The Scottish Ploy

by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

  “Good morning, Mister Guthrie,” he replied. “I am told Mister Holmes has taken ill.”

  “Yes. A feverish cold,” I said, pleased that I sounded convincing. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  “I hope so,” he answered, but said no more.

  “What is it you want?” I asked when he remained mute.

  “I want to know why you persuaded Sir Cameron to return to Scotland,” he said at last, as if uneasy about the answer.

  “Well, you know, there had been at least one attempt on his life, possibly two, and it struck Holmes that having him remain in London—with or without his wife—was taking a risk that would make the investigation more complicated than it need be.” I saw him nod, and I added, “You cannot tell me that you wanted him during your investigation.”

  “No. I am delighted to have him out of the way, for many reasons, as you may guess. But when I spoke to him about leaving, all my pleas fell on deaf ears. I was wondering how you managed it?” He came to sit down, his manner becoming more affable.

  “I think Mister Holmes convinced him of the many problems he would have to contend with to have his estranged wife caught up in a murder inquiry, particularly if another attempt should be made on his life,” I said, wanting to seem helpful and forthcoming. “There was more than a marriage to consider, as both Sir Cameron and Lady MacMillian have estates and fortunes in their respective countries, and there is a great deal at stake. You know what these reconciliations can be. To add such physical danger seems inexcusably reckless. The Germans would be seriously distressed if anything happened to their noblewoman, and that would put Sir Cameron in a most difficult position in regard to the government here, or his inheritance there.”

  “I see,” said Chief Inspector Pryce with a doubtful air.

  I decided to expand a bit on my response. “I think Mister Holmes also mentioned some of the problems that might develop regarding—”

  “Money?” The Chief Inspector laughed once. “I know what titled families can be like in that regard—none better.” He shook his head. “Oh, you need not apologize for that, Mister Guthrie. I grew up watching my father’s relatives circling like sharks.”

  “And you resented it?” I asked. “I fear Lady MacMillian might.”

  “I resented their treatment of my mother, not their preoccupation with the estate. I knew it was worth little and it took as much money to keep going as it provided. I didn’t want to spend my life doing nothing more than struggling to hold onto something I didn’t want. I was sorry my mother was treated so shabbily, but I do not feel I have been deprived of a treasure, no matter what my father’s family may think. I took the small parcel of land my father left me—no one wanted it because of the nearness of the railroad—and I turned it into a third-partnership in a repair yard for locomotives; I provided the land and reap the benefit of the business. I am considerably better off than any of my relations, little though they may believe it.” He rose. “I appreciate your candor, Mister Guthrie. I don’t mind your asking about my circumstances, for it clears the air. I would do the same in your place. I’ll do what I may to preserve your confidence.” He took a step back. “I won’t keep you. Your work must be doubled with Mister Holmes ill.”

  “I have a good amount on my plate,” I said, making no excuse but at the same time not being specific.

  “Tell Mister Holmes I hope he is better soon. In weather like this, colds are the very devil to deal with.” He went out, and a moment later I heard Tyers escort him to the door.

  “Well, well,” said Miss Gatspy, coming into the study as the front door closed, “he was out early.”

  “I suppose he didn’t want anyone to know he was coming here,” I said. “Holmes is in the library, and Tyers will give us breakfast shortly.”

  “I know. I was sent to fetch you.” Her fine blue eyes shone with mischief. “Mister Holmes is as restless as a caged tiger, but I think he will not do anything that will endanger Mister Sutton. He has been complaining that he should be out and about, tracing all Sutton’s movements, but he is afraid he might put Sutton into greater danger. I have advised him to sit quietly for a time, but I will own myself astonished if he will do so.”

  I nodded. “It would be most unlike him,” I said as I left the study and crossed the hall to the library. Entering that room, I delivered a quick account of Chief Inspector Pryce’s visit, then said, “I didn’t get the impression that he had any secondary motives in coming here.”

  “You like the man,” said Holmes. “And so do I. That may color our impression.”

  “Well, I have no opinion of him either way,” said Miss Gatspy, “and he has not the feel of a man seeking to confirm a crime. If there is someone among the police who is aiding the Brotherhood, I do not think it is he.”

