The Crop of Wickedness – EXCERPT #4
Harold has two leads: an English gentleman the bank vice-president encountered and a unique phrase: ‘vulgar tin mouse.’
The late afternoon and a weariness approached about the same time. My resolve still held strong but the mental energy I expended thus far drove me to feel tired beyond measure. My final visit of the day to the library rejuvenated me, especially when Karla seemed giddy with excitement.
“This guy is the real McCoy,” she proclaimed without further explanation.
“I assume you can tell me something considerably more than that.”
“Douglas Price Kingsley. Born September 18, 1880.”
“Splendid. We can celebrate his birthday on Wednesday.”
“Graduated with honors from Trinity College at the age of eighteen and then studied anatomy under Viscount Addison at Sheffield School of Medicine. I mean, the guy was a full-fledged surgeon by the time he was twenty.”
“Keep going.”
“So, World War I breaks out and they offer this guy a sweet position coordinating field hospitals but from all the way back in London. He declines and wants to work right in the field hospitals. You know, like on the front lines. They’ve got no choice but to send him. And, boy, his record is filled with commendations and medals. The British War Medal. The Victory Medal. The Territorial Force War Medal. The 1914-1915 Star. Eight field commendations. Three field promotions. It’s amazing this guy can walk with all the metal they pinned to his chest.”
“Okay, the man is an English hero.”
She seemed dismayed I took Dr. Kingsley’s war record so lightly in her estimation.
“Second Battle of the Marne during an Allied counter-offensive, he suffered a concussion from a shell that exploded behind him. He was in a hospital for two weeks before they shipped him home late summer of 1918. Apparently, it took a long time to recover and some questions arose about him continuing as a surgeon.”
“Any reference anywhere you can find to fraternal organizations or secret societies?”
“Was associated with the Odd Fellows in college but nothing after the war.”
“Did you find anything about that ‘vulgar tin mouse’?”
“No. Are you sure that’s what he said?”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure that’s what he heard.”
Karla got all my thanks and a promise for proper recompense. I left even more perplexed. A British doctor who was ostensibly a war hero had every right to be a member of a fraternal organization. Odd Fellows were largely based on revelry and camaraderie, but there were those who crossed over into Freemasonry, which from time to time throughout history encountered negative connotations.
I still could not fathom how any of that would lead to the lapse in Johnson’s memory. I needed to gain more information about the comings and goings of Dr. Kingsley, and I needed to be more discreet than my vehicle would allow.
Harold Bergman, Jewish shamus and WW II vet, is ready to settle down with his high school flame. When a society lady offers a job too simple, Harold winds up neck-deep in a 25-year-old murder tied to a dead gangster and secrets no one wants unearthed. Just as the dust settles, a regular job with an insurance outfit drags him into something darker and more sinister. Now the dead are whispering and the living are lying. He’ll need the strength of his five-thousand-year-old religion to survive the wickedness of the past.
The Crop of Wickedness, Volume 3 of The Wichita Chronicles, will be released October 8, 2025
“THE PAST HAS COME TO HARVEST”
