Kendall

Across the bottom of the screen the ticker tape announced in large black letters 'Governor Reynolds Murdered'. Apparently his body had been discovered earlier that morning, lying in his garage. He had been shot twice. One shot to the upper chest, the other hitting his shoulder. 'Police believe that the weapon used was a 38 revolver,' the reporter said. Kendall froze. Anthony Shaw had also been killed by a 38 calibre bullet. Kendall was not quite sure of what it all meant. What connection was there between Anthony Shaw, and the State Governor, and the business mogul, Ian Duncan. And what about Senator Mackenzie? Where did he fit in? And who or what was Latimer?

The Marinski Affair began as a dull, mundane case involving a missing husband. Okay, so he was a rich missing husband, but he was nonetheless, still only a missing husband. The case soon developed into one involving robbery, kidnapping, blackmail, and murder. But was there really a kidnapping? All is not as it seems. Tom Kendall, private detective, had the task of solving the mystery. He was usually pretty good at solving puzzles, but this one was different, somehow. It wasn’t that he didn’t have any of the pieces. It was just that none of the pieces seemed to fit together.

Tom Kendall, a down-to-earth private detective, is asked to investigate the death of a young newspaper reporter. The evidence shows quite clearly that it was an accident: a simple, dreadful accident. That is the finding of the coroner and the local police. Furthermore, there were two witnesses. They saw the whole thing. But was it an accident, or was it something more sinister? Against a backdrop of a viral epidemic slowly spreading from Central America, a simple case soon places Kendall up against one of the largest drug companies in the country.

‘To make a killing in the City’ is a phrase often used within the financial world, to indicate making a large profit on investments, or through dealings on the stock market--the bigger the profit, the bigger the killing. However, Tom Kendall, a private detective, on vacation in London, has a different kind of killing in mind when he hears about the death of one of his fellow passengers who traveled with him on the plane from Miami. It was suicide apparently, a simple overdose of prescribed tablets. Kendall immediately offers his help to Scotland Yard. He is shocked when he is told his services will not be required. They can manage perfectly well without him, thank you. 

Tom Kendall had been with the 32nd Precinct, New York Police Department, for just under 10 years. But now he wanted a change. Now he wanted to start his own private detective agency. He had grand ideas. He wasn’t interested in just any old case. Oh no, he would handle only the big-time cases, the expensive ones. He would be able to take his pick, the ones that he wanted, where the stakes were high and so were the rewards. He knew exactly the kind of case that he wanted. Anything else would not do, and it would just be turned down flat. 

Whittaker passed the drinks over. “Anyway, it seems that he’s got himself into a bit of bother,” he continued. “A very serious bit of bother.” “Bother?” repeated Kendall. Whittaker heaved a sigh. “Yes you know,” he replied. “Trouble.” Kendall nodded. “Oh trouble, I get you,” he said. “So what sort of bother are we talking about?” Whittaker took another drink. “Well it’s a case of murder I’m afraid.”

“Mr. Kendall, in the past few months there have been a number of doctors who have mysteriously disappeared, or whose deaths were either alleged to be accidents, or were suicides, or they were actually murdered.” Kendall made a mental note to find out about these "other doctors". “A number of doctors you said. How many are we talking about?” Mrs. Eaton thought for a few moments. “To my knowledge there have been at least eight cases in the past six months. There may be a whole lot more that I know nothing about.”

When two valuable oil paintings are missing, Kendall is asked to investigate on behalf of the insurance company. Reluctantly, he accepts the job. Then, a body is discovered, and then another. “So what do you think?” asked Mollie. “What do I think?” Kendall repeated. “Well with two people dead, I think someone has been practicing the art of murder.”