by Hugh Ashton
“ Of course, if it is a question of a crime that has been committed, I will be ready to assist you. But I warn you, I will not have my time wasted on what may turn out to be a fruitless chase.”
“ I can promise you that it will not be completely fruitless, though I can make no promises as to the nature of our quarry. I have already travelled to Woking, and in the guise of an employee of the deceased’s bank, made discreet enquiries of Mrs. Lynch as to the relationship between her and her late uncle.”
“ Well, there are some things that you can do as an amateur which are forbidden to us professionals, I suppose. And the result of your enquiries ? ”
“ I discovered that the lady in question had a vague memory of meeting her uncle some twenty years ago when she was aged about five. Since then, all exchanges between them had been restricted to an exchange of greetings at Christmas time. It therefore seems extremely unlikely to me that Parkins would suddenly have changed his will in her favour unless the two sons had performed some action which would have brought them into disfavour with their father.”
“ It is not for me to speak ill of others,” I said, “ but I would not give two pennies for their good conduct. In my limited experience of such matters, though, it seems to me that the individual who is cutting another out of his will usually ascribes a reason for the action.”
“ No such reason was given, according to Mrs. Lynch, who informed me of the details of the codicil. She would seem to have an excellent memory on the subject, and there was no reason for me to suspect that she was telling me anything other than the truth. According to her recollection, the codicil appears to have been drawn up and signed and witnessed in exactly the same way as the will. Even the witnesses appeared to be the same, according to her recollection—maybe the clerks of the solicitor’s office which drew up the will. If it does turn out to be a forgery, I have no doubt that it will prove to be a very sophisticated one, which I do not believe it will be easy to prove. She did, however, mention some differences between the signature of the dead man on the will and that on the codicil. Based on her observations, I have some suspicions, which can be most easily answered by reference to the dead man’s house. Hence my request to you to accompany me on my quest.”
Despite myself, Mr. Holmes’ words interested me. What he was proposing would make a welcome change from my everyday routine of petty crime, and drunken assaults by unknown assailants. “ I will be with you,” I answered him. “ How do you propose to gain access to the house ? ”
“ Mrs. Lynch was good enough to provide me with the name of the agents who are in charge of the house, pending its disposal. She and her husband have no intention of living there, and propose to sell it as soon as practicable. I was assured by her that the contents of the house are still in place, and to the best of her knowledge, have remained almost untouched since the day that Parkins died.”
“ So you wish me to use my official position to allow you to enter the house ? ”
“ Quite simply, yes. You have put it in a nutshell. I am confident that a few minutes’ examination of the furnishings of the house will reveal the relevant facts to me. Then it is agreed, we meet at Waterloo station tomorrow morning and travel to Henley together ? ”
You may think it strange that I as an experienced officer of the law was agreeing to an action which, if not altogether illegal, certainly stretched the bounds of what was possible for me to do in my official capacity. The truth is that even after such a short period of acquaintance Sherlock Holmes impressed me in the degree of his self-confidence in a fashion that no other man has been able to do, before or since. I was so intrigued by his cocksure attitude, that I was almost forced to agree, simply in order to satisfy my curiosity.
For the remainder of the meal, for which he insisted on paying, we talked on a variety of subjects, and I was astounded by the breadth and depth of his knowledge of criminal affairs.
“ I am glad that you never considered taking up a criminal career,” I laughed at one point in our conversation.
“ Why do you assume that I never did so ? ” he answered me. “ When I first discovered for myself that I possessed this analytical faculty, and the ability to deduce causes from effects, I realised that these were powers which were not given to everybody, and I must confess to you that for a short period I considered using them for my personal gain, whether or not such actions fell inside the law. It would have pleased my vanity to be the man whom Scotland Yard sought in vain. Do not raise your eyebrows in that way, my dear Inspector. I know full well, and so do you, that the majority of criminals are hopeless bunglers, and that however hard they try to escape you, you will always catch them in the end. If I had taken up a criminal career, believe me, you might not even be aware that a crime had been committed, let alone be able to identify and entrap the criminal.” He laughed, and refilled my glass with a remarkably fine Moselle wine.
