Murder on the Mountaintop Leads the Way
by
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It had been one such morning when she had been lying in bed, lingering under the duvet for some guilty extra moments. She finally got up to face the mail that she had left in a stack on her end table the night before. There within the stack had been the letter from Dr. Kevin Grant. She had recognized his distinctive back-sloping handwriting, even after all these years. In the age of emails, texts, instant messaging, and social-media posts, the luxurious buff-white vellum paper had felt almost sensuous in her hands. She had studied the smoothly polished surface of the envelope with the bold black writing upon it. She had remembered how Kevin Grant had always used that same type of paper on all his correspondences. Kevin Grant was an immunologist, a great thinker and researcher. He had been a great mentor to her when she had first worked in his laboratory many years ago. She had lost touch with him over the past few years, but he had always had a special place in her heart, and she knew he would always remain there despite the lack of any recent contact.
She had studied the envelope from his letter carefully. She’d been surprised to see it mixed in with the bills, flyers, and other correspondence that she had come to expect to make up the bulk of her mail, now that she was no longer working in her medical practice. She had noticed that the return address was in Montreal, and she had wondered at what point he had left the States and had settled there. She had also wondered how he had located her at her new address, flattered that he had taken the time to do so. There had been no yellow label at the bottom of the envelope to suggest that the letter had been redirected by the post office.
Opening the letter with one hand and settling her reading glasses firmly on the bridge of her nose with the other, she had scrutinized the letter closely. She had glanced first at the bottom signature, to make sure that her initial impression had been correct and it was truly Kevin who was contacting her in this manner after all these years. The letter looked like it had been written in haste, from the look of the script and the few inkblots scattered across the page, but the writing was clear enough to read easily.
June 28, 2017
Dr. Jessica Shepard
One Raven Road
Greenwich, Connecticut
USA
Dear Jessica,
I know it has been many years since I have contacted you, so I can only imagine your surprise at getting my letter. But I know you will not ignore it and think your old friend a crazy man when you read it. And please read it carefully, dear Jessica, and understand and believe me.
I can’t say much about specifics, but I need to talk to you in person, face to face. I know you always considered me a trusted mentor and looked up to me when we worked together in my lab those many years ago. You must trust me now. Jessica, I must also trust you.
Please don’t tell anyone about my contacting you. I know if I ask you this, you will oblige me. I have to talk to someone from the past, someone who knew me before all this madness.
Can you come up to Montreal? That’s where I’m working on my obsession. It isn’t that far and hopefully not too much of me to ask of you.
I know it sounds mysterious, but I need to run things by you privately. You always grounded me when excitement took over. And Jessica, excitement is taking over.
Please meet me at the Chateau at the summit of Mount Royal. Again, I know it sounds mysterious, but it isn’t really. It’s not how it sounds. The mountain is in a public park. But sometimes being in public is the most private place one can find. It’s sometimes easiest to get lost in a crowd. I often climb up there to think so no one will suspect anything if I go up there at any time. It’s a climb, but the view will be worth it. There’s a terrace on the left side of the belvedere as you face it that’s usually deserted. Meet me there Monday July 24 at 4:00 p.m. I’ll be waiting for you. Hopefully I’ve given you enough time to make arrangements for the trip. Please indulge me, Jessica. I need you now more than ever.
Hopefully you’ll recognize the now-elderly man with the gray beard. I’m counting on you.
Kevin
P.S. There’s a hotel near the mountain called Hotel Le Sieur de la Ville that’s convenient. Stay there.
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About the Book
When Dr. Jessica Shepard,
an obsessive immunologist in career transition, is summoned by a mysterious correspondence from her former mentor, she’s intrigued. Brilliant microbiologist Dr. Kevin Grant wants to meet her atop Montreal’s famous Mount Royal. She has no way of suspecting that the proposed meeting will hurl her into a vortex of brutal murder, professional competitiveness, and medical malfeasance.
Jessica is introduced to a colorful cast of characters including an enigmatic hotel concierge, a wellness physician with a taste for luxury, and even a psychic. With the help of a determined Canadian narcotics detective, she goes undercover and embarks on an investigative journey that will lead her to the truth as well as to her own burgeoning self-discovery and emotional fulfillment.
Having to travel through the sophisticated Canadian city of Montreal and visit many of its landmarks, including the famous “Underground City,” Jessica uncovers the more dangerous side of Montreal’s seemingly placid locales to solve the mystery of Kevin Grant’s urgent summons. The question is, can this attractive immunologist use her scientifically honed didactic reasoning to solve the mystery before it’s too late?
About the Author
Carol Baum trained as an allergist/immunologist and practiced clinical allergy for thirty years before employing her clinical skills in writing fiction, using her lifelong love of novels—particularly mystery novels—to help create her characters and plots. She currently lives in Connecticut with her husband and enjoys visiting her son, traveling, and writing.