The Doctor Digs a Grave Read Online Free PDF

bucks.”
    â€œHe might have been interrupted.”
    â€œBy what?”
    â€œYou.”
    â€œAnd disappeared into thin air?”
    â€œNo, into the back of the hotel. I saw a man come out of there to dump some trash. It wasn’t locked.”
    They sat in silence, glaring at each other. Finally Fenimore said, “Turn up anything in Missing Persons?”
    â€œThought you’d never ask.” Rafferty shot a computer printout across his desk.
    Fenimore scanned the list:

    He paused. There was a small penciled cross next to Field. “Let’s see this description,” he pointed.
    Rafferty had it ready. He passed it over.

    JOANNE FIELD: Age: 24. Height: 5′4″. Weight: 118 lbs. Hair: Dark brown. Eyes: Dark brown. Race: Native American. Marks of identification: Scar transecting lower left quadrant of chest.

    Fenimore raised his eyes to Rafferty’s. “What are you waiting for?”
    â€œA small canvas bag was found buried with her,” he said. “There were no obvious forms of identification in it, but the contents are being examined now and I’m waiting for the report.”
    Fenimore pulled the list of missing persons toward him again and studied it. “I know a Ned Hardwick,” he said slowly.
    Rafferty perked up. “Could this be his son?”
    â€œCould be. Have you notified him yet?”
    â€œNot yet. Would you like the pleasure?” He placed his feet on his desk.
    â€œHow much time do I have?”
    â€œWe have to notify the next of kin within twenty-four hours of identification.”
    â€œFiancés aren’t ‘next of kin’”.
    â€œYou must’ve been a whiz at genetics.”
    Ignoring him, Fenimore asked, “Does she have any blood relatives?”
    â€œWhen the fiance reported her missing, he mentioned she had a brother.”
    â€œWhere is he?”
    â€œSouth Jersey, near Riverton.”
    â€œThat figures. The Lenapes settled around there.”
    â€œThere you go. At last you can put that history hobby of yours to some practical use.” Rafferty enjoyed poking fun at Fenimore’s academic pursuits.
    â€œLook, do you think you could bend the rules a bit?” Fenimore
asked. “I have a light schedule today, and I think I may know these Hardwicks. Maybe I can dig something up.”
    â€œHaven’t you dug enough up?”
    Fenimore waited patiently, like a child who has asked for a special treat.
    â€œOkay,” Rafferty brought his feet back to the floor with a thud. “You can have ‘til nine o’clock.”
    Fenimore was heading for the door when Rafferty hailed him. “You left your heart behind.”
    He turned and grinned. “Why, Raff, I didn’t know you cared.” He pocketed the plastic model and exited before the policeman could throw something at him.

CHAPTER 9
    STILL MONDAY MORNING
    I n the dim corridor outside Rafferty’s office, Fenimore waited for the elevator and thought about the Hardwicks. Ned was already an established surgeon when Fenimore was a mere intern. As soon as Ned had begun practice, he had married Polly Matthews. Because Polly came from a prominent and wealthy Philadelphia family and her father was chief of surgery, everyone thought Ned had made “a good match.” This had nettled the young surgeon at the time, because he prided himself on his own origins. His family was of old Boston stock; his ancestors had arrived on the Mayflower in 1620. But the Hardwicks had lived in Philadelphia for only two generations, relegating him to a slightly lower rung than Polly’s on the social ladder, even though her ancestors had not arrived in Philadelphia on the Welcome with William Penn until 1682.
    Giving up on the elevator, Fenimore took the fire stairs.
    While a young doctor, Fenimore had seen the Hardwicks fairly often. Polly was famous for her dinner parties. (People in Polly’s circles never asked you over for