Jozsa Neptune King and the Lunatic Asylum

1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4835-4612-4
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 163 Seiten

Neptune King and the Lunatic Asylum is the 22nd book in the series. Neptune and Shark are retained by Mrs Cartwright, the distraught mother grieving the loss of her son who supposedly killed himself whilst an inmate in Willow Downs Asylum. She believes he was murdered, despite his history of self-harm and attempted suicide. Doubtful at first they undertake a preliminary investigation not expecting to find anything much. To their surprise they learn that there have been eighteen suspicious suicides in the past year. That is enough to convince them that something serious is going on. Joining forces with a young enthusiastic policeman who also has doubts about the asylum, they go undercover, Neptune as a patient, Shark as an orderly, and from then on begins their terrifying ordeal. Will they survive the asylum with their health and sanity intact? Their only ally is a deranged patient who thinks he is a spy deep undercover. This is one of their toughest cases yet.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Jozsa, Magda

Leseproben

ONE

The rain subsided to a drizzle as the funeral procession reached the graveyard. The woman, the chief mourner dressed in black with a dark veil hiding her grief stricken face walked along behind the coffin oblivious to the rain. The rest of the family followed, hiding under their umbrellas, cursing the mud underfoot that ruined their expensive shoes. At the graveside, the coffin was lowered as the priest said the final farewell. Several women in the group wiped tears from their eyes, or it could have been rain. Standing apart from them was the veiled mourner. If she was crying no one could see.

When the priest finished, she stepped forward and dropped a rose onto the coffin, then turned away.

One of the other mourners hurried after her. “Maisie,” he called.

She stopped.

“Maisie,” he said catching up to her. “I’m real sorry about Ken. I know he was messed up, but he was too young to die.”

The veiled figure looked at him, her expression invisible.

The man, her cousin, shook his head. “I mean, to kill himself like that...well, it’s hard to believe.”

“He did not kill himself!” snapped Maisie Cartright.

“But...?”

“He did not kill himself! He was murdered!”

The man looked at her sadly. “Maisie, I know you’re distraught, but really. He was in an asylum. He was prone to violence and self-harm. It was only a matter of time that something like this happened.”

The woman lifted the veil. Cold blue eyes started unblinkingly at him. “He...did...not...kill... himself,” she said spacing and emphasizing each word. “I will prove it!” With that she pulled her veil down and walked away.

“Jack,” one of the other mourners joined the man. “Is Maisie all right?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. First she loses her husband, now her son. I don’t think she can cope with it. She says he didn’t kill himself. She reckons he was murdered.”

“Murdered! Oh what nonsense. Should one of us go with her, do you think? Perhaps she shouldn’t be alone.”

Jack shook his head. “No, Susan. I don’t think she’d welcome the intrusion of anyone at this time. Give her a few days to get over the initial shock of it all and then call on her. She might be thinking more clearly by then.”

“Any appointments in the book for today, Regina?” asked Neptune King smoothing down his wavy brown hair that the wind had messed up.

His business partner and friend, Shark Johnson joined him at that moment, also looking a little disheveled. “That wind’s sure strong,” he complained. “Reckon its gunna rain, too.”

“Got to expect rain in spring,” replied Neptune before turning back to their secretary, Regina Blake.

“You have one appointment for ten o’clock, Sir, but nothing else as yet,” said Regina.

“Oh well, looks like another quiet day, Shark.”

“I hope not. Hope business picks up soon. It’s all right being quiet occasionally but not all the time,” replied Shark. He smoothed down his blond hair and removed his coat, before picking up the pile of mail on the counter.

They went upstairs to their offices. Shark split the mail in half and handed one pile to Neptune. “Might as well catch up on our reading then.”

Shark went into his office. Papers from his desk were scattered over the floor. He cursed softly and went to the open window, shutting it to stop the breeze. Only yesterday it had been warm and sunny, today it was back to winter conditions. “Damn English weather,” he growled as it started to rain, conveniently forgetting that in his native home of Melbourne, Australia he could experience all the seasons in one day.

Their ten o’clock appointment came and went. His was a trivial matter that only took a few phone calls to resolve.