“ It would be interesting to take you up on that challenge someday,” I thought to myself, but did not say aloud.
The next morning saw us—that is, Mr. Holmes and myself—travelling to Henley, where, by dint of showing the papers identifying me as a police officer, we were able to gain entrance to the house previously occupied by the late Mr. Parkins. As you might expect from a house which had not been occupied for a number of months, dust was everywhere, but the furnishings all appeared to be in place. The first room we entered seemed to be a study or a library, with books lining the walls. To my surprise, my companion pulled out a magnifying lens from the pocket of his overcoat and proceeded to examine the tops of the books and the shelves.
“ Mark this well, Inspector,” he said. “ The shelves were obviously dusted regularly while Parkins was alive, but the books were not touched. These books have remained untouched in the shelves for a number of years, I would say. And look here.” A row of directories stood on one of the shelves, containing a volume for each year, starting some twenty years previously. The sequence came to an abrupt end three years before the date of which I am writing. He then pointed to another set of volumes, also ceasing at the same date. Between us we counted five sets of annual directories, each of which ended at the same year. “ Curious, very curious,” he muttered, almost to himself, as he turned his attention to the desk.
“ Here is a scrapbook,” he showed me, “ in which it appears that Parkins used to paste clippings from newspapers describing any subject that took his fancy. See, here is a clipping from the Daily Telegraph about the sighting of sea-serpents in Sumatra—“
“ How do you know this is from the Daily Telegraph ? ” I asked him.
“ The type, man, the type. You would not mistake a bulldog for a terrier, I take it, though they are both dogs ? The founts and styles in which newspapers are set differ more from each other than do breeds of dogs. Believe me, I am of the opinion that a thorough knowledge of type and papers is as necessary to a detective as any other branch of knowledge. But no matter. Look here, each article is dated in what can only be Parkins’ own hand.” He turned to the end of the book. “ These entries cease about three years ago. And compare the writing of the last entries with those of earlier clippings.”
“ The writing is larger and more untidy towards the end. He has even written over the clippings themselves in one or two places.”
“ Precisely. And what does that tell you ? ”
“ I have no idea. What does it tell you, Mr. Holmes ? Is this relevant ? ”
“ I would say that it is vital, at least as far as the business in which we are currently involved is concerned. It tells me that we will find a large loupe in the drawers of the desk here.” He opened the central drawer of the desk, and triumphantly produced a fine example of a magnifying lens, as he had predicted. “ Now do you understand ? ”
I had no idea what he meant by this.
“ Never mind. Maybe a visit to the bedroom will make things clearer.” We went upstairs, and soon discovered the room which had obviously been used as Parkins’ bed
room. Mr. Holmes pointed out to me that gas had not been laid on to the house, and that it had been lit by oil lamps and candles. I examined the candle beside the bed, and noted that it had never been lit.
“ That is to be expected,” said Mr. Holmes when I remarked the fact. “ Examine the wick of the oil lamp on the dressing-table.”
I did as he asked, and discovered that it too had never been lit, judging by its appearance. “ You expected that, also ? ” I asked.
“ Indeed I did. Now examine the washstand. Where are Parkins’ razor, shaving soap and brush ? ”
“ They are missing. You will tell me that this, too, was expected ? ”
“ Of course I expected this.”
“ But I am still puzzled.” It was now apparent that Sherlock Holmes was following some train of thought that remained hidden to me.
“ Well, well. I am sure that you will come to the correct conclusion in time.”
Mr. Holmes had now brought to my notice several items which he undoubtedly considered to be of significance. I had failed to grasp their meaning, but in my defence, I would say to my knowledge there was no detective in the Yard who would have done so. Even so, I was irritated by the air of superiority that Mr. Holmes was displaying.
