Book 20, by Helen Wells
Illustrated by Frank Vaughn
Grosset & Dunlap, 1959
(Reissued as The Case of the Forgetful Patient,
Tempo, Grosset & Dunlap, 1972, illustrated by ???;
and 1978, illustrated by "R. Hicinbotham"?)
Cherry was intrigued. This promised to be the strangest kind of sleuthing she had ever done--pursuing a man's forgotten memories of his past ...
--From Cherry Ames, At Hilton Hospital, p. 29
Cherry helps unravel the mysterious problems that triggered the breakdown of a frightened young man whose past is shrouded in mystery.
Chapter 1: Identity Unknown
As a staff nurse at Hilton Hospital, Cherry works on the Men's Orthopedic Ward with Ruth Dale, under head nurse Millie Peters. When a young man with a fractured leg and memory loss is admitted, Cherry feels both fascinated and disturbed by her intriguing new case.
Chapter 2: Dr. Hope
Psychiatrist Harry Hope visits amnesiac "Bob Smith" and explains how he will treat him, with Cherry's help. Cherry checks her patient's belongings, looking for clues to his identity and movements.
Chapter 3: First Steps
The police try to identify "Bob" through the Missing Persons Bureau and fingerprint records. Under the influence of Pentothal, which Dr. Hope uses as an uncovering technique, "Bob" offers some scattered recollections.
Chapter 4: Detective Work "Bob" answers more questions in additional Pentothal sessions--with Cherry present--and insists that he has no family. A dry cleaner mark on his clothing leads police to a restaurant where "Bob" may have worked as transient help.
Chapter 5: A Lead Turns Up "Bob" reveals details about his college education, his hometown, and his recent employment--but the information is bogus. The restaurant owner visits; he gives Dr. Hope a pawn ticket that "Bob" had given him in exchange for a small loan. Cherry redeems it for a watch, which she hopes can be traced through the manufacturer's name and serial number.
Chapter 6: Picture Tests Dr. Hope shows "Bob" TAT (Thematic Apperception Test) pictures--a series of drawings that suggest various situations. "Bob's" stories about the pictures provide clues to his past--which seems to include two brothers quarreling and an accident on a rocky beach.
Chapter 7: What Bob Recalled
A word association test helps "Bob" reveal more of his life--but he still refuses to acknowledge any family, until the pawned watch is traced to his mother, and he remembers that he is Richard Albee, of Crewe, Connecticut.
At Hilton Hospital was issued in a digest-sized paperback edition, renumbered as book two, and renamed The Case of the Forgetful Patient, in 1972; Camp Nurse, Island Nurse, and Rural Nurse were also published in paperback in 1972. At Hilton Hospital also was reissued in a rack-sized paperback edition in 1978, along with Island Nurse and Rural Nurse.
Chapter 8: Long Ago and Far Away
Through police sources, Cherry and Dr. Hope learn that Richard has a mother and a brother, Merrill, and that the Albees operate a family business. Cherry decides to visit Connecticut in a quest for information, combining the trip with a stay at the Spencer Club's Greenwich Village apartment.
Chapter 9: Cherry Asks Questions
Cherry borrows Gwen's car and drives to Crewe, where she learns that, when they were children, Richard and Merrill were involved in a mishap and quarrel on the beach, after which Merrill contracted rheumatic fever.
Chapter 10: Mr. Steele's Story
The Albees' banker reveals that the family business is in financial trouble--and that Richard took out a personal loan, now overdue, before he disappeared six months earlier, using his share of the business as collateral.
Chapter 11: The Patched Letter
Cherry meets Merrill Albee, who is hostile and self-centered. He shows her Richard's goodbye note--torn up, but taped together. He won't pay on Richard's loan, and tells Cherry that their mother is ailing.
Chapter 12: Two Key Interviews Merrill's girlfriend tells Cherry about their relationship--marked by Merrill's lavish spending and zeal to impress. Cherry visits Mrs. Albee, who tells her about the boys' swimming mishap and the quarrel with Merrill that preceded Richard's disappearance--and about Merrill's liberal use of company funds.
Chapter 13: A Wall of Mist
Cherry returns to Hilton, where Richard has made great progress--though he blames himself for wronging Merrill and destroying the family business. Dr. Hope helps him realize that Merrill's poor health is not Richard's fault, and that actually it was Merrill's free spending that had threatened the business. In a final breakthrough, Richard remembers that he took out the loan at Merrill's behest and that Merrill reneged, leading to their quarrel and Richard's despair and breakdown.
Chapter 14: The Final Step
Mrs. Albee and Merrill arrive in Hilton. Merrill admits that he intended to cosign Richard's loan, but then decided to let Richard bear the entire burden; Richard's departure gave him full control of the business, which he felt he was entitled to. Merrill reconciles with Richard, and the reunited Albee family returns home.
Cherry Ames, At Hilton Hospital
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