Dead Man's Puzzle Read Online Free Page A

to reboot.”
    “And I do that by . . . ?”
    “Turning it on again.”
    “Let me be sure I got this straight. The entire wit and wisdom of your approach to computer dynamics is turn it off and turn it back on?”
    “If you want to think of it that way.”
    “You want me to try it to show I can do it?”
    “That won’t be necessary. It’s working now. But if it gets frozen again, you know what to do.” He got up from the desk chair. “Say, where’d you get the computer puzzle?”
    “What computer puzzle?”
    Cora had taken the crossword puzzle Harvey had given her out of her purse. It was lying on the desk.
    “That’s not a computer puzzle. It’s done in pen and ink.”
    “Yeah, but it’s all about computers.”
    “What do you mean, it’s all about computers?”
    “Well, take a look.” He pointed. “Right across the bottom you’ve got screen, net, disk, mouse . They’re all computer terms. Whoever constructed this puzzle went to a lot of trouble to call attention to computers.”
    Cora frowned.
    “Is that right?”

Chapter 6
    Dr. Barney Nathan looked dapper as ever in a bright red bow tie. His manner, however, was somewhat less than cordial. “I don’t know why you expect me to help you.”
    “Don’t be silly. You’re a doctor.”
    “You said I was a bad doctor.”
    “No, I didn’t.” Cora shrugged. “I may have said you botched a few autopsies.”
    “That’s the same thing.”
    “No, it isn’t. Bad doctors kill people. I assume the ones you autopsy are already dead.”
    “That’s not funny. You said those things in public.”
    “I did?”
    “You know you did. You said it to Chief Harper. You said it in the town meeting. You said it on TV.”
    “Yes, but it isn’t true.”
    “That’s slander.”
    “So what? Truth is defense for slander.”
    “What?”
    “You didn’t do it, so you can’t be slandered.”
    “That’s not what it means,” Barney cried indignantly. “Just the opposite. If something is true, it isn’t slander.”
    “Well, isn’t it true you didn’t botch the autopsy? You didn’t botch it, did you, Barney?”
    “You know I didn’t botch the autopsy.”
    “Then what are we arguing about?”
    Barney Nathan sputtered to a standstill, his mind short-circuited by Cora’s breezy doublespeak.
    “And here’s your chance to prove it,” Cora said. “With your autopsy on Mr. Overmeyer.”
    “I didn’t perform an autopsy on Mr. Overmeyer.”
    “Why not?”
    “He died of natural causes.”
    “How do you know?”
    “It’s on the death certificate.”
    “Who signed the death certificate?”
    “I did.”
    Cora nodded. “I see. Then you examined the body?”
    “I examined it for signs of life. There were none. I pronounced him dead.”
    “From what cause?”
    “Old age.”
    “That’s a disease?”
    “Of course not.”
    “Then what did he die of?”
    “Organ failure.”
    “Which one?”
    “All of them.”
    “What does it say on the death certificate?”
    “I don’t remember.”
    “Could you look?”
    “There’s no reason to.”
    “You’d do it for Chief Harper.”
    “You’re not him.”
    “No, but if I ask him, he’ll ask you. Why don’t we cut out the middleman?”
    Grumbling to himself, Barney Nathan rifled through his files, pulled out a chart. “He died of renal failure. As a result of cancer.”
    “Really?”
    “Yes, really.”
    “No sign of foul play?”
    “Of course not.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    “He’s an old man. He had no money.”
    “Those are medical reasons?”
    “Those are commonsense reasons. Come on, Cora. I’d be more sympathetic if you hadn’t ripped me in public.”
    “Where is the gentleman?”
    “At the hospital morgue.”
    “Really? I thought it was a natural death. Why isn’t he at the funeral home?”
    “Kelly likes to be paid. Funny that way.”
    “You’re telling me Mr. Overmeyer has no relatives and no cash?”
    “That’s how I understand it.”
    “That’s really the reason,