The Casebook of Sir Sherlock Holmes
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What discovery would that be? asked Dr Hudson.
Well that’s the thing, said Holmes. The police investigation should have concentrated on Lee, where she had been who had seen her where and with whom, and the last sighting of Falcon, probably around Alice Springs, and other such questions. To my mind, Barrow Creek was a blind created by Lee to divert attention from what really happened.
So do you know what really happened? Dr Hudson asked.
Regrettably, no, Holmes replied. However there are two possibilities which spring to mind. The blood found on the road at Barrow Creek may have been taken from a live Falcon, or from his corpse. In the first instance this would imply that Falcon wanted to disappear and that Lee helped him by leading the investigation in a false direction.
And in the second case? asked Hudson.
In the second scenario, said Holmes, it would mean that Lee killed Falcon and took his blood to Barrow Creek in a container, which she subsequently washed out and replaced in the van before waving for a truck to stop and then telling her story.
Which of these is the correct solution, I cannot know for certain. I do not have enough data.
I see, said Dr Hudson. I believe you may be on the right track. It is strange that no one thought of these things before.
A new police investigation, said Holmes, would have to be instigated, and of course it is less easy to find things now that so many years have passed.
Yes, said Dr Hudson, the police would likely be reluctant and resistant to such further action.
As with many other things, said Holmes, the key to the solution is very simple, in this case so simple that it eluded everyone involved. The key to finding the truth was that there was no dog at Barrow Creek that night. Had there been, then the hairs would have indicated whether the dog belonged to Murdoch or to someone else, and that would have brought a more satisfactory resolution of the matter.
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Sir Sherlock Holmes picked up Terry at 6 pm as arranged, and they had a pleasant dinner at Sunset Restaurant. Terry was relieved that at last something was happening which could mean the release of Uncle Bradley.
And to think, she said to Sherlock, that you made it all possible by realizing that the forensic unit found no dog hairs at the crime scene. You are so clever, and I love you, she said, kissing him firmly on the neck, like a beautiful vampire.
At the moment I love you too, said Sherlock, and if you behave yourself I might even love you always!
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2 The Supreme Court Conspiracy
I make a point of following docilely wherever fact may lead me - The Reigate Squires - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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Tchaikovsky was playing quietly in the office background, as King Roman and Dr Hudson sat down to enjoy a light, early dinner with Sir Sherlock Holmes.
They had come to discuss what might be done about the Supreme Court’s treatment of King Roman and his wife’s lawsuit for damages. It had now been many years since the lawsuit had brought Judge Angle’s shockingly unjust decision.
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When the Supreme Court at Darwin convened, and Justice Angle and every one was seated, Prince Roman had the distinct impression that they had had a previous encounter, but he could not remember when.
Federal police agent Ian Quirkie was sworn, and Prince Roman began his examination of the witness.
Are you the same Ian Quirkie who swore an application for a search warrant on the night of 25 May 2000?
Yes, said Quirkie sternly.
This application was to be used to obtain a search warrant for the home of Fele Mann and myself, is that correct?
Yes, said Quirkie.
Had the Department of Immigration earlier provided you with unsubstantiated information about Fele and me? asked Roman.
They had given me information about you both, replied Quirkie.
And it was unsubstantiated information, said Roman.
I don’t know, said Quirkie.
And Immigration, said Roman, had made a number of visits to the AFP office that day 25 May - is that correct?
Yes, said Quirkie.
Were you aware from an email on the Immigration file shown to you, asked Roman, that the director had begun an investigation of Fele and me early in the year, after providing false information to Canberra?
Quirkie hesitated, and said I was not aware the information he gave was false.
In your two year investigation, said Roman, did you find any evidence whatsoever with which to charge either Fele or me with wrongdoing?
No, said Quirkie.
You had examined all the evidence by the end of 2000, isn’t that so? said Roman.
Again Quirkie hesitated, then he said I think that’s correct.
And yet you held our documents for another 14 months, correct?
Yes.
You were in charge of the matter, weren’t you?
Ramzi Jabber was actually in charge, said Quirkie.
Okay, let’s get back to the warrant application that you signed, said Roman.
Would you refer to evidence item P1, page 3, and tell the court what taped interview is referred to around the middle of the page.
It is an interview between Ramzi Jabber and Mehrul Nisa, Quirkie answered.
