by Seamas Duffy
‘I do not believe so,’ began Holmes, ‘on the contrary, I have come to the conclusion that like any branch of science, it may be studied and, in time, mastered. It requires the most assiduous attention to the minutiae of dress and demeanour, and diligent observation of the most infinitesimal peculiarities of anatomy. I confess I once mistook a tripe-dresser for a cheesemonger, though I would plead the feeble illumination from the gas-flares in the Borough Market in my partial defence.’
The district certainly gave every appearance of living up to its treacherous reputation, and yet, grim as it seemed to me in broad daylight, I dreaded to imagine its alleys and courts under the meagre glow of the sparse street lamps on a night where the fog was drifting in off the river. With the foul vapours from the ditches and open sewers, it seemed an even chance as to whether a traveller who strayed within its bourn would expire from typhoid or by having his throat cut. Once we had passed Southwark Gas Works and crossed the narrow hump-backed wooden bascule over the Surrey Canal, the landscape opened up. There was an almost rural feel here, and the neat cottages in Windmill Lane were spaced well apart. After a sharp turning by the cooperage, we came to Burdock’s Wharf, a gloomy, untidy-looking yard with a drab, dun-coloured, brick-built house looking across a muddy foreshore towards the bleak Isle of Dogs.
We rang a bell and waited for some minutes for the maid to admit us. She was a tall, gaunt-looking girl with strands of colourless lank hair tied untidily back, and she seemed to take an age to understand why we had come. Eventually she admitted us, and then went off at an ungainly amble to fetch Parlow from the wharf. The interior of the wharf house was in a somewhat begrimed condition; a row of empty rum bottles in the kitchen, and a cracked mirror by the coat-stand in the hall showed how badly the place lacked the discipline of a mistress. Baynes introduced us to the foreman, who was a big, brawny, blue-eyed, fair-haired fellow, as tall as Holmes and as broad-chested as the Inspector himself. He greeted us with the apologetic air of someone who had caused unnecessary trouble.
‘The guv’nor should be back any minute now,’ he drawled with a trace of West Country accent, ‘I’m only glad he wasn’t here last night when this happened. The ole fellow would have died of the shock. I warned him a while ago that young barnshoot was boastin’ about how he’d get his revenge. I said to him at the time, you’d better bring them pistols of yours down an’ keep ’em handy.’
‘You seem fairly certain that you know who it was,’ said Holmes.
‘Well, it stands to reason. Mr Burdock hasn’t another enemy in these parts. He’s an honest man an’ what’s more a trustin’ gen’lman, as I’ve reason to know. As I told the Inspector here last night, he took me in when I had nothin’, gave me a job, an’ now I have the runnin’ of the place. He was kind to my sister, too, when she worked here. The only person to have had cross words him with was that thievin’ rogue.’
‘But you did not actually see the young man?’ Holmes asked.
‘No, Mr Holmes, I won’t perjure myself. I didn’t actually see him; he was off his mark in an instant. When the shot went off just outside the window, it took me a second or two to collect my wits, an’ by the time I got outside, he was gone without a trace. I’d wager it was him all the same. Most likely got away over the fence.’
‘It occurred to me that the bullet might not have been intended for Mr Burdock, but for yourself,’ said Holmes.
Parlow smiled ingratiatingly and shook his head a dogged fashion, ‘No, I can’t think of no one who’d want to do me any harm. Why, some of the neighbours offered to come and stay here with me! I was offered pistols an’ sticks an’ all. No, t’was the master Donovan was after, not a doubt of it. I only wish as he would stay at home until this is all over an’ done with. I can keep things runnin’ along until you have the fellow under lock an’ key.’
Holmes signalled to Baynes, who asked Parlow to show us the room in which he had been sitting when the shot was fired. We observed the broken window and the hole in the dresser where the bullet had lodged. Holmes pondered aloud whether it might be possible to determine the point from which the pistol was actually fired and so we walked round to the side of the building. As Baynes had said, there was ample scope for concealment: a crane with a platform, numerous woodpiles, and heaps of scrap metal as well as the wreck of an old boat, half-stripped, lying at the wharfside.