“I sure hope we get something a little more substantial than that this week,” said Shark after the client left. “I can’t live on minimum wage. Got expenses.”

“It’s hardly minimum wage, Shark,” countered Neptune. “After all Mr. Sparrow paid us double our fee so your wage is the same as usual.”

“Yeah, but not if these quiet times continue. If we’re not getting any paying cases we’ll drop to minimum. I look forward to the bonuses we get with each case. Got another baby on the way don’t forget.”

Neptune smiled. “How can I? I’ve got another one on the way as well. Which reminds me, Max absolutely loves the present you gave him for his birthday. He can’t hear the noises it makes, but the flashing lights on it keep him occupied for hours.”

“That’s good. I wasn’t real sure what to get him. When will you be taking him to Vienna for treatment?”

“August. Can’t get in before then.”

The telephone on Neptune’s desk rang then, interrupting their conversation. Neptune picked it up. “Yes, Regina?”

“Sir, there’s a lady here to see you and Mr. Johnson. She says it’s urgent.”

“Very good. Send her up.” He hung up and looked across at Shark. “Looks like your prayers have been answered. New client on the way up.”

A couple of minutes later there came a knock on the door.

“Come in,” called Neptune.

The door opened.

They both stared at the black veiled woman who entered. Shark exchanged glances with Neptune, then pulled out the chair in front of the desk. “Here, Ma’am. Sit down here.”

She nodded to him and sat herself down.

“I’m Neptune King,” said Neptune, “and this is my colleague Shark Johnson.”

“I’m Maisie Cartright.”

“Cartright?” Any connection to the ship building firm of Cartright and Woodley?” asked Neptune with interest.

She nodded. “James Cartright was my husband.”

Shark looked quizzically at Neptune. He’d never heard of James Cartright. Neptune on the other hand seemed to have a head full of miscellaneous information that came useful at times like this.

“Are you here about your husband?” asked Neptune. “If you are, I’m not sure what we can do. I understand he died by suicide.”

“I’m not here about my husband. I’m here about my son.” She pulled up her veil revealing the not unattractive face of a middle aged woman. Her eyes were clear and bright blue, but her mascara was smudged with black streaks running down her cheeks. Clearly she had been crying.

“Your son?”

“Kenneth. I believe he was murdered.”

“What do the police say?”

“They say it’s suicide, but then what else can they say. They believe that shifty doctor at the asylum.”

Neptune frowned and exchanged glances with Shark.

Shark pulled over another chair, while Neptune pulled his notepad across. “Perhaps you had better start at the beginning, Mrs. Cartright.”

“My son Kenneth has...had schizophrenia. Sometimes he became violent and uncontrollable. After he attacked the footman and the gardener I had to have him committed for treatment at the Willow Downs Asylum. It’s supposed to be the best in the country. He’s only been in there for three months. They were supposed to cure him, not kill him!”

“How did he die?”

“He slit his throat with a razor—at least that’s what they say he did. They claim they had him locked in a single cell for his own safety. That he was harming himself. They claim they don’t know how he got hold of the razor. They think he bribed one of the other patients to slip it to him. They even tried to blame me, saying if I hadn’t kept slipping him money when I visited, he wouldn’t have been able to pay for the razor.”

“I see,” said Neptune. “Did he ever hurt himself before?”

She started to shake her head, then stopped. “He slit his wrists once. He wasn’t trying to kill himself though,” she hastened to add. “He only did that to get his father’s attention. James had been rather distracted during the months leading up to his death. He’s the one that designed the ocean liner Excelsior. When it sank killing all those people he was devastated. He felt responsible, believing it was a design fault. He just couldn’t cope and withdrew into himself. He and Ken had always been close. Ken felt rejected by his father. He didn’t understand that it had nothing to do with him. He slashed his wrists to get his father’s attention.”

“Did it work?” asked Shark.

She shook her head. “No. His father killed himself the next day. After that Ken became unmanageable. I don’t know if he blamed himself for his father’s death, coming as it did after he slashed his wrists. Whatever the reason he became aggressive. I couldn’t handle him. He stopped taking his medications. I had no choice but to commit him.” Her face screwed up as she tried to keep the tears from falling. “I didn’t know I was sending him to his...