And this is the interview, said Roman, upon which the allegations in the application rely, is it not?
Yes, said Quirkie.
So where is this alleged taped interview? asked Roman.
I don’t know, said Quirkie.
Isn’t it a fact, said Roman, that no transcript of this alleged tape was discovered to the plaintiffs prior to trial?
I don’t know, said Quirkie.
Isn’t it a fact that you are required to record such evidenciary tapes in a register for that purpose? said Roman.
Yes, said Quirkie.
And did you? asked Roman.
I didn’t, maybe someone else did, said Quirkie.
Your Honour, I ask the court to order the production of the Jabber/Nisa tape referred to in the warrant application, together with the register in which it is recorded, said Roman. If they can find such a tape, then I believe it will become evident why it was not recorded or discovered.
By that you mean what? said the judge.
I believe, said Roman, that the tape will show why the AFP decided not to register it, or to have a transcript made for discovery - basically, why they got rid of it.
Judge Angle made the relevant order, and then suspended court proceedings for the afternoon to enable production of the tape and transcript. Court adjourned to 9 am.
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Having listened intently to his friend King Roman describe what happened in court, Holmes said This is interesting. It sounds as if Immigration and the federal police were conspiring against you and Fele, and that the application for a warrant was fundamentally flawed.
What happened next? asked Dr Hudson.
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Commonwealth counsel stood to address Justice Angle. If you please, your Honour, it appears that my clients cannot find the Jabber/Nisa tape or a record of the tape, he said.
It doesn’t please me at all, said Justice Angle, but if they can’t produce it, that’s that.
Roman intervened, saying Your Honour, I submit that, without such tape in evidence, the contents of the application are false and defamatory to the plaintiffs, and that the warrant application should be set aside.
I’ll take it on advisement, said Justice Angle.
I further submit, said Roman, that Agent Quirkie should be held on a charge of perjury for swearing the application without basis, and that the search warrant should be declared void, having been obtained under false pretext. This accepted, I submit tha
t entries to and the raid on our home on 25/26 May 2000, and the subsequent retention of our documents for two years by the federal police, should be declared illegal.
Justice Angle replied Well I haven’t actually accepted anything yet, Mr Roman.
I think we will proceed with the case and I’ll decide later.
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So, in light of his later decision, said Holmes, the judge simply ignored the importance of the false application and missing tape, and also the absence of a record of the tape. What a bastard.
Without a doubt he was prejudiced against you, said Dr Hudson.
He actually said that he found Fele and me to be unreliable witnesses, said Roman, so he was not the least concerned that we have been innocent victims of a zealous, conspiratorial and vengeful raid. Not only that, but the entries and raid were carried out by armed police, at night.
It was fortunate that your wife was not home, and that you were away at the time, said Hudson.
Indeed, said Roman, God must have been watching over us. What is worse still is that the court would not accept our appeal papers because we could not afford to pay the court fees, and the Chief Justice Brian Marti simply ignored my subsequent pleas for justice.
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So what will you do about the situation? said Holmes.
I don’t know, said Roman, I’ve approached so many people already without success.
Blitz media, authorities and lawyers with the principal facts, Holmes suggested.
I did, said Roman. You just feel that no one cares. Anyway, I won’t give up until someone does listen. I’m no quitter. However, I’m no spring chicken either, so it’ll have to happen soon.
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Sir Sherlock settled down at home that evening when his friends had left. It had been a very quiet day at the office. Terry was visiting relatives: he missed her. As he was thinking these things, there was a loud knock at the door.
It was Inspector White of the Northern Territory Police.
Mr Holmes, can you come with us to the station, please. There has been a murder, and we would welcome your assistance, he said.
Sure, said Holmes. He switched off the fluorescent lighting and fan, locked the door, and followed the inspector to his car.
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Justice David Angle had apparently been shot in the forehead as he answered his door, but there was no trace of the bullet which should have been lodged in his brain, and no sign of any tampering with the wound.
The police had spoken to his anxious wife, who had heard the shot and had rung them immediately. The only thing she could think of was that he had spoken to her disparagingly about a Prince Roman, who had supposedly said something he had taken to be derogatory about the Queen during his court case. David had not taken too kindly to Prince Roman’s remark.