‘The ground is bone dry and hard,’ Holmes said, ‘so there is nothing much to go on here.’ He went over to the edge of the wharf and looked over the hulk, which was moored there, then he came back and strolled down the short slipway.
‘Let us take a closer look at the bullet hole in the shutter,’ said Holmes, retracing his steps to the window. ‘You can work out the trajectory from the angle of entry, and a reasonable inference is that the person holding the pistol must have fired from a point almost level with the window. The platform of the crane is several feet higher than the window and lies to the side, which rules out any possibility that the gun may have been fired from there.’
‘But if he fired the shot whilst standing outside the window, he would surely have been seen by anyone standing on the river path. Very audacious,’ said Baynes.
‘He might be seen, but not necessarily identified; after all it was dark by then, and the yard is not lit,’ replied Holmes.
‘What’s this fellow’s game, I wonder?’ said I. ‘Why would he be prepared to take such risks?’
‘It is pure speculation at this stage, but who knows what went on in the house?’ replied Holmes with a shrug. ‘Many a pretty game of fox-and-goose is played amongst the servants when the master is not at home. Oh, such things are well known, Watson! I merely offer it as a conjecture at this stage, but if such an intrigue were going on here and a relative – her father or brother or a suitor – had come to avenge her honour …’
‘She is no Helen of Troy!’ laughed Baynes.
‘What is it, Holmes?’ I asked as my friend began to stare intently across the wharf towards the river. From the water’s edge, there was a broad open view through the wharves and landing stages right down the Thames until it curved away to the left at Greenwich Reach.
‘Just an idea,’ he said. ‘One must explore every theoretical possibility. I had thought at first that it was possible for a man to have escaped by a boat from the slipway, but it occurs to me that it is equally possible that the shot may have been fired from a boat. How often do the river police patrol this area?’
‘They start every two hours from the station at Wapping: one boat goes upstream, one downstream,’ answered Baynes.
‘I may or may not decide to follow up such a thread. Now, let us have a word with Esther.’
The girl made every appearance of trying to answer Holmes’s questions as helpfully as possible, but she was certainly not quick on the uptake. Yes, Mr Burdock was a good master, she said, and she got on well with Mr Parlow too. The two men were friendly beyond the normal master and servant relations. After the books were done, they would sit at night playing a game of cribbage over a glass or two of grog. No, she couldn’t imagine who would do such a thing, not even the Donovan boy she said; as for the idea that someone might be after Mr Parlow, she couldn’t think of any reason why. She hadn’t heard any shot, and was quietly adamant that she saw no one either on her way to get the oysters or on her return.
‘Whose idea was it that you should go out for the oysters?’ said Holmes.
‘Well, I suppose it must have been mine,’ said the girl. ‘I thought Mr Parlow might be hungry – he often has a dozen and a pot once he gets the books done. So I asked him did he want any before the stall closed. At first he said “no” then he changed his mind.’
‘Are you not afraid to come to work here after what has happened?’ Holmes asked, ‘after all, your master may have been killed.’
‘Oh, no. At least, not as long as I’m not left here on my own. I can’t think as anyone is after me. And it’s a good post I have here, for the gentlemen’s want
s is easy met and there is no mistress in the house to make a fuss about trifles or chide me over a few farthings. But here is Mr Burdock now I believe,’ she said, as the sound of two men having a conversation floated in through the open window. Presently the kitchen door opened and the white-haired proprietor stepped inside. The man looked much older than I had expected, and his excessive leanness made him seem rather frail. He had a pair of sharp, yet kindly, eyes and his first concern was for the girl’s well-being. He bid her go home immediately till she had recovered from the shock. Holmes asked the man outright what he thought of the matter.
‘A private grudge, yes, undoubtedly and bitter one too it would seem,’ Burdock replied, ‘and yet I can hardly bring myself to believe that even that thieving band of tinkers would go as far as this.’
