‘Now, approximately what time was it when he left?’
‘About 5.30.’
‘Now, this is very important: can you say when the shot was fired?’
‘Precisely at six.’
‘Precisely can sometimes mean about. Are you certain it was six?’
‘The dressing gong had just stopped sounding as I heard the gun being fired.’
‘And is the gong always sounded at six precisely?’
‘Always. The maid has strict instructions to be punctual. In fact, I now recall that just before I had looked at my watch in anticipation that the time was close to six.’
‘Now, Mr Waterstone, when I examined the door to the conservatory from the study, I noted that it could be locked. Was it always kept locked?’
‘Always at night, as was the study door. The minister kept the keys with him at night.’
‘The inspector was not certain whether or not the door to the conservatory was open when he first entered the room. Yet you were there before him. What did you see? Was the door open?’
‘I am sorry, I cannot remember. However, I can tell you that sometimes the door would be left open when the minister was writing his book on exotic plants. You see, it is, I mean was, his relaxation from the affairs of state. He had become a well-known authority on the subject.’
‘Then the presence of the plant on the desk suggests that he was studying it and making notes. The door may have been open because he needed to make frequent visits to the conservatory. Would you agree, Watson?’
‘Yes, I agree with your reconstruction of the events,’ I replied.
After our visit to the scene of the murder we went to the police station. During a review of the case with the inspector, we were interrupted and told that the minister’s secretary had observed someone who resembled the mysterious visitor. Apparently, after we had left the house, Waterstone had to go to the railway station in order to send off a great number of telegrams relating to the death of his father-in-law. As he was passing a coffee-room window, he saw the man. He immediately came round to the police station. The inspector lost no time in going out and arresting the man on suspicion of having murdered the minister.
When the suspect was being interrogated, Holmes and I were able to listen to what was being said without being observed.
‘Now, Mr Langham, where were you yesterday evening at 6 p.m.?’ was the inspector’s first question.
‘Let me think. Ah, of course, I was at the station sending off a telegram.’
‘Can you be sure of the time?’
‘Very sure. In fact, let me see.’ He fumbled in the pockets of his Ulster overcoat and produced a copy of a telegraph form. ‘Look at this. As you can see, the time entered by the clerk is one minute to six.’
The suspect was taken away.
‘I cannot hold him for long without more positive evidence. That telegram is a very good alibi, don’t you agree, Mr Holmes?’ said the inspector.
‘In many ways it is. May I have a look at the telegraph form?’
He read the telegram and said, ‘It’s addressed to someone called Battle at the Crown Hotel, Reading and reads, “CANNOT PERSUADE HIM. MUST FIND IT. BE HERE AT ONCE. LANGHAM.”’
‘Well,’ I commented, ‘like most telegrams it is very brief and therefore cryptic. Do you make anything of it, Holmes?’
‘At this moment, very little.’ Turning to the inspector he said, ‘If you are going to release Langham we must observe his movements. As the telegram indicates, he intends to stay here and await a Mr Battle.’
‘Yes, I’ll let him go. But if you follow him, is there not a danger that he will recognise you? After all, Mr Holmes, you are the most famous detective in the kingdom.’
I sensed Holmes’ satisfaction at the inspector’s remark. He replied, ‘Don’t worry, Inspector, even if he should have seen me before, I shall make sure he will be looking at someone else. If you would just hold him for one more hour it will give me time in which to make preparations for the next stage of the case.’
We returned to our hotel and forty minutes later a portly member of the racing world emerged and could be seen in the vicinity of the police station. My part in the plan was to shadow our man at a discreet distance in the event that he made a sudden and unexpected move. Langham came out of the police station and walked along until he came to an inn. He went in and the ‘racing’ gentleman followed. I waited outside.
Back in the hotel, Holmes gave me an account of what he had overheard.
‘I managed to secure a seat against a glass screen on the other side of which sat Langham and a bearded companion, who I assumed was the Battle mentioned in the telegram. I distinctly heard Langham say, “You’ll have to come with me tonight. I can’t look through the lot alone. Have you brought along the conservatory key?”’
‘Obviously, the mention of the key is most significant. It indicates that tonight they intend to enter the minister’s house by way of the conservatory.’
‘Indeed, Watson, that is certain. I’ve informed Inspector Doswell and he agrees to let them get into the study so that they will not only be caught in the act, it will possibly show that it is not just an ordinary burglary. He will wait with us in the study. There is something in that room which is so important that it has persuaded Langham to stay here and not abscond before more evidence could be gathered on which to re-arrest him. By the way, I trust you brought your revolver? Langham gives the impression of being a desperate man who will not stop at violence.’