So the police had picked up the Prince, now King Roman (Grand Duke of Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine), and were questioning him at Berrimah Headquarters. Unfortunately, they did not have the murder weapon to link with anyone, or any footprints to compare, so they let King Roman go.
Sir Sherlock Holmes was given a lift home by King Roman, after Holmes promised to do what he could to help the police. He knew that his friend Roman was not guilty of the crime. And, after all, there were probably many others who would want to kill a judge who had wronged them.
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Holmes had seen the body, noticed the slightly oval nature and precise placing of the wound in the centre of the judge’s forehead. The next day he made the long drive out to the judge’s home, the exterior of which he inspected minutely with a magnifying glass, before returning to his office to ponder the clues.
An hour later, Holmes rang Inspector White, to provide him with his findings.
That day, the police arrested a lady doctor from the Royal Darwin Hospital for the judge’s murder.
Her husband had been recently imprisoned by Angle although he was innocent, and she had decided that the unjust judge did not deserve to live.
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My dear Hudson, said Holmes, later that day, it was clear from the trajectory of the wound and absence of powder residue that the bullet had been fired slightly upward and from a distance.
What happened to the bullet? said Dr Hudson.
That was a clever touch, said Holmes, which proved intent, because the .22 calibre bullet was fashioned from ice, and kept in an icy container until it was needed.
Upon fulfilling its purpose, the ice melted, thereby leaving no bullet to find.
But how did you know who had committed the crime? queried Hudson.
It had to be someone who was a crack pistol shot, so the police obtained a short list of the best pistol shots in the local club, and cross-referenced it with Angle’s recent cases.
But how could they be sure it was the doctor? asked Dr Hudson.
Well first of all, said Holmes. She had approached Angle’s place in stockinged feet, and rung the bell. Probably because she was unsure of who would answer the door she then retired to the shelter of a bush opposite the door, from where she made her shot.
And? said Hudson.
Elementary, Hudson, said Holmes. Not only did her stockings leave fibres in the judge’s drive, but dust from the drive was found at her home, where she had removed the stockings for washing.
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Now, said Holmes, as to the matter in which you were right royally screwed by the late Justice Angle ...
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3 The Case of the Mysterious Cypher
It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts - A Scandal in Bohemia - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Did you know that there are perfect numbers? Dr Hudson said to his friend Sir Sherlock Holmes.
At the moment, a perfect number to me would be $1,000,000, said King Roman, with a wry smile.
Yes, it indubitably makes people happy when they receive money, said Hudson, and it would surely help you grease the wheels in Lithuania. But I meant something else.
In mathematics, said Holmes, a perfect number is one the sum of whose divisors (excepting for itself) add up to that number. They end in six or eight, and they are few and far between.
That’s what I’m talking about, said Dr Hudson.
They begin with six, Holmes continued. Its divisors 1, 2, and 3, add up to six. Next come 28, 496 and 8128, and then other perfect numbers just grow exponentially in size into millions and billions and trillions, making more and more difficult the calculation of their divisors. I think only about 20 have been calculated so far, over several centuries.
King Roman said These would surely only be of interest to mathematicians, and of little moment to anyone else.
Generally speaking, but not necessarily, said Holmes, removing a page of confusing symbols from his desk drawer. It said PN, followed by the number 8, a few symbols, a 3, and more symbols, nothing of which Hudson or Roman could understand.
Sir Sherlock continued As you may guess, the PN indicated perfect numbers. The message is contained within the cypher at the points indicated by perfect numbers 6, 28, 496, and 8128. So we count in 6, then 2, then 8, then 4, and so on.
But what is the cipher, asked Hudson.
It is the Thomas Shelton shorthand system used by Samuel Pepys in his famous diary, said Holmes. It reads 8pm 3 Fern St. The latter is the name of the street where a murderer met his victim. Both their fingerprints were on the paper.
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Sir Sherlock extracted another paper from a pile on his desk. It was covered with punctuation marks.
He said Do either of you recognize this cipher? to which Hudson and Roman shook their heads.
The fact is, said Holmes, that the ciphe
r is quite easily recognizable as created by the famous scientific and detective writer Edgar Allan Poe. One of my recent cases involved the deciphering of this particular message.
Holmes pulled out a book and showed them the cipher key.
So, as you would find, the message is the first verse of a love poem by Lord Byron, which reads: