Read Online The New Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Martin Edwards - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Martin Edwards
Ads: Link
well, then. May I ask what brings you here?’
Our visitor’s face clouded over again. ‘I did hesitate before coming here to consult you. I thought about it several times, but you are a busy man and the matter seems inconsequential. The police have expressed sympathy, but although a crime has been committed, they have failed to apprehend the culprit and as a result I am left with nowhere else to turn.’
‘It is often an apparently minor incident which hints at the existence of the most remarkable intrigue.’ Holmes indicated a vacant chair. ‘May I beg you to take a seat and unburden yourself without delay?’
The old man passed a hand over his brow as if to calm himself before speaking. ‘Since losing my dear wife, Mr Holmes, I have devoted all my energies to my business. It is a strategem which enables me to set grief aside, at least until the small hours of the night. For all my loneliness, I am fortunate in my memories as well as in having the business to divert me. Imagine my dismay, then, when, quite out of the blue, I received this threatening message.’
He passed to Holmes a sheet of paper on which had been pasted a message composed of words cut from a newspaper or magazine: ‘ Beware the burglar. Please do not fight him. To do so would be fatal.’
Holmes raised his eyebrows. ‘A curious missive. What were the circumstances of its arrival in your hands?’
‘It was pushed under the shop door one night. I found it in the morning. There was no envelope, no clue as to where it had come from.’
‘Had your shop ever been burgled before then?’
‘Never. As you know, many of the varieties that I keep for customers are rare and expensive, but for the most part they are an acquired taste. A common thief is unlikely to regard them as a prize. He might choke on certain unfamiliar brands if he smoked them himself and there is scarcely a thriving market for them in the taverns and back streets of the city. A few of the smokers’ accessories that I stock are costly, but they have never attracted the attention of any felons, let alone burglars with homicidal intent.’
‘So,’ my friend said, ‘you had advance warning of an improbable crime. How singular. What steps did you take?’
‘I found the message unsettling in the extreme, but what could I do? I thought it might be a hoax, although when I confided in a friend, he advised me to take it seriously.’
‘On what basis?’ Holmes asked.
‘In his opinion, the message must have come from a villain with a conscience who had learned of a ruthless confederate’s plan to raid my business.’
I nodded vigorously, glad to show that Holmes had not discouraged me from attempts to practise the science of deduction. ‘That does seem the only logical conclusion.’
‘My friend said that he doubted that the police would show any interest in such a vague threat, but I decided to speak to the local constable. Unfortunately, my friend’s pessimism proved correct. There was nothing the police could do to assist me. Their resources did not permit the mounting of a guard outside my shop, on the off-chance that it might have attracted a burglar’s attention. The constable offered to look in regularly, but understandably he could do no more.’
‘Did you continue to trade?’
‘At that point, yes. I shall admit to you frankly that the message made me fearful, but what else could I do? Since losing Charlotte, I seem to have lost all confidence and it is rare for me to go out at all. Yet, by an irony, on the one occasion that I was persuaded to take a drink or two at a local hostelry, I found upon my return that someone had broken into my premises.’
‘Ah!’ Holmes leaned forward in his chair. ‘Pray tell me exactly what happened.’
Josiah Buckle cleared his throat noisily. ‘I did not stay out late. It was barely ten o’clock when my companion Kilner and I came back to Maynard’s Court. Kilner, well aware of my apprehension, was kind enough to
Our visitor’s face clouded over again. ‘I did hesitate before coming here to consult you. I thought about it several times, but you are a busy man and the matter seems inconsequential. The police have expressed sympathy, but although a crime has been committed, they have failed to apprehend the culprit and as a result I am left with nowhere else to turn.’
‘It is often an apparently minor incident which hints at the existence of the most remarkable intrigue.’ Holmes indicated a vacant chair. ‘May I beg you to take a seat and unburden yourself without delay?’
The old man passed a hand over his brow as if to calm himself before speaking. ‘Since losing my dear wife, Mr Holmes, I have devoted all my energies to my business. It is a strategem which enables me to set grief aside, at least until the small hours of the night. For all my loneliness, I am fortunate in my memories as well as in having the business to divert me. Imagine my dismay, then, when, quite out of the blue, I received this threatening message.’
He passed to Holmes a sheet of paper on which had been pasted a message composed of words cut from a newspaper or magazine: ‘ Beware the burglar. Please do not fight him. To do so would be fatal.’
Holmes raised his eyebrows. ‘A curious missive. What were the circumstances of its arrival in your hands?’
‘It was pushed under the shop door one night. I found it in the morning. There was no envelope, no clue as to where it had come from.’
‘Had your shop ever been burgled before then?’
‘Never. As you know, many of the varieties that I keep for customers are rare and expensive, but for the most part they are an acquired taste. A common thief is unlikely to regard them as a prize. He might choke on certain unfamiliar brands if he smoked them himself and there is scarcely a thriving market for them in the taverns and back streets of the city. A few of the smokers’ accessories that I stock are costly, but they have never attracted the attention of any felons, let alone burglars with homicidal intent.’
‘So,’ my friend said, ‘you had advance warning of an improbable crime. How singular. What steps did you take?’
‘I found the message unsettling in the extreme, but what could I do? I thought it might be a hoax, although when I confided in a friend, he advised me to take it seriously.’
‘On what basis?’ Holmes asked.
‘In his opinion, the message must have come from a villain with a conscience who had learned of a ruthless confederate’s plan to raid my business.’
I nodded vigorously, glad to show that Holmes had not discouraged me from attempts to practise the science of deduction. ‘That does seem the only logical conclusion.’
‘My friend said that he doubted that the police would show any interest in such a vague threat, but I decided to speak to the local constable. Unfortunately, my friend’s pessimism proved correct. There was nothing the police could do to assist me. Their resources did not permit the mounting of a guard outside my shop, on the off-chance that it might have attracted a burglar’s attention. The constable offered to look in regularly, but understandably he could do no more.’
‘Did you continue to trade?’
‘At that point, yes. I shall admit to you frankly that the message made me fearful, but what else could I do? Since losing Charlotte, I seem to have lost all confidence and it is rare for me to go out at all. Yet, by an irony, on the one occasion that I was persuaded to take a drink or two at a local hostelry, I found upon my return that someone had broken into my premises.’
‘Ah!’ Holmes leaned forward in his chair. ‘Pray tell me exactly what happened.’
Josiah Buckle cleared his throat noisily. ‘I did not stay out late. It was barely ten o’clock when my companion Kilner and I came back to Maynard’s Court. Kilner, well aware of my apprehension, was kind enough to
Similar Books