That night, accompanied by the inspector, we secreted ourselves behind the heavy curtains of the study. It was a long vigil. At three in the morning we heard a sound in the conservatory and as the door opened the glow of a lantern illuminated part of the room. As planned, we made no move. Langham and another man entered. The latter opened the glass door of one of the cases and began to take down the books. He opened some and shook them; however, nothing fell out. Apparently he could not find what he was seeking. His gaze then became concentrated on one particular row of books. Suddenly he reached up and, with a muffled exclamation of triumph, took down a book and out fell a document. Before he could bend to pick it up, Holmes was on him and knocked him to the floor. The inspector seized Langham. I covered both intruders with my revolver. At the same time the study door was unlocked by Waterstone, who had been waiting on the other side with two constables.
On our return to Baker Street, I started to make some notes concerning the case.
‘You seemed to be very certain, Holmes, of the guilt of Langham.’
‘Indeed, I was convinced from the start that it was he. Although he appeared to have an alibi, I was able to destroy it. The deceased insisted that all the clocks in the house be kept to local time, which I realized when they struck the hour during our visit yesterday. The murderer established his alibi, either deliberately or by chance, when he sent off the telegraph at the station, whose clocks were set to railway time; that is, Greenwich time. We are about ten minutes in time west of Greenwich. In that interval he was able to stride, possibly run, to the house, enter through the conservatory and shoot the minister.’
‘Are you satisfied, Holmes, that the evidence about the time will be sufficient to condemn him? I fear a clever advocate will argue to the contrary.’
‘Yes, that is a possibility, yet I am certain that, at the time of the crime, he was wearing the Ulster overcoat we saw he had on when he was being questioned. You see, I noted that close against the door leading into the study was a large exotic species of lily. In the police station I observed that the left arm and shoulder of his coat was stained yellow by the pollen. That is where he brushed against the plant as he fired the gun. However, of even greater importance is the fact that the murderer had to be left-handed, otherwise he would not have been able to get a clear shot round the half-opened door. And our man, as I observed, is left-handed. You will remember I stretched a length of string from the body to the door. The shattered lampshade established t
he angle of the shot and the position of the gun when it was fired.’
‘Why do you say the door was only half-open?’
‘I am not certain about that. Of course, it is possible that Langham had not the courage to face his victim or get too close.’
‘Now what about Battle?’
‘I must be getting old, Watson. It took me some time before I realized that we were faced with both a beard and a pun. The beard disguised Arthur Hastings.’
‘And the pun?’
‘Oh, come on, my dear fellow, Hastings and the battle of 1066. Battle, that is Hastings. During his time as secretary he had obtained a duplicate key for the study so that he could enter during the night and copy cabinet papers. The information was passed to Langham and used to their advantage in the financial markets. After his argument with the minister, Langham decided that some incriminating papers would have to be seized by force. He relied on Hastings’ information concerning the minister’s habit of studying his plants between five and six in the evening and therefore the door from the conservatory would not be locked.’
‘Another matter that raises a question, Holmes, is why did you quickly secret the papers that had been taken by the murderer from the bookcase?’
‘Because, although I was only able to read the first page during the confusion of arresting the men, I instantly realized that I was holding a confession written by the minister, followed by a list of prominent people. It also implicated Langham and Hastings. I knew instantly that the next, and possibly the only person, allowed to read those papers had to be Mycroft. The minister had become involved with a number of international financial criminals. Recently it seems he regretted his involvement and had decided to confess. On that afternoon he must have told Langham that he intended to expose them even though he would have to resign from the government. Langham hoped that by killing him and destroying the confession he and the others would escape prosecution. Apparently, the minister preferred to keep his most confidential papers inside a book rather than in a safe. During his time as secretary, Hastings must have observed him secreting papers. Therefore he and Langham had deduced that the first place to look for the incriminating documents would be the bookcase and not the safe.’
Holmes’ summary of evidence was handed to the police, and the inspector in charge of the case eventually received a commendation for the way he had tracked down the murderer.
Despite the fact that a minister of the crown had been murdered and that a number of prominent people had been involved with him in illegal affairs, Holmes declined, as was his custom, any public recognition of his part in solving the murder.
Notes
The Great Western Railway had adopted ‘London Time’, that is, Greenwich time, when it opened in 1841. The Definition of Time Act of 1880 required all railways to set their clocks to GMT.
The ‘City’ refers to the City of London, which was a separate administration from the City of Westminster, both being the principal elements of London. When discussing financial affairs, the abbreviation ‘the City’ meant the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange and all the other major financial houses in the ‘Square Mile’.
The Tenth Jar
In which stolen jars of marmalade threaten a political scandal and danger to Holmes and Watson.
Part One
For a few days I had observed the gradual onset of a state of lethargy affecting the demeanour of my friend Sherlock Holmes. His recourse to narcotics and the fearsome tobacco he smoked in an old clay pipe tended at times to set him apart from others.
As I came down to breakfast one morning I observed that he was no longer under the influence of a narcotic. He was once again the familiar Sherlock Holmes. His first words were, ‘I say, Watson, have you read about the spate of burglaries in St John’s Wood?’
‘What’s that you say?’ I replied. ‘Something about St John’s Wood?’