“ And now that we have seen all that there is to see here, we should pay a call on Ellis and Trumbull, the firm of solicitors in Maidenhead who were responsible for drawing up the will and the codicil.”
“ You believe there to be something strange in the matter of the codicil ? ”
“ I know what I think we shall find when we come to examine the original documents. Let us be off now.”
As you know, Doctor, when Mr. Holmes was in one of these moods, there was no holding him back. At that time I did not know this, and I attempted to persuade him to carry out the errand on another day, but he was not to be restrained by me.
We soon found ourselves in the office of Henry Ellis, the senior partner of the firm. I had no idea as to what the forthcoming line of enquiry might be, so I sat silently, but ready to stop the proceedings should Mr. Holmes step across the line of the law.
He began by introducing the object of his enquiry, and asking if the documents in question—that is to say, the will and codicil—were available for inspection.
“ I fail to see why you should not see them,” said the solicitor, calling for a clerk to retrieve the documents and bring them to us.
Once they had been spread out on the table, we examined them closely.
“ They appear to have been written in the same hand,” I said.
“ I believe that is the case,” Ellis answered. “ One of our clerks is usually responsible for the actual preparation of the documents, though of course I or Mr. Trumbull will be responsible for the wording and the terms and conditions in almost every case.”
“ In almost every case ? ” asked Sherlock Holmes
“ There may be a few occasions when a clerk will handle these matters.”
“ This will, for instance ? ”
“ The will was definitely drawn up by me some years ago—you may see the date here. I distinctly remember going to Mr. Parkins’ house and discussing the matter with him in his study. Following that discussion, I returned here with my notes, asked one of the clerks to write it out, and then take the draft, which I had checked, to the client’s house for signing.”
“ He did not come here ? ”
“ He was an elderly gentleman, and we had done a considerable amount of business for him in the past. It would have been churlish for us to have insisted that he visit us.”
“ So you did not see him sign the will himself ? ”
“ No, but that would in no way invalidate it, if that is what you are implying.” The solicitor seemed to be more than a little irritated by Holmes’ line of questioning, and I confess that I also found it to be a little harsh.
“ I was not for a moment suggesting anything of the kind. I am merely attempting to ascertain the facts of the case. So the clerk wrote it and was responsible for its being signed and properly witnessed ? ”
“ That is correct.”
“ The witnesses being ? ”
“ The housekeeper and the butler at Mr. Parkins’ establishment. I have no reason to believe that they have any suspicion of dishonesty attached to them.”
It appeared to me that Ellis was uncomfortable in his answers, to my mind hiding something that he would sooner have left hidden, and this suspicion was soon confirmed as Mr. Holmes pursued his line of questioning, which I freely admit was producing the facts we required in a most efficient manner.
“ May we now turn to the codicil ? I see that it is written in the same hand as the will.”
“ Quite possibly. Yes, now that I come to think of it, the same clerk was responsible for writing out both the will and the codicil.”
“ What were your thoughts when Mr. Parkins informed you of the contents of the codicil ? ”
At this point, the solicitor became red in the face, and mopped his brow with a handkerchief. “ Mr.—“
“ Holmes,” I reminded him.
“ Thank you. Mr. Holmes, I have to tell you that the first time that I set eyes on that codicil was when I read it following Mr. Parkins’ death. And I must tell you that it came as a big surprise to me. But it appeared to be properly signed, and in a proper legal form. I questioned the two witnesses, I may add, and they both confirmed that they had witnessed their master signing the paper, and had duly marked the fact with their own signatures. Whether or not I agreed with the disposition of the estate was immaterial—I was bound by the wishes of the dead man, expressed in a legally binding document. And that is what I said to the deceased’s two scapegrace sons when they confronted me and attempted to persuade me to change the law in their favour.”
“ Then you were not responsible for drawing up this document ? ”
“ No, this was carried out by the clerk who had previously written out the will, as you observed just now. I dispatched him to Mr. Parkins following our client’s request for a codicil. I felt that since he was already acquainted with the details of the will, as well as being known to Parkins personally, it would be a relatively straightforward task, and would provide the clerk with valuable experience.”