‘The Donovans?’
‘Yes. As you know, Inspector, I had reason enough to set the law on them before, but for them to make an attempt on my life is scarcely credible. But then, I suppose, there is the evidence. …’
‘We have no evidence that any of the Donovans were involved,’ replied Baynes evenly.
‘Yet it can hardly have been anyone else,’ said Burdock.
‘You have had no other quarrels with neighbours or your labourers?’ asked Holmes.
‘Nothing beyond the usual disputes with tradesmen, for everyone is out to fleece you in this game, of course, but nothing of a personal nature comes to mind. The labourers and porters are casual and come and go by the day or the week, depending on the exigencies of the business. No, I really cannot think of anyone else who would hold such deep rancour against me. I did begin to wonder if there has not been some dreadful error, some possibility of mistaken identity, but that does not seem very likely either.’
‘Meaning that Mr Parlow may have been the target?’ asked Holmes.
‘The possibility had occurred to me,’ replied Burdock, ‘but I dismissed it.’
‘You cannot think of anyone who may have such a grudge against him as to be prepared to kill him?’ asked Holmes.
‘Good Lord, no! He is a most conscientious man, honest and fair in his dealings with the tradesmen and the labourers. If it were not so, any complaint that arose from the business would come directly to me, and I have received none. If this persecution is aimed at Mr Parlow, it can have no connection with the wharf.’
‘How much do you know of his private life?’ Holmes asked.
‘Very little. He came up from Gloucestershire three years ago. He had sold a smallholding there but did not invest the capital too wisely and so lost the money in the City through an ill-advised business venture. Such is the nature of speculation, but his loss was my gain, for I soon found him to be a diligent general hand, and though he knows little of boats, he has a good head for business. His sister had worked for me before her marriage to a merchant seaman, after which she moved away to Liverpool. She was a most conscientious girl, and upon introducing her brother to me, I seemed to perceive similar qualities and so I took him on. I have had no reason to regret such an appointment. Far from it.’
‘Whose idea was it that you should leave for Margate yesterday?’ asked Holmes.
‘Why, I suppose it must have been mine.’
‘But you discussed it with your foreman the previous evening, did you not?’
‘I seem to recall that I did, and he assured me that he could carry out the day’s business, which consisted mainly of supervising the tradesmen, on his own. He is perfectly reliable and honest.’
‘What precautions do you intend to take for your safety?’ asked Baynes.
‘I have brought a pair of pistols with me,’ replied Burdock, flourishing the two small firearms, which he had drawn from his pocket. ‘Inspector Hescott examined them when he came to my house last night. I shall carry them with me in future until this danger is past.’
‘Even so, I do not think it is altogether wise to remain in the very place where an attempt has already been made on your life,’ Baynes went on, ‘surely it would be far safer for you to return to Margate where, at least, some precautions could be taken for your protection. The wharf is rather isolated, and if this man returns and catches you unawares, you would be an easy target.’
‘Nothing will keep me away from here. I won’t be frightened off my own property. I had just that very argument with my wife this morning, which is the reason I was delayed somewhat. No, a man needs to show courage at times like this. I will say this to you, though, if one of the Donovans so much as sets foot in these premises, I’ll not be responsible for my actions!’
‘I’m not entirely at ease about leaving you here without a guard,’ said Holmes. ‘If I may make a recommendation, I am sure Doctor Watson here would be only too happy to—’
‘I won’t hear of it,’ said the old man, ‘though I am grateful to you for the offer. In any case, I have Mr Parlow here with me at all times.’
‘But Mr Parlow must attend to the business, and besides, he has said that he cannot handle a pistol,’ said Holmes.
‘I am afraid I must insist,’ said Burdock with a shake of the head.
‘Then, should you have any cause for concern whatever, wire immediately to me at 221b Baker Street.’