  “No more do I,” Mycroft Holmes admitted. “If he is two-faced, he accomplishes it better than anyone I have ever seen. No, I believe we must look elsewhere for someone in the police.” He sat down. “I am disheartened to say it. I will admit I hoped we might find questionable motives in Pryce.”

  “It would be reassuring to have Chief Inspector Pryce be the culprit; it fits our expectations so neatly,” said Miss Gatspy. “I will see if the Golden Lodge has any information on him that would indicate he is at fault, but, frankly, I would be shocked if it turns out to be so.”

  “As would I,” Holmes conceded. “But we must remain alert for any member of the police whose actions are questionable.” He motioned to me. “Tell me, Guthrie, what do you make of Inspector Featherstone?”

  “He is industrious and ambitious enough to be diligent, and he has taken on some difficult cases with success,” I said. “Beyond that, I know little about him beyond my impression of the man; your files have only a sentence or two about him.” I looked toward the door as Tyers came in, butler’s table in hand, with breakfast laid on it.

  “There is food for all of you, and the plates are all doubled. If anyone saw this, they would assume two are being fed, not three.” He put the butler’s table down. “I will bring in more cups directly, but just now there are only two.”

  “I will wait,” I said.

  Mycroft Holmes glanced at me, his grey eyes sharp. “If this is not a gesture of self-denial, I will permit it.”

  “I am more hungry than thirsty,” I said truthfully. “Go ahead, sir.”

  “Well, I am ravenous,” said Holmes, drawing up his chair and sitting down while I fetched a seat for Miss Gatspy. “This inactivity is worse than all the careering about we have done.”

  “Thank you, Guthrie,” she said as I seated her. “Now then, Mister Holmes, let us review what we know about Sutton’s disappearance.”

  Mycroft Holmes was busy serving himself poached eggs topped with cheddar cheese and scones. He paused in his activity to say, “It is all on the chart.”

  “Not all of it, if you will forgive me saying so,” she told him. “I spoke with our guards, as you recall, and I am not satisfied that one of the vehicles in the collision was the means of removing him. I think he may have been seized and taken off by other agents of the Brotherhood. I say this because it would not have been remarkable had a constable happened by, and he would surely have detained the vehicles in order to make a report of the accident. No, upon consideration, I believe that the accident was a diversion that made it possible for comrades of the men managing the collision to take Sutton away while everyone was distracted by the supposed accident itself. The Golden Lodge guard did mention that a van went by just after the worst of the collision was cleared. He mentioned it only because it had a caduceus on the side, and he wondered if anyone had been hurt.” She poured a cup of tea and selected a scone and pot-cheese, then said, “I doubt whether a constable would detain a medical van.”

  Holmes was listening intently. “You didn’t mention this last night.”

&n
bsp; “I discounted it, as I realize now I was expected to do. But this morning, it struck me that this could have been the real key to the abduction. It wasn’t an ambulance-van,” she added. “It was one of those used to transport other patients, and bodies, those who are not emergencies.”

  “Aha,” said Mycroft Holmes. “Yes, indeed. I take your point, Miss Gatspy. I comprehend your reasons for your suspicions, and I think it would be advisable to find out which hospital had such a vehicle abroad in this part of London last night, and where it was bound.” He ate eagerly, preparing for a long day.

  “I shall put our men on it,” said Miss Gatspy. “You have other matters to occupy you.” She looked over at me. “What of Featherstone? Do you think we should check him out?”

  “Do you mean, should we go to Scotland Yard to speak with him?” I asked.

  “Yes, that is what I mean,” said Miss Gatspy. “Beard the lion in his den, as it were?”

  “No,” said Holmes as he helped himself to another scone and dipped it in the smears of egg-and-cheese on his plate. “That gives him too much of an advantage. If you want to learn anything from him, he must come to you.”

  “Shall I send for him?” I asked, glad to see Tyers come in with a fresh pot of tea and two more cups-and-saucers; he left these and withdrew at once.