“ So you never saw it before the reading of the will ? ”
“ On my honour, Mr. Holmes, although we were named as the executors, and though we held the will and the codicil here at our offices, I never looked at it. Remiss of me, perhaps, but I do not think I have broken the law as a result of this omission.”
“ Neither do I. Inspector ? ” Sherlock Holmes appealed to me. I shook my head. “ But I would like to ask you, what would your reaction have been had you read this codicil before Parkins’ death ? ”
“ I would have questioned it. Most certainly I would have questioned it and referred it back to our client. Such a radical step, involving such a large sum of money, would almost certainly have warranted some sort of explanation.”
“ Maybe it is time we had a word with this clerk. With your permission, sir ? ”
The other shook his head in sorry. “ I fear he is no longer with us. He left our employ some three months ago to marry. I can no doubt discover his current address. In Woking, I believe.”
“ And his name was Lynch ? ” Holmes asked.
“ Why, yes ! You know the man ? ”
“ I believe I do,” said Sherlock Holmes. It seemed to me that he was smiling faintly as he said this. “ Come, Inspector, I think it is time we went to Woking. Thank you for your help, Mr. Ellis. I believe I will be able to locate this Lynch with little trouble.”
As we walked to the station, I could not help asking Sherlock Holmes about his conclusions.
“ I do not understand it,” I said to him. “ What have you seen that I have not seen that leads you to Woking ? ”
“ You have seen all that I have seen,” he told me. “ What you have failed to do is to observe closely and draw
the appropriate conclusions from the facts before your eyes. You saw the two papers, the will and the codicil, just now. What differentiated them ? ”
“ Little, as far as I could see, save for old Parkins’ signature, which was more untidy and less well placed on the codicil than it was on the will.”
“ And that says nothing to you ? ” Sherlock Holmes shook his head, and we proceeded in silence. I racked my brain in a vain attempt to work out for myself what he had deduced from what we had witnessed.
We arrived at Woking, and made our way to the house which Holmes had visited previously, the abode of Mr. and Mrs. Lynch. On ringing the bell, the housemaid assured us that Mrs. Lynch was not at home, and that “ the master” was likewise absent, but was expected home shortly.
“ In which case, please give him my card,” said Sherlock Holmes, “ and inform him that we intend calling in the next hour or so.”
I hoped to gain some insight from Sherlock Holmes regarding the case, and I therefore proposed that we walk in the Park. In my experience, most men tend to speak more freely when walking, and I was pleased to find that this was also the case with Sherlock Holmes. As we walked, he explained to me what he had discovered.
“ What do you make of the fact that the annual directories ceased to be collected three years ago, that the scrapbook likewise finished about the same time, that the lamp and candle we discovered in the bedroom remained unlit, and that the signature on the codicil was ill-formed and misplaced on the page ? ”
“ Absent-mindedness ? Old age ? ” I said.
“ Is it not obvious to you ? Old Parkins was blind by the time he had reached the end of his life. He had no need for candles or lamps, his hobby of his scrapbook came to an end, he had no need of the directories to which he had previously subscribed. Furthermore, and this is what is germane to our case here, he was unable to see where to sign the codicil.”
I considered this. “ If he could not see where to sign, he could never have read it,” I said.
“ Precisely. Let me reconstruct the events for you. This Victor Lynch worked in the Henley solicitor’s office as a clerk. He became friendly with Parkins’ niece, Jenny Whitcombe. Whether he knew of the relationship between her and Parkins before the acquaintanceship commenced, or whether he discovered this after he met her is immaterial to the actual facts of the matter, though if the former, his conduct becomes more reprehensible. In any event, he knew that he was about to marry into the family of one of his employer’s wealthiest clients. Somehow, at least a portion of that elderly relative’s money could well be his, were he to marry the girl. But first, he must ensure that the money would indeed go to him—or rather, to her, which amounts to much the same thing.