"Was he accompanied by the missing young woman, Monica Starr?"
"So far as I knew he went alone."
"And is still there now?"
"I believe so, yes. He planned to return the second week in September."
"Do you have a telephone at the cottage?"
"No. I like to spend the summers there with my wife and son, without needless interruptions."
"Then tell me how to get there by train."
"It is a full day's journey from here, well over three hundred miles."
"Watson and I are used to riding trains in England."
Leacock smiled. “I am British myself, you know. My parents migrated to Canada when I was seven and I decided to go with them."
"A wise decision,” Holmes said with a smile. “Now about your cottage—"
"I don't know what is happening with Ralph, but I seem to be responsible in part, since I allowed him to use my place. If you insist on going, I will journey with you. I don't want two strangers accosting him by surprise."
I sensed something unspoken, as if he feared Irene's son was indeed capable of violence. “Very well,” Holmes agreed. “Let us take the first available train."
Professor Leacock turned to his assistant. “Can you handle things here for a few days, Rob?"
"Certainly, sir."
Leacock telephoned his wife to tell her of our plans. Then he said to Holmes, “There is an early-morning train tomorrow. We can be at the cottage before nightfall."
"Very well."
"Windsor Station is several blocks south of here. Go down Rue Peel, past Dominion Square, and it will be on your right. You can't miss it. I will meet you there at eight in the morning.” As we were leaving he thrust a book of his writings into my hand. “Please read this tonight, Dr. Watson, especially my little story ‘Maddened by Mystery.’ I trust you and Mr. Holmes will find it all in good fun."
Once outside, Holmes stared up at the sky. “An odd sort of chap, but friendly enough. Before we travel to the cottage, though, I wish to speak with the local police."
Dealing with the Sureté du Québec proved to be both better and worse than our frequent encounters with Scotland Yard. Better, because they tended to treat Holmes with a bit more respect than some of their British counterparts, but worse because it was difficult finding the detectives investigating the murder of Franz Faber. We finally were shown to a squad room where a detective named Jean Leblond greeted Holmes with a degree of respect.
"You are certainly well known to us here,” he said. “Is this your first journey to Canada, Mr. Holmes?"
"It is."
"I trust you will find our country to your liking. Now what can I help you with?"
"I have been asked to look into the murder of a McGill University student named Franz Faber. I believe he was stabbed to death outside a pub a fortnight ago."
Leblond flipped through the files on his desk. “Exactly a fortnight, on Thursday, the tenth. He lived only a few minutes after the attack."
"Were there any witnesses?” Holmes asked.
"No."
"Then why are you attempting to arrest Ralph Norton for this crime?"
"The two had fought over a woman. A police officer on patrol was the first to see Faber lying in the road. He'd been stabbed in the chest and was bleeding badly but still alive. The officer asked who stabbed him and he said Norton."
I could see that this dying statement had caught Holmes by surprise. “He's sure of that?"
The detective nodded. “He said Norton. The officer was certain. Add to that the fact that Ralph Norton fled when we came to question him and it makes a strong circumstantial case."
"Who was the woman they fought over?"
"Name is Monica Starr. She's disappeared too."
"Have you talked to her family?"
"They have a home up north, in Gaspe. She's been living on campus. They know nothing about her disappearance and claim they haven't seen her all summer. She'd remained at the university for some extra courses."
"Something of a coincidence, all these extra summer courses,” Holmes mused. “Was Ralph Norton at the pub that night?"
"The bartender saw him earlier, but he wasn't there with Faber."
"Was the murder weapon recovered?"
"Not yet. We've searched the area without any luck."
When we left the Sureté du Québec, I asked Holmes what he thought. “It seems that Ralph is the prime suspect,” he answered. “We should call on Irene today, before we leave in the morning."
* * * *
We called at her home, a smaller version of those mansions we'd seen on our way to the hotel. It was obvious that her husband's law practice had been profitable. Over tea Holmes explained about Leacock's cottage and told her we'd be traveling there in the morning. “You must prepare yourself, Irene. The police evidence is strong, even if not conclusive. If he's at the Leacock cottage, he might not be alone."
"That girl—"
Holmes nodded. “Monica Starr. She was here all summer with him. Something happened with the other boy, Franz Faber. They fought once and they may have fought again, outside the pub a fortnight ago. He spoke Ralph's name as he was dying."
"No!” She shook her head. “I can't believe my son would harm anyone."
"If I find him, I will have to bring him back."
She turned away, not wanting to meet his quick eyes. “He's my only child, all that I have. You must be able to help him somehow."
Holmes sighed and told her, “I will do whatever I can."
That evening, as we prepared to retire to our rooms, I took the time to read the little story Stephen Leacock had given me earlier. “Holmes!” I exclaimed before I'd finished the first few pages. “This thing of Leacock's actually makes sport of you and your methods. He refers to you as the Great Detective and describes you wearing foolish disguises as you attempt to help the prime minister and the archbishop of Canterbury!"
