by Mary
The Dream Doctor is narrated by ace reporter Walter Jameson, Professor
Craig Kennedy's flatmate. Jameson is instructed by his editor at The
Star to write an article describing an average month for the
scientific detective and this collection relates, in the form of a
continual narrative, the cases Kennedy handles as Jameson undertakes the
task.
Price Maitland, fatally stricken by cobra venom, has apparently
committed suicide. His wife is being treated by Dr Ross for "nervous
trouble" (apparently of a Freudian nature -- something to do with her
broken engagement to Arnold Masterson perhaps?) so her claim to have
dreamt of her husband's impending death is pretty well ignored. The
wonderfully named Lovibond Tintometer contributes to the solving of
the puzzle.
The next case involves the Novella Beauty Parlour, wherein actress Blanche
Blaisdell is found dead. Her married boyfriend, top lawyer Burke Collins, wants his
name kept out of the papers and parlour owners Professor and Madame
Millefleur seem a wee bit shady too -- but what about the young girl
found wandering in the street, babbling about a woman with shining lips?
Suspects gather in Kennedy's lab, where they are hooked up to a
long-distance lie detector....
Yvonne Brixton asks Kenndy to help her millionaire father, who's hiding
out in his country house convinced he is constantly spied upon and that
his telephone is tapped. Oh, and he hears voices in his country home's
fortress-like office/study as well. What does Count Conrad Wachtmann,
Miss Brixton's fiance, know about those threatening letters sent to Mr
Brixton, signed The Red Brotherhood of the Balkans?
Hardly have Kennedy and Jameson returned home after solving that puzzle
when wealthy J. Perry Spencer sweeps them off to his private museum and
art gallery, where green objects have been vandalised and his collection
of French emeralds stolen. Lucille White, caretaker of Spencer's
library, relates a strange tale involving a greenish yellow Egyptian
coffin. Kennedy's optophone assists the truth to emerge.
Next comes a call from steel millionaire Emery Pitts. His chef has been
murdered in the kitchen, although by the look of its bloody shambles he
appears to have managed to stab his assailant several times before being
overcome. A torn-up note to Mrs Pitts and some remarkable theories about
aging help round out the story.
The breakneck pace continues when Kennedy is retained by the Curtis
family to investigate the death of Bertha Curtis, whose body has been
found in the river. A phantom boat is seen visiting the dock of a
deserted riverside house at night, and while 'Big Jack' Clendenin, who
runs a dope joint frequented by Miss Curtis, will be well worth investigating,
first a tong war in Chinatown must be put down.
The next consultation involves thefts from a high class emporium and a
Fifth Avenue jeweller, where valuable jewelry has been stolen and
replaced by imitations. Suspicion initially points to well-known
shoplifter Annie Grayson but delicate sleuthing is required, given the
last person looking at the diamonds pinched in one case is a Wall Street
broker's wife, Mrs William Willoughby. Fortunately Kennedy's
telegraphone and psychometer come to the rescue!
Next, a Mr Winslow and his daughter Ruth call on Kennedy. The Winslows
live in Goodyear, a town famous for its rubber (Reeve's little joke
perhaps?). Bradley Cushing, Ruth's fiance, has invented an improved type
of synthetic rubber whose widespread use is inevitable and which will
ruin many residents. Thus there are numerous suspects when Cushing is
found murdered in his laboratory. There is a scent of oranges in the
air...but this crime conceals one that in some ways is far worse.
The excitement continues when District Attorney Carton summons Kennedy
to the Criminal Courts Building, where Kennedy nonchalantly dismantles
a bomb sent by kingpins in the vice trade. Carton has hopes of getting
a fellow called Haddon, one of the wretches involved in the filthy
business, to sing like the proverbial canary. Unfortunately, Haddon
disappears....
In Kennedy's world, it's often dangerous for men to get engaged, for yet
another fiance is suspected of having a hand in criminal activities. A
German, Mr Nordheim, is affianced to the daughter of Captain Shirley.
The latter has invented a wireless-controlled submarine using a process
Kennedy calls Telautomatics. But someone has been tinkering with its
operation. Warning: claustrophobes will find part of this story
difficult going but there is a nice twist vis a vis who is responsible.
Montague Phelps has died after going into a coma whose cause cannot be
discovered. Not long before he had married the dancer Anginette
Petrovska, but during their honeymoon trip the family banking house
failed and Phelps returns home pretty well wiped-out financially. As if
that was not bad enough, the family mausoleum is desecrated and Mrs
Phelps receives a blackmailing letter. Then her husband's body is stolen
and it's up to Kennedy to solve the matter.
Sanford Godwin is in Sing Sing, awaiting execution after conviction for
poisoning his adoptive father, Parker Godwin. Sanford and the Elmores,
the three grandchildren of Parker Godwin's sister, are co-heirs and the
state asserts the cause of Godwin's crime was a new will which in effect
disinherited him. Nella Godwin, Sanford's wife, appeals to Kennedy for
help. The solution features both a twist and a particularly satisfying
denouement.
My verdict: Though the mysteries are sometimes slight with few suspects
unless the culprit might be a passing pedestrian who carpe diemed, the
scientific explanation are delightful if somewhat long-winded for modern
taste. I found myself wondering if the various types of equipment
utilised by Kennedy would operate as stated, so consulted an electrical
engineer of my acquaintance about one, the phantom circuits -- and
apparently it's correct. Presumably the other contraptions strewn in
the path of wrongdoers would also work as stated. An enjoyable
collection, especially for those interested in sleuthing aided by science.
Etext: The Dream Doctor by Arthur B. Reeve
