughed, never been satisfied, that’s why not many people liked him and that’s why it was very difficult to find the one who killed him. In the afternoon, I went to Tom’s home to find clues which could help me. I opened the door with a wire. It was a dark flat; windows were closed and everything looked sad. They were no decorations, no flowers, no photos… walls were grey and naked. I began to look for signs in his bedroom. There was nothing interesting in his drawers. I didn’t find anything in his drawing room. Searching in his jacket’s pockets, I found a sheet of paper which read: “February, 21st was the day before yesterday.” I thought. I found nothing more in his home. As it was too late to go to the hotel, I came back home and began to write a report. The next day, I went to the Hilton hotel. It was a charming and luxurious place. At the reception desk, the receptionist was typing something on the computer. - Hello, it’s just for information. - What can I do for you? - Can you tell me who reserved room number 146 on Sunday, February 21st? - May I ask you the reason for this question? - I am doing investigations on Tom Dorchester’s death. - Oh yeah, I have heard this on the television, he answered, flipping through his book. Room number 146 was reserved by Mr Gardor. - Are you sure? It wasn’t Mr Dorchester? - No, I’m sure of it. - I suppose that the room isn’t reserved any more. - That’s right. Do you want to reserve it? - No, thank you for your information. Bye. “Who is Mr Gardor? I don’t know that name; I have never heard it before”, I wondered. I came back home searching a bond between all these signs. As I didn’t have the Internet I decided to call Penelope; she could perhaps help me. I picked up the phone and called her. She agreed to give me a hand and invited me to use her internet communication. I took my report which included the paper and the photo of Tom, all my clues and I left. I arrived at Penelope’s home a quarter later. I knocked at the door and Penelope opened it at the same time. I was invited to come in. - Make yourself comfortable, I’ll bring you the computer, she said going upstairs. She came a moment later with a laptop. I found many persons who were called Gardor but no one could be the one who was in the hotel. I was disappointed. - Did you find anything else? I mean another sign? She asked. - Is it true that doctor Hopkins was with you that night? - Yes, it is. He got back home with me and we spent the night together. - Do you remember what time it was when you left the hospital? - I think it was about midnight. - Did you see doctor Conners that night? - Yes I passed him on the stairs. I think he was going to his office. - Do you know which nurse looked after the waking room number 9? She typed something on her computer, a file was opened and we could see a board with a planning of the waking rooms. She printed the board and gave it to me. - Thank you very much. I will call you if I find something. Bye. At home, I looked for the nurse on the board. It was Mrs Watson. The next day, I went to the waking room number 5 and I asked her for a minute to talk. She agreed and we went to my office. I asked her who she had seen coming in the waking room, she cited names and she told me that she had noticed doctor Conners because he had come in about three times in the night. After her departure, I had some idea on who was guilty but I didn’t know how he had done it. I remembered what the man who carried the door had said: the door was closed on the inside and all windows too. So Tom had closed the door himself and he died a few moment later. But how? He was scared when he died. I decided to go to the mortuary again. There, I asked to see the forensic pathologist who had dealt with Tom Dorchester. He came and I asked him if he could tell me which medicines he had found on Tom. He looked up for in his report and he gave me the list. While I was walking home, I read the list and I found what I was looking for. At home, I joined together all the signs and everything fit right. I wrote my report and I finished it that night. The next morning, I sent an e-mail to every one in the hospital: A meeting is organised today at two o’clock in room number 3, everybody is invited to come. It concerns Tom Dorchester’s death. After all my interventions, I went to room number 3. I arrived with a quarter of an hour to spare but I took advantage of it to prepare my speech. The first doctors and nurses arrived ten minutes later and everybody was there at the appointed time. I noticed that doctor Conners was missing. “Ladies and gentleman, thank you for coming. You should know of course that doctor Dorchester died last Sunday night. At the mortuary, the forensic pathologist said that he died of a heart attack after surgery. For those who didn’t know, Tom underwent surgery that night because he had a cancer two years ago, and unfortunately the disease came back. I made investigations on it because I found strange that Tom was scared when he died. You know that when somebody dies of a heart attack it’s either due to old age or a violent shock. As Tom was only forty years old I dropped the first proposition. I knew he died approximately at half past one in the morning in the waking room number 9. So I decided to go to the waking room and there were two men who told me that the door and the windows were closed on the inside. So Tom had closed the door himself. While I was saying the last sentence, doctor Conners came in the room and sat down to his seat. - Then I went to Tom’s home. There, I found a sheet of paper where there was written the address of a hotel, a date and a room’s number. I went to the hotel the next day, and the receptionist told me that it was a Mr Gardor who had reserved the room that day. Later I went to Penelope Garner’s home because I haven’t got internet at home but I found nothing about this name. I asked Mrs Watson who she had seen come in the waking room that night. She said to me many names but she told me that she noticed doctor Conners because he came in about three times in the same night. Thanks to her, I had the last sign which allowed me to guess who the killer is. But, I still didn’t know how Tom died. So I came back to the mortuary. The forensic pathologist gave me the list with everything that he had found on Tom. He has found some ergotamine. It is a medicine which in small quantities controls haemorrhages and can also treats migraines. But in high level, this medicine induces hallucinations because it’s a hallucinogenic. So Tom was given a high level of ergotamine, he got frightened and died of a heart attack. - But doctor, I think you forgot something in your explanation, said doctor Hopkins. - What’s it? - The killer himself! Who was it? - It’s someone who has the best alibi because everybody thinks that he was not at the hospital that night. It’s someone who hated him so much, that he could kill him. It was a woman, who has a twin sister called Jessica, and who used her as an alibi. I showed the photo of the twin sisters. - While Jessica was with Doctor Hopkins, the killer crept in the waking room and gave Tom a high level of ergotamine and left the hospital unnoticed. But she didn’t think that Mrs Watson would see her and neither that I would search in her drawers while she was looking for the computer. She killed him because they have split up and because he was with another woman. I showed the second photo. - So, the killer is … Penelope Garner. While I was saying her name, policemen came in the room and arrested her. She said: - You forgot something doctor Allen. Who is Mr Gardor? - It is a pseudonym. G.A.R are the third first letters of Garner and D.O.R are the third first letters of Dorchester. This is the end of my first adventure at the hospital.

Source: http://montabuzard.free.fr/spip/IMG/pdf/enigma.pdf