"Am I mentioned by name?"
"No."
"Then I view it as a compliment if readers like you immediately identify me as the Great Detective."
But that did little to calm my outrage. As I finished my reading I gasped. “At the end he has you disguised as a dog and destroyed by the dogcatchers! The man is a scoundrel and a slanderer!"
Holmes smiled just a bit. “Or a humorist."
"Do we really want to travel with such a person?"
"I am doing it for Irene and her son, not for Leacock."
And in the morning we met him at the station as planned. His teaching assistant, Rob Gentry, had come with him, which was something of a surprise. “I have some papers at the cottage,” Leacock explained. “Since we'll be there at least overnight, Rob can sort through them for me and decide what I need to bring back here."
As it turned out, Gentry's presence was a good thing. It gave me someone to converse with on the long journey, and an excuse for addressing none of my remarks to the blackguard Leacock. The journey across eastern Canada was a picturesque one, and Leacock explained to Holmes why he'd chosen a summer home so far removed from Montreal. “I grew up in this area, after we came here from England. We had a place in Egypt, not far from the south shore of Lake Simcoe. A colorful country, especially in summer. The winters in Montreal are often brutal."
"It is a large country,” Holmes remarked.
"Indeed it is. One can travel hundreds of miles in western Canada and see nothing but wheat fields. I believe the Lord said, ‘Let there be wheat,’ and Saskatchewan was born."
It was late afternoon when we left the train at Orillia and took a carriage the few short blocks to Leacock's cottage. Since there was no telephone, he'd been unable to announce our arrival in advance. A handsome young man with sandy hair and a few freckles was seated on the porch as we left the carriage. He immediately put down the Rider Haggard novel he was reading and stood up.
"Professor Leacock! What brings you here?"
"I have bad news for you, lad. Franz Faber
was murdered the night before you left Montreal. The police want to question you about it."
At his words the screen door behind him opened and a lovely red-haired girl in a blue shift appeared. She had a dimple in her chin and a smile to charm any man. “Ralph was with me all the time,” she told us. “He couldn't have killed anyone."
Holmes inserted himself into the conversation. “Would this be the missing Miss Starr?” he asked.
"Who are you?” Norton demanded.
"Sherlock Holmes. I am an old friend of your mother, who summoned me from England to find you."
He shook his head. “I didn't kill anyone, and I'm not going back to see the police. We're staying right here.” His glance shifted to me. “Who is this man?"
"My associate, Dr. Watson,” Holmes responded.
He studied me more closely. “A medical doctor?"
"Of course,” I told him.
"And you know Rob, my assistant,” Leacock said.
Ralph smiled slightly. “We see each other at the pub."
Leacock glanced around. “We only have three bedrooms. Is there room for us all overnight?"
"Sure,” Ralph conceded. “Follow me, Mr. Holmes. We'll get everyone settled and have a bit of supper. You must be hungry after that long train ride."
Holmes and I drew a small bedroom at the rear of the cottage. When we were alone I asked, “Why was he so interested that I was a doctor?"
"You must try to be more observant, Watson. We now know why she didn't spend the summer at home with her parents. Even wearing that large shift I could detect a bit of a bulge. I believe Monica Starr to be at least six months pregnant."
* * * *
3. The Capture
Seeing her seated at the dinner table later that evening, I had to agree with Holmes's diagnosis. The girl was certainly pregnant, probably entering her third trimester. It appeared that Ralph was planning to remain here with her rather than return to McGill. I wondered if Leacock and Gentry were aware of her condition. After we ate, there was still enough light for us to walk along Old Brewery Bay. It was a small arm of the lake, with Leacock's house at the innermost part. I could see that Irene's son and Monica Starr were supremely happy, even with these unexpected guests. They played catch with a red rubber ball, occasionally tossing it to Leacock or Gentry as well. At one point, Ralph ran ahead and shouted to her. “North! Catch!"
"North?” Holmes questioned after she'd caught the ball and tossed it on to Gentry.
"I'm from up north, so naturally the guys started calling me North Starr, or just North."
"Do you like it at McGill?"
"Sure, what's not to like? That's where I met Ralph. We'll be getting married soon, after we break the news to our folks."
"I wish you all the happiness you deserve,” Holmes said.
Leacock had been standing close enough to overhear the conversation, and he commented to me, “Many a man in love with a dimple makes the mistake of marrying the whole girl."
"You do not approve?” I asked, addressing him for the first time since our journey began.
"It is not for me to say. Life, as we often learn too late, is in the living."
As the evening wore on, I found myself forced into further conversation with Leacock. “Did you have an opportunity to read my little piece on the Defective Detective, Dr. Watson?"
