The Devil's Grin - a Crime Novel Featuring Anna Kronberg and Sherlock Holmes by Annelie Wendeberg Read Free Book Online Page B

Scot! Very well then! I like your music, Mr McFadin, do you play the bagpipes well?’
    ‘ Er... I'm... I don’t play bagpipes.’
    ‘ But you are Scottish?’
    ‘ Yes, I am. ’ He was a little red faced now.
    ‘ So if you are a Scot, why don't you play the bagpipes?’
    ‘ Only because I'm a Scot doesn't mean I play the bagpipes!’ He slammed his hand on the table in front of him.
    ‘ Exactly!’ I cried and saw that I had lost him. ‘My apologies, Mr McFadin, I used you for a demonstration. When you meet a Scot he doesn't necessarily play the bagpipes. The same is true for Mr Unknown here.’
    I pointed to the man on the slab. ‘He died while exhibiting severe muscle spasms. You can see all the typical tetanus symptoms including the remarkable devilish grin!’
    I touched the man’s face and was wondering how many of my students felt repelled, how many pitied the man, and how many were amused by his shocking appearance. I looked back at them and continued. ‘But does that necessarily mean he died from tetanus? No! It doesn't! I urge everyone in this room to be cautious and not let our limited knowledge mask our senses. Just because we think it must have been tetanus that killed the man, doesn't necessarily mean this was indeed the case. Preconception prohibits learning! Only after we have learned all there is to learn, after we have studied and observed, only then can we draw our conclusions. And don't expect that you will always find an answer. If you have done your very best and still can not find an explanation, it is acceptable to admit that you do not know the answer.’
    Several students were looking a bit perplexed now. I knew they had learned that superiority goes hand in hand with practicing medicine. This, in my opinion, was all rubbish.
    ‘ You must see yourselves as scientists. And science is a work in progress. As is learning. You are solving a bacterial crime, gentlemen! I know your anatomy professors teach you to view the person you are dissecting as a subject. It is easier to slice apart a thing than a human being. But if you do so, you are ignoring important facts. The man could have died of an infectious disease, which makes him a human being with a significant history. A history that you have to reveal! How else would you identify the causative agent and aid in the prevention of further infections? Read up on Dr Snow’s reports on the last cholera outbreak and how he found the pump on Broad Street as the vector of transmission. The man investigated the history of the cholera fatalities and only that made him successfully prevent any further spreading of this disease! When you wake up in the morning - every morning! - I want you to think of the only thing we know for sure, which is, that we indeed know very little. After you have done so, throw away one of your favourite preconceptions.’
    McFadin's colour turned back to a normal shade and he almost looked proud now. Everyone was glued to my lips and the show could begin.
    ‘ Now, if you please, ’ I waved them forward. That was unusual for anatomical demonstrations. Normally, students were asked to keep a respectful distance. Not during my lessons, though. I wanted them to observe closely. But I had to keep an eye on the faint hearted ones; it usually helped them when I gave them something to do. But so far, everyone looked brave. ‘Now tell me, what do you observe?’
    Several students answered.
    ‘ His clothes are dirty and old.’
    ‘ He is thin.’
    ‘ He is poor.’
    ‘ He has brown hair.’
    ‘ He is about forty years old.’
    ‘ His body is distorted.’
    I interrupted : ‘Thank you very much! We can safely assume that the man was poor, has brown hair, and was probably thirty years old. Poverty often makes one look older than one really is. And his body is distorted. Can anyone say where the man came from?’
    Everyone shook his head.
    ‘ Exactly. So far, we can't tell.’ I fetched a pair of scissors and cut away