The Ming Poodle: Chapter VII

Ben Hansen

Ben woke up groaning in the gutter. All he remembered was a man in a trenchcoat accusing him of being the murderer of Neil Craper. This meant nothing to him, so he had denied it until the man had started hitting him. Then he'd woken up here. He wondered idly if Nelson and Neil Craper were related.
Getting out of the dumpster, he was stared at by several Japanese men in business suits leaving the brothel. He told them he'd had a minor heart attack while standing on the lid of the dumpster, and this seemed to satisfy them. None thought to ask how he'd fallen through the lid or whether he was okay. he didn't point this out.
As he stepped into the street, he realised his wrist was severely sprained and he was bleeding from his scalp without anything to stop it. He decided that was as good a reason as any to check into a hospital. That, and the rash.
Two hours later saw him in an emergency room filled with people who weren't bleeding from the head but apparently had more urgent injuries to attend to. He walked to the on-duty nurse, mentioned the rash and was bumped directly to the head of the queue. He stuck his tongue out at the other people as he walked through the door.
After he had been seen to, the doctor asked how he'd been injured.
"The rash I'm not sure about, but the rest is because of my search for Nelson Craper," Ben quoth.
"Craper? what an incredible coincidence. I'm his doctor!"
"Yes, almost fortunate enough to be a fiendish writer's way of putting a twist into his story. Have you seen Craper in the last couple of weeks?"
"Yes, he came in a few days ago with a broken nose. he said he got it from - hey! Why am I telling you this?"
"Umm... because I have twenty dollars and a rubber chicken?"
"Leave out the rubber chicken and you've got a deal. He said he'd broken his nose while arguing with his brother, Frank. He also got some shots for rabies, although why he did I have no idea."
"Did he have a brother named Neil?"
"Do you have any more money?"
"No."
"Then you'll never know."
Ben left, feeling a little more disappointed with recent events than usual. He decided to give Hugh a call, having no idea that Hugh was hiding in some bushes next to a burly guard at the time.