‘I am inclined to believe the girl’s testimony,’ said Holmes, as we rattled back across the river, ‘for she appears to possess neither the imagination to make the story up, nor the bravado to brazen out a lie. Let us try to reconstruct the incident: the intruder must have come in during the day and concealed himself until an opportunity presented itself, for it is surely too much to imagine that he both entered the yard and escaped whilst the girl was out at the stall. Did he or didn’t he know that Parlow was sitting alone at the table in the kitchen? If he had been concealed in the yard, then he must surely have noticed that Burdock was missing. When the maid went out, he took his chance by firing through the window, because if he entered the house, it is possible that the maid will have returned by then and he would be trapped. If it was Donovan, she would be able to identify him. He fired the shot then – and this may be of the utmost importance – how long would it have taken for Parlow to appear on the wharf? Parlow said he rushed out quickly, but this is a point which is continually coming up in criminal cases. The fact is that people are generally not very good at reckoning the passage of time when there has been some dramatic incident such as this. Parlow admits that he took a second or two to recover from the shock, then he would have decided to investigate. He knew from which direction the shot came, so he ran out of the kitchen into the hall, across the passageway and out of the front door and round to the window facing the wharf. Now, he said that he was there within seconds – but how many seconds? In all likelihood, probably nearer ten to twenty. If we accept Esther’s story as true, then the balance of probabilities is that the man concealed himself in the yard and made his getaway when the gates were unlocked in the morning.’
The Inspector demurred.
‘I know that your men searched the place from top to bottom, Baynes, but anyone can make a mistake, and as you saw, the yard was a perfect wilderness. The other possibilities are either that the shot was fired from a boat that was in the river, or that he made his escape by the river,’ said Holmes. ‘I think I should like to take a trip along by the wharf with the river police, if that could be arranged.’
‘Then we shall go over to Wapping straight away,’ replied Baynes. ‘You know, it is a mystery to me,’ he continued, ‘why the man didn’t simply wait another ten minutes until the girl had gone, then he would have had Parlow at his mercy.’
‘Which would tend to favour any theory that the assailant could not anticipate the movements of the household, and therefore did not know that the maid was due to leave,’ answered Holmes.
A vague notion had been gnawing at me. ‘Who is to say that Parlow didn’t fire the shot himself?’ I asked.
‘Excellent, Watson! That was the very first thing that occurred to me,’ replied Holmes. ‘It is not only an adm
irable theory, but a seductive one too, for it would solve almost, I say almost, every difficulty. It would certainly explain away the mystery of the assailant’s invisibility and of his miraculous escape, too. But to what end? Give me the ghost of a reason as to why he should do such a thing. If he wished to insinuate that there was some vendetta against him, why does he afterwards laugh to scorn the very idea of it? Why does he not accept his publican friend’s offer of a pistol and a man to protect him instead of remaining in that house alone during the night? Why does he not name his aggressor or suggest some pretext for his persecution? He does none of these things; he merely plods on doggedly as though nothing had happened.’
‘It could be a ploy to keep Burdock away from the wharf,’ I said, ‘after all, you heard him suggest that his master should remain at Margate until the intruder is caught.’
‘I have been involved in a number of cases where the purpose of some subterfuge was simply to get someone out of the way for a time – the cases of the Red-headed League and the Hyde Park Somnambulist spring to mind – but in this instance, Burdock is gone from Friday until Monday, and often in the middle of the week, too. If Parlow were involved in some underhand knavery which requires Burdock to be absent, he already has ample time to carry it out.’
We reached the Wapping quayside within the hour, where Baynes spoke to Inspector Colquhoun of the Thames River Police and explained what we intended to do and why. Soon we had climbed aboard the Gabriel Franks and were cruising down through the crowded Pool. Once we had cleared Limehouse Reach and had slid past the Millwall Pier, Holmes shouted to Inspector Colquhoun, ‘Ask the skipper to take us down until we reach the old naval yard, then turn and come back upstream very slowly.’
After the engines had eased back, we hove to in the stream some way off the wharf. Due to the position of the crane and the woodpiles, the window of the house could only be glimpsed intermittently through gaps; it would require a crack shot to pick it out from that distance. Holmes called across to the river inspector.