"I did, sir. It seems to me you could devote your talents to more important matters."
"Ah, but you see, I would sooner have written Alice in Wonderland than the whole of the Encyclopedia Britannica."
I had no answer for that.
Holmes and I both slept well that night. The water was still, and a big change from our Atlantic crossing. In the morning, over breakfast, the talk turned serious. It was Leacock who brought matters to a head. “You have to come back with us, Ralph. If you don't, I must tell the police where you are."
But it was Monica who rose to his defense. “Why do you have to tell them? He's done nothing wrong."
Leacock turned appealingly toward Holmes, who said quietly, “Franz Faber named Ralph as he was dying. He told a police officer it was Norton."
"But that's impossible! I was with him all that night."
"No, you weren't, Monica,” Ralph told her. “This was Thursday, the night before we left. Remember, I had to pick up some things from home. I was gone for over an hour."
"You couldn't kill anyone, Ralph,” she said with a sigh. “Franz might not have seen his killer. You two'd had a fight, so your name was the one he spoke."
"He was stabbed in the chest,” Holmes told her. “It's most likely he did see his killer.” Then he turned back to Ralph. “What had you and Faber fought about?"
He gave a snort. “We fought over Monica. It felt like I was still a kid in high school."
"Is that true?” he asked her.
"I guess so. I went out with Franz for a while and he didn't want to give me up."
If we were to be back in Montreal that night we had to be leaving soon. Rob Gentry had gathered up the material Leacock wanted to bring back, but there was still no agreement from Ralph. “I'm not going to ride all day on the train just to tell some ignorant detective I'm innocent."
"I can stay here alone for one night,” Monica told him.
"Or you can come back with him,” Professor Leacock suggested. “That might be best."
She shook her head. “No. I came here to get away from people—"
Holmes spoke softly. “Dr. Watson could examine you if you are concerned about your condition."
"It's not that. I just don't want to go back there."
"And neither do I,” Ralph decided.
Leacock tried to reason with them. “Sooner or later the Montreal police will learn where you are, Ralph. You'll be arrested and taken back there in handcuffs. That's hardly something you'd want your mother to see."
"There's no evidence that I killed him."
"You fought, and he named you as his killer,” Holmes said.
"Our fight was several days earlier. There was no reason to renew it or stab him. Monica was coming with me. I asked you about this cottage and you gave me the key a full day before Faber was killed."
"You make a good case for your innocence,” Holmes agreed. “But the police want a killer and you're the only suspect they have."
It was then that Monica Starr spoke. “They have another,” she said quietly. “I killed Franz Faber."
"Monica!” Ralph shouted. “Don't ever say that again! Someone might believe it."
I stared at Leacock and Gentry, seeing the disbelief in their faces. But than I glanced at Holmes and saw something quite different, something like satisfaction. “Of course she killed him. I've known it since last night. But I had to hear it from her own lips."
"How could you have known?” Ralph asked. “What happened last night?"
"You called her by a nickname, ‘North.’ When Franz Faber lay dying, he reverted to his native language. The officer asked who stabbed him and he didn't say Norton but Norden, the German word for north. He was saying you stabbed him, Monica. Do you want to tell us why you did it?"
She stared down at the floor, unable to look any of us in the eye. Finally she answered. “I love Ralph, I love him so much. My brief time with Franz was a big mistake, but when I became pregnant he threatened to tell Ralph the baby was his and not Ralph's. I couldn't let him do that. I begged him not to, but he wouldn't listen. I'd brought a knife along to threaten him, but when he saw it he just laughed. That was when I stabbed him."
"Monica—” It was almost a sob from Ralph Norton's lips.
* * * *
The six of us took the long train ride back to Montreal together. Holmes telephoned Detective Leblond from a stop along the route and he was waiting for us at the station.
Holmes and I took a carriage to Irene Norton's home. He insisted on giving her the news in person. “Your son will be home soon,” he told her. “He's gone to the Sureté with Monica Starr."
/> "Have you solved the case?” she wanted to know. “Is my son innocent?"
"Innocent of all but a youthful love. Only time can cure him of that.” He told her of Monica's confession.
"And the baby?” she asked. “Who is the father?"
"We didn't ask, but it seems Faber had reason to believe it was his. It may take Ralph some time to get over that."
She dipped her eyes, and may have shed a tear. “A scandal in Montreal. Who would have thought it? First me, all those years ago in Bohemia, and now my son."
"No one is blaming you, or your son."
She lifted her head to gaze at Holmes. “How can I ever thank you? Will you be going back now?"
He nodded. “I am retired and keep bees at my villa in Sussex. If you are ever in the vicinity, it would be my pleasure to show it to you."
"I'll keep that in mind,” she said, and held out her hand to him.
Copyright (c) 2007 by Edward D. Hoch
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