Read Online The Falling Curtain (The Assassination of Sherlock Holmes Book 3) by Craig Janacek - Free Book Online

burning building. I tried to imagine what was going through his mind. Inside were all of the notes gathered upon this investigation, but Holmes’ memory attic was of a prodigious size and I doubted that he would fail to reconstruct those in a matter of hours. And then I realized that his beloved Stradivarius had been sent up from South Downs by his housekeeper. It was not just that a financially-valuable instrument had been destroyed, for Holmes had picked it up for a mere fifty-five shillings on the Tottenham Court Road, and with the money he had earned over the years, he could easily afford to replace it. I think it was the realization that a great masterpiece, something unique and truly irreplaceable, had just been lost to the realm of man. It was, perhaps, a metaphor for death itself. What would happen to the world when Holmes himself breathed his last breath? Truly, something far too dreadful to bear considering.
    §
    I shook off these morbid thoughts and placed my hand upon his shoulder. “Where to now, Holmes?”
    He shrugged and scowled. “I don’t know, Watson.” He sighed heavily.
    “What about one of those small refuges that you maintain throughout London?”
    “They are hardly fit for prolonged habitation. And are they secure? Mortlock has clearly been watching me. Does he know of them? Will he just send men to slit our throats as we sleep?” said he, bleakly.
    “Then we take shifts!”
    He smiled wearily. “Good old, Watson. No, if your shoulder is to heal, you will need more than a hard pallet above a warehouse in Wapping. We might as well do as you suggested some time ago.”
    And that is how we found ourselves taking a suite of rooms at the grand Langham Hotel. Unfortunately, I was far too exhausted to take more than a superficial notice of the rich golden glow that resonated from its stone facings or the opulence of its marbled lobby. Shortly thereafter, as I lay back in my bed, my last thought before I rapidly passed into unconsciousness, was that it truly was a room fit for a king.
    The following morn, I discovered that the adrenaline of the prior evening had worn off, and the pain in my shoulder was rather substantial. When I was a man of eight and twenty, I could stand a bit of Jezail lead being introduced into my body at high speeds, but as a man of seven and fifty, a dislocated shoulder proved to be a more significant matter. Nevertheless, I slowly arose and made my way out into the common room of our suite. The door to Holmes’ room was ajar, but before I could look in to see if he had gone out, there was a knock upon the set of double doors that led to the hotel’s hallway. Before opening it, I carefully inspected the eyehole to ensure that there was not a murderous band of thugs waiting on the other side. I could only see a young boy dressed as a hotel porter, and decided he appeared to be an honest lad. After I threw back the locks, the boy held out an envelope and departed as soon as I deposited a shilling into his outstretched palm.
    I gazed at it with some confusion, wondering if Holmes had informed Mycroft the location of our temporary abode of the prior night. However, as the envelope was addressed to me, I shrugged and started to tear it open. Just then, Holmes erupted from his room, like tiger springing upon its prey.
    “Drop it, Watson!” This instant, I say!” he cried with such vehemence that I dropped the envelope upon the floor.
    “What is it, Holmes?” I protested.
    “If you value your life, do not open it, Watson!” he commanded.
    “Whatever is the matter, Holmes?”
    “My correspondence is, as you know, a varied one. I have lost count how many packages sent to me contain some subtle poison. Knowing that I am upon my guard for such a stratagem, our adversary is therefore forced to seek some other method that may introduce a contagion into the room. You are the logical choice for an addressee of such a parcel.”
    I studied my friend, and excepting only the time that