The Lovely Chocolate Mob - By Richard J. Bennett Page 0,45
he’s changed. He’s doing the same exact thing.”
“Exactly what is that?” I asked.
“Ah, come on Randall!” said Walter. “You’re too trusting in human nature; fortunately for you, I am not cursed with this malady. I think most people are rotten to the core, and he’s rotten! Here’s what I mean: Helen, although probably still a looker, wouldn’t exactly be the same creature she was while at college. Now the chocolate bikini-lady, she’s the real thing! She’s still in her prime, plus she’s filthy rich, and about to be filthy richer!”
“You’re a cynic, my friend,” I remarked.
“And darn proud of it,” replied Walter.
“So now you’re saying that all the parts fit, given the pattern of Franklin’s past, to drop a girlfriend, in this case, his wife, in exchange for a younger and richer girlfriend.”
“Now you’re getting the picture. Although we’ve never seen him drop a girl, it’s a sure bet he did while in high school, before arriving at college. Besides this photo, and our made-up motives, we need more proof. This pic is good, but can be explained away, just as you tried to do.”
“How do we get more proof?” I asked.
“Go straight to the source, Franklin himself.”
At the Hospital
A few weeks had passed; Franklin Burke was on the third floor performing his usual rounds at the city hospital, working on his 48th birthday. He was checking charts and talking to patients, and in a bit of a grumpy mood, the nurses had noted. He understood why he was needed at work, even if it was a special day. He was near the nurses’ station when he heard over the hospital loudspeaker, “Dr. Burke, Dr. Franklin Burke, you’re needed in the administration office”. This was unusual and out of the ordinary; the nurses were busy, and since this announcement had nothing to do with them, they paid no attention. He checked his watch, then headed down the hall towards the elevator. Stepping aboard, he punched the button for the first floor, where the administration offices were located.
“Probably something about an unpaid bill; there must be some question about it,” he grumbled to himself. “Can’t imagine what it would be.” The doors quickly shut, the music played, and the elevator descended towards its destination. The light for the first floor never came on, Franklin noted, and the elevator door was a bit slow in opening. He grumbled a little more, but at least he wasn’t in a rush for time.
The elevator opened and standing there to greet him were three men, all dressed in doctor smocks, wearing glasses and bushy eyebrows and plastic noses and mustaches and wigs and silly, pointed party hats, holding balloons which read, “Happy Birthday, Dr. Burke!” He laughed at the ridiculous sight, and suspecting a surprise party, said, “Heeey, what’s this? A greeting committee? What’s going on?”
“We need you to follow us; we’re in a hurry, must diagnose patient, we need you A.S.A.P., chop-chop!” said the first “doctor.” The three men stepped toward Dr. Burke; one blew a party horn in his face and another threw confetti in the air and one put a silly birthday hat on Dr. Burke’s head. Then two of them took him by an arm and led him out of the elevator and into the hall, walking him down toward a room and blowing party horns and saying silly things like, “This patient has the flu; you’re needed for surgery!” “Only you have the knowledge which will save this patient!” and “Dr. Burke, calling Dr. Burke!”
Donald Burke was laughing at all this silliness, playing along with the gag, until they reached the room they were to enter. It was then he began to realize that the layout of the floor was different, and said, “Hey, we’re in the basement!” while stepping into the room. All the balloons had kept him from seeing most of what was around him, but now he had figured his location. In the room were words on bright papers hanging on the wall, reading, “Happy Birthday, Dr. Burke!”
He took a look around the room, most of which was bare, and said, “So where’s the cake?”
That’s when he heard the door shut behind him. A lone chair sat in the middle of the room, and in front of the chair was a blank white wall. On the other side of the room was a high small opening for a pipe, next to the ceiling, which looked a little out of place.