‘Yes, these reports in the papers tell us that in the past few days nine houses have been forcibly entered at night and the contents of their pantries disturbed. Scotland Yard admits to being baffled.’ He paused. ‘Listen, that’s a four-wheeler in a hurry. Ah, it has stopped outside. And, if I am not mistaken, we are about to be visited by Inspector Lestrade.’
‘Mr Holmes, Dr Watson, good morning,’ said the inspector on entering.
‘Good morning, Inspector,’ said Holmes. ‘Does the minute spot of egg on your waistcoat indicate that you’ve had a hurried breakfast.’
‘Indeed, Mr Holmes, but I’ve little time for such matters when there are more pressing things on my mind.’
‘No doubt you are concerned about the burglaries in St John’s Wood.’
‘You amaze me, sir. How on earth could you know that?’
‘A very simple deduction, my dear Inspector. It is reported in The Times and the other papers this morning.’
‘I spent most of last night questioning the servants of the last two houses that had been broken into.’
‘A singular case indeed,’ commented Holmes as he lit his pipe. He slumped in his chair, holding the bowl of his pipe with both hands and obviously marshalling the facts in his brain. We both knew, from experience, that the great detective’s thoughts must not be interrupted. Lestrade declined my offer of a second, more leisurely, breakfast of kippers. I could tell that such a dish in combination with the clouds of pungent tobacco smoke was not to his liking. At last Holmes spoke.
‘Lestrade, tell me what you gathered from the servants.’
‘Unfortunately, they were not able to help very much. In some cases the jars and pots and tins on the shelves had been scattered about. In others, apart from a few signs of someone having entered the pantry, the contents appeared to be in their usual places.’
‘Now tell me, can you be certain whether any items in any of the pantries had been removed?’
‘I did question the butlers, cooks and kitchen maids and most were reasonably certain that a jar or jars had been stolen.’
‘And then did you ascertain what type of jar or jars and what the contents were?’
‘Well, no. Does it matter?’
‘Of course it matters, Lestrade. A thief is not going to go to all the trouble and danger of being caught if there is not some motive. A motive that made his discrimination among the many and varied contents of each pantry to be of the utmost importance.’
‘I confess that I am baffled,’ responded Lestrade. ‘Burglars operating in St John’s Wood are usually after jewellery not victuals. Perhaps you might come with me and examine some of the premises?’
‘Oh, surely this case is well within the compass of your abilities. After all it is only a matter of a few provisions. I regret that I am very busy at the present.’
‘Mr Holmes, please, I am under great pressure from some of the most noble names in the land. It has been suggested to me that the Queen takes a personal interest, particularly as many of her most trusted ministers live north of Regent’s Park.’
‘Well, under the circumstances then I will help. You well know that I am always willing to help the official police in any way I can. Come, Watson, the game’s afoot.’
We each kept to our own thoughts as a four-wheeler took us north along Baker Street. Soon we were in avenues lined with stately homes, each with its surrounding garden and most with a high wall as a boundary. As expected, the first house we visited belonged to a minister of the crown. The family were away so we were escorted by the butler. Holmes scrutinized the pantry carefully. Mr Pompuoce, the butler, seemed reluctant to talk about the contents. The cook was also unhelpful and one of the maids was obviously in distress. A livid wheal marked her cheek. Holmes appeared not to notice. However, I expressed my concern and said, ‘I’m a doctor. That mark needs attending to. How did it happen?’ At that the girl looked at the butler and from the expression on his face I surmised that she had to keep silent. I made a cursory appraisal of the girl’s face and decided that it was only a minor injury.
To my mind th
e examination of the pantry shelves and their contents seemed to reveal nothing of importance. We then went out into the grounds of the house. Holmes examined very carefully the place where, obviously, the burglar had climbed over the wall. We then went out into the avenue and studied the other side of the wall. Holmes paid particular attention to the grass between the bottom of the wall and the pavement. He even went down on all fours. We were used to such behaviour and waited patiently. Suddenly he started to sniff the ground and then, taking of his glove, he felt something.
‘Most unusual.’
‘You have a clue?’ I asked.
‘Perhaps it is one, Watson. However, it is too early to be certain. I’ve seen enough here so let us go to the next house on your list, Inspector.’
As we walked to the next property that had been burgled and were discussing the peculiar circumstances of the case, I remembered the injured servant girl.
‘You know, Holmes, I forgot to mention that when I looked at the injury to that young girl’s face, she whispered the word “marmalade”. Why should she have said just that one word?’
‘Oh, oh, did she? You nearly forgot to tell me about something that could be a most important clue.’
We went through the same procedure at the other houses. We questioned the servants, examined the pantry, and made a very thorough examination of the grounds where Holmes sniffed and felt the places where the burglar had passed through the garden.
Back at Baker Street, after leaving the inspector, we were met at the front door by Mrs Hudson saying, ‘Mr Holmes, there’s a lady and her maid waiting for you. She was most insistent that I should admit her and would wait for your return. She would not give me her name.’
Sherlock Holmes at the Breakfast Table Page 7