The Coolidge examiner., 1935-01-25


lcal. hard.b.tieu. and with a Jaunty
manner. lie resembled stock
salesman FAR more than he did
doctor.
lie greeted Us with a wave OF
the hand. and glanced about the
room. Then be teeicred back and
forth on his toes. and pinned a bale
ful eye on Heath.
More shenauigau." be com
plained. Il was In the midst OF hot
cakes and sausages when got your
message. You always pick on me at
meal time. Sergeant. Wen. what
have you got for me nowf"
Heath grinned and jerked his
thumb toward Goes body. lie was
used TO the medical examiners
grousing.
Doremus turned bis head and let
bis indifferent eyes rest on the dead
man for several moments
The door was bolted on the In
side. doctor" Markham volunteered.
we bad to break II in"
Doremus drew deep sigh and
turned back to Heath with a grunt
os disgust
well. wha, about itf' he asked
lmpatienty. Couldn't you have let
me hnlsh my breakfast All you
needed was an order TO remove the
body" He reached In his pocket
and drew out a small pad OF printed
blanks.
"Mr. Markham told me 20 call
you personally. doc" Heath e1-
planned 1T aint my funeral"
Doremus. holding his fountain
pen poised. cooked an eye at Mark
ham.
straight case Of suicide he an
nougced treezlly. Nothing 20 wor.
~ about III give you the approx
mate time of death. II you want H.
And the routine autopsy !"
Il say. Doctor Vance asked Ian
Euidly: would u be unprofesdonal
II you look Ai the bodyi"
Doremus spun around.
I'm going 10 look az the body"
he snapped I'm going 10 dissect Il
I'm going TO give IL a post NOR
TEN. what more DO you wantT
"Jusi why. Doctor. pursued Vance,
do you Jump at the conclusion
that It's Kuicldef"
Doremus sighed lmpatienily.
The guns In his hand: the bull
let wound Is IN the right place; and
know n dead man when SO one.
Furthermore. the door
"Was bolicd on the inside. Vance
finished. "Oh. quite Bu, what
about The body
"well. what about Itf" Doremus
began filling IN the order. There's
the body-iook NJ Il yourself"
Il have looked az Il, don't y
know"
you see Doc" Heath explained.
with a grin OF satisfaction Mr.
Vance and ! made q bet. ! said
you'd say suicide; and BE said
you'd say murder
I'm a doctor. not a detective"
Dorcmus returned acldly. The
guys dead. with a bullet hole IN
his right temple. Hes holding r
gun In his right hand It's the kind
of wound that could have been self.
inflicted Ills position Is natural
and the door was locked on the Ia.
side. The rest Of II Is up 10 you
fellows In the homicide bureau. II
the bullet from the gun don't ht.
the autopsyIl show H. Youll get
all the data tomorrow. Then you
can draw your own conclusion"
Vance had sat down IN a chair
near the west wall and was slnok
Ing placidly.
Would you mind. Doctor. taking
a close look az that bullet hole be
fore you return 10 your hot cakes
and sausages? And you might also
scrutInlze the dead mans mouth"
Doremus stared az Vance a mo-
ment: then he approached Archer
Goes body and bent over IL. He
Inspected the wound carefully, and
| saw bis eyebrows 40 up. he Mt
ed the hair from the left temple,
and there was visible to all OF US a
dark bruised indentation on the
scalp along the hair line. Then he
lifted Goes upper lip slightly. and
seemed 10 inspect his teeth, which
appeared bloodstalned from where
I stood. After a close inspection OF
the dead mans mouth. he again
focused his attention on the bullet
wound In the right temple.
Presently. he stood up straight
and fixed calculating gaze on
Vance
whats In your mlndT' he asked
truculently.
Nothing at ail-the brains a
mere vacuum" Vance took his |
cigarette from his lips and yawned. |
did you find anything illuminat-
in'T"
Doremus nodded. his eyes still on
Vance.
Yeah. Plentyw
"Oh, really, nowr" Vance smiled |
lngratlatIngly. "And you still |
think It's sulcIdeT'