Read Online The Midwinter Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes: Three Adventures & The Grand Gift of Sherlock by Craig Janacek - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Craig Janacek
Ads: Link
And the ashes from Mr. Vaughan’s study were too light.”
“Indeed, Holmes!” I exclaimed. “The note was not fully burned. Someone removed the remaining part!”
Holmes smiled. “Not quite, Watson. I believe that the note was indeed completely burned. And yet some ashes were missing. But why only remove some of the ashes, I asked myself? Why not remove all of them? No, it did not make any sense. Unless, these were all of the ashes!”
“But Holmes,” I protested, “you just said it was too light to make up all of the ashes!”
“All of the ashes of a normal sheet of paper, Watson. But not of a very thin sheet of paper!”
I frowned. “But who uses very thin paper?”
“Ah, here we come to the crux of the matter. The link that binds all of the mysterious aspects of this case. Mr. Vaughan, perhaps you know where paper was invented?”
“I am certain I do not, sir,” he answered huffily.
“It was invented in China,” Holmes replied, with a twist of his head and a lift of his eyebrow.
Lestrade had reached his boiling point. “Mr. Holmes! I fail to see the point of this conjecture. What possible relevance could China have to these deaths?”
“China is the linchpin that binds together much of this mystery.” He turned to face Mr. Vaughan. “I suppose you became interested in Chinese history from your working with jade in your jewelry, several pieces of which I noted upon your desk. The most common source of jade is from China, and the ancient dynasties were famous for their jade works.”
Vaughan nodded in mute confirmation.
“But not all of your books on China are concerning its arts and treasures,” Holmes continued. “Your shelves also contain a work entitled the Compendium of Materia Medicam , which is the most comprehensive tome ever written about the history of traditional Chinese medicine. [213] I must admit, Mr. Vaughan, that I still did not understand the importance of this connection until I recalled your maid’s description of the note you wrote and how you received a reply in return. A reply written upon an unusually thin sheet of paper. I finally reached out to several prominent Chinese apothecaries in Limehouse, and I see that my queries have borne fruit.” He held up the pale green envelope passed to him from Wiggins.
“Shall I open it, Mr. Vaughan?”
Inspector Lestrade, Dr. Lowe, and I all turned to our host, confused by what Holmes was asking of him.
“There is no need,” Vaughan replied, his voice tinged with a new hoarseness.
“Indeed, for I know the answer as well as you. Certain patients with diseases of the blood that manifest as bruising, purple spots on the skin, and bleeding of the mucous membranes, can be successfully treated with the use of arsenic, including rare forms of leukemia. [214] This wondrous property was first discovered by the Chinese, and even now is poorly understood by even the greatest physicians in England. However, as you must have learned in the note that you burned, the dose required to affect a permanent improvement is rather large. So large that it could just as easily kill the man who ingested it as help him.”
“What?” exclaimed the inspector. “Are you saying, Holmes, that Vaughan poisoned himself and the others?”
“That is exactly what I am saying, Lestrade. Dr. Lowe is innocent of the crime of poisoning. While Dr. Lowe was downstairs fetching the glasses of Scotch whisky, Mr. Vaughn pilfered his bottle of Fowler’s solution from his medical bag. However, recall that when we first looked in on Mr. Vaughan he was highly feverish. I suspect that he was hallucinating when he accidentally poured the bottle into the ewer instead of into his goblet alone. The bottle clearly fell from his hand and rolled behind the Chinese screen. The deaths of Reverend Arden and Mrs. Molyneux were nothing more than a terrible accident.” He turned his aquiline gaze upon Vaughan.
Lestrade collapsed back into his chair as he appeared to
“Indeed, Holmes!” I exclaimed. “The note was not fully burned. Someone removed the remaining part!”
Holmes smiled. “Not quite, Watson. I believe that the note was indeed completely burned. And yet some ashes were missing. But why only remove some of the ashes, I asked myself? Why not remove all of them? No, it did not make any sense. Unless, these were all of the ashes!”
“But Holmes,” I protested, “you just said it was too light to make up all of the ashes!”
“All of the ashes of a normal sheet of paper, Watson. But not of a very thin sheet of paper!”
I frowned. “But who uses very thin paper?”
“Ah, here we come to the crux of the matter. The link that binds all of the mysterious aspects of this case. Mr. Vaughan, perhaps you know where paper was invented?”
“I am certain I do not, sir,” he answered huffily.
“It was invented in China,” Holmes replied, with a twist of his head and a lift of his eyebrow.
Lestrade had reached his boiling point. “Mr. Holmes! I fail to see the point of this conjecture. What possible relevance could China have to these deaths?”
“China is the linchpin that binds together much of this mystery.” He turned to face Mr. Vaughan. “I suppose you became interested in Chinese history from your working with jade in your jewelry, several pieces of which I noted upon your desk. The most common source of jade is from China, and the ancient dynasties were famous for their jade works.”
Vaughan nodded in mute confirmation.
“But not all of your books on China are concerning its arts and treasures,” Holmes continued. “Your shelves also contain a work entitled the Compendium of Materia Medicam , which is the most comprehensive tome ever written about the history of traditional Chinese medicine. [213] I must admit, Mr. Vaughan, that I still did not understand the importance of this connection until I recalled your maid’s description of the note you wrote and how you received a reply in return. A reply written upon an unusually thin sheet of paper. I finally reached out to several prominent Chinese apothecaries in Limehouse, and I see that my queries have borne fruit.” He held up the pale green envelope passed to him from Wiggins.
“Shall I open it, Mr. Vaughan?”
Inspector Lestrade, Dr. Lowe, and I all turned to our host, confused by what Holmes was asking of him.
“There is no need,” Vaughan replied, his voice tinged with a new hoarseness.
“Indeed, for I know the answer as well as you. Certain patients with diseases of the blood that manifest as bruising, purple spots on the skin, and bleeding of the mucous membranes, can be successfully treated with the use of arsenic, including rare forms of leukemia. [214] This wondrous property was first discovered by the Chinese, and even now is poorly understood by even the greatest physicians in England. However, as you must have learned in the note that you burned, the dose required to affect a permanent improvement is rather large. So large that it could just as easily kill the man who ingested it as help him.”
“What?” exclaimed the inspector. “Are you saying, Holmes, that Vaughan poisoned himself and the others?”
“That is exactly what I am saying, Lestrade. Dr. Lowe is innocent of the crime of poisoning. While Dr. Lowe was downstairs fetching the glasses of Scotch whisky, Mr. Vaughn pilfered his bottle of Fowler’s solution from his medical bag. However, recall that when we first looked in on Mr. Vaughan he was highly feverish. I suspect that he was hallucinating when he accidentally poured the bottle into the ewer instead of into his goblet alone. The bottle clearly fell from his hand and rolled behind the Chinese screen. The deaths of Reverend Arden and Mrs. Molyneux were nothing more than a terrible accident.” He turned his aquiline gaze upon Vaughan.
Lestrade collapsed back into his chair as he appeared to
Similar Books
