Half a Mind TO Murder (Dr. Alexandra Gladstone Mysteries Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

with hair the color of corn silk and eyes like deep blue lakes. It was Dr. Gladstone who had brought the boy and his mother to his office, along with some putrid smelling thing that sat in a crockery bowl covered with a linen towel on his desk.
    He was very much aware of Dr. Gladstone’s scrutiny of him as he spoke to Lucas. It gave him an odd feeling to know that she was assessing his skills, especially since, in the past, it had been he who was charged with assessing hers. When he was still a schoolmaster, her father and his good friend, the late Dr. Huntington Gladstone, had hired him as a tutor for his daughter, since, quite naturally, being female, she was not allowed to attend school. Gladstone had also allowed his daughter’s young companion and servant, Nancy, to sit in on the lessons.
    “ Very well, Lucas,” Snow said, doing his best to ignore Dr. Gladstone’s careful attention as well as the other woman’s sobs. “You have told me you found the organ buried in the ground…”
    Lucas gave him a blank look.
    Snow pointed to the crockery. “That” The one word sounded condescending, rather than full of exaggerated patience, as he had intended.
    Lucas nodded his head enthusiastically. “Oh yes. I found it where the truffles is.” He sat very straight in his chair, unlike Snow’s usual suspects or former students, who usually cowered in fear.
    “ Yes, among the truffles. Now tell me, please, what led you to excavate that specific area?”
    Lucas gave Snow a slack-jawed stare for several seconds before he turned his gaze to his mother, this time with a puzzled expression.
    It was Dr. Gladstone who spoke to him, however, since his mother ’s quiet sobs made it impossible for her to speak. “Why were you digging there, Lucas?” Dr. Gladstone kept her voice low and her tone gentle.
    “’ Cause,” Lucas said, speaking to Dr. Gladstone.
    “ Because of what?” she said, coaxing him, still with gentleness.
    Lucas shrugged and looked at the ceiling.
    Snow felt a stab of impatience mingled with despair, but he pushed his emotions aside, determined to accomplish his goal. “Did you know it was there, Lucas?”
    “ What?” Lucas said, still looking at the ceiling.
    Snow ’s spine grew involuntarily tense, but he forced himself to relax. “The organ you excava—the organ you dug out of the ground. That one.” Snow pointed again to the bowl on his desk. “The one you brought to Dr. Gladstone.”
    “ That?” Lucas asked, also pointing to the bowl.
    “ Yes, Lucas.”
    “ That’s a heart. It ain’t no organ, ’tis a heart.”
    “ Of course.” The long, well tapered fingers of Snow’s hands met under his chin as he looked down at Lucas’s face.
    “’ Tis a heart, and I’m going to keep it.” Lucas spoke emphatically, but his gaze drifted about the room.
    His mother stopped her sobbing and stared at him, her eyes wide with horror.
    “Lucas, look at me, please.” Snow’s voice shook slightly from the strain of forced patience. When Lucas turned his eyes toward him, he continued. “Whose heart is it?” Lucas ignored his question and stood up suddenly, going toward the table, his hands extended toward the crockery. Snow grabbed his arm, restraining him. Dr. Gladstone and the boy’s mother, both alarmed, stood as well.
    “ Let me go.” Lucas said, struggling. “It’s mine. I found it, so it’s mine.”
    “ How did you know it was there?” Snow asked.
    “ Lucas!” Miss Pendennis cried before he could answer. She reached for her son, but Dr. Gladstone held her back.
    At the same time Lucas spoke. “I put it there. That’s how I knowed. It’s mine, and I can do what I want with it.”
    There was an anguished cry from Miss Pendennis, and Sn ow’s breath came in short gasps, which he had to control in order to speak. “You put it there?” His mind was reeling. Was it going to be that easy to solve the case? Would a half-wit’s confession hold up under the law?
    “ The boy doesn’t