  “I wouldn’t recommend it; again, he would have the advantage of a warning,” said Holmes. “If he is going to come of his own volition, that will tell its own tale. In the meantime, you must be ready to do all that you can to summarize the progress that has been made in various cases. I want to be able to use that information to assess our current predicament.”

  “You mean the closer we have come to solving a problem, the likelier we are to find the source of our problem?” I said, pouring out the new tea and trying to smile my confidence.

  “That may be part of it. It may also be that Kerem’s escape might have been a signal of some sort, that set these wheels in motion.” He caught his lower lip in his teeth. “I wish I had not let Sutton go to the club in my stead. If they were after me, they should have had me.”

  “You cannot mean that,” said Miss Gatspy in a stern voice. “Our only hope of finding him and saving him is you. With all credit to Sutton, were the circumstances reversed, he would not be capable of the necessary inquiries.” She had spread pot-cheese on her scone and had broken off the end to eat. “He is a most accomplished fellow, but intrigue on this level is not his metier.”

  Holmes shook his head. “If anything should happen to him—” He stopped.

  “We will do our utmost to be certain that it doesn’t,” I promised him.

  “That is what I am depending upon,” said Holmes as he poured a second cup of tea. “It is infuriating to be cooped up as I am. If I could go about without endangering Sutton, I would.”

  Miss Gatspy offered him a winsome smile. “I thought about that as well.”

  “And what did you decide upon?” His question was abrupt, but Miss Gatspy didn’t seem to mind.

  “Well, if Sutton goes about in all manner of disguises, so can you: you have done so any number of times in the past. And anything is better than having you cooped up and surly as a tiger.” She actually laughed a bit as Holmes turned a thunder-struck look on her. “Do not tell me you haven’t been fretting to put on your motly and go hunting for these men?”

  “Of course!” he exclaimed. “I have been wanting to do just that, but I hesitated. I do not want to put Sutton at any greater risk than he is already. Still, I am sure you are right. Miss Gatspy, I am in your debt more than I can say.” He swung around and looked at me. “Guthrie, I want you to inform Sid Hastings that he is going to be carrying an elderly invalid out to Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital; he is to wait while we settle a few matters inside. Then he is to carry us back here.”

  “You are still trying to find out about the stolen body,” I said. “Why?”

  “Vans of the sort Miss Gatspy reported are often used to transport bodies to Potter’s Field. It is somewhere I can begin.” He helped himself to another two eggs and began to consume them with gusto.

  “Isn’t Hastings carrying Tyers to the Admiralty? It’s not far, but in such rain ...” I let my thought trail away.

  “He is, but that isn’t important now. It will be a matter of half an hour before he returns, and I will need all of it to make myself ready. The real problem here is to distract any watchers enough to keep them from noticing from which flat this invalid comes, or not to come from this flat at all.” He sat very still, lost in thought. “It will be a bit awkward, but I can get onto the roof of the building next door and from there I can go another number down Pall Mall. That is two buildings away, and I can enter there from the roof. Getting back will be a bit more difficult, but not impossible, especially if Tyers will arrange to have a ladder at the crucial place.”

  “Shall I come with you?” I asked, anticipating his answer.

  “I think not, Guthrie. I have no wish to give the watchers any reason to associate the invalid with me, and you could provide the very link I wish to avoid. They will not think about the invalid unless we give them reason, and your presence could well be enough to jar their thoughts. No, this is one I must attend to on my own.” He took another scone and buttered it. “You must see it is as well if you remain here, dancing attendance on your supposedly ill employer; the kidnappers will assume you are waiting for word from them, and everyone else will accept your devotion as typical of you.” He beamed at me; he was almost himself again.

  “And Miss Gatspy?” I asked, wondering how he would assign her.

  “She has information to get, and I hope she will do so quickly.” He directed his gaze to her once more. “I hope I am not being presumptuous, Miss Gatspy, but I am convinced that we must act promptly, or lose the little advantage we have.”

  “I agree,” she said. “Your plans do not bother me in the least. I will return by noon and give you all the information I can.”

  “Excellent,” Mycroft Holmes approved. “Thank goodness I shan’t have to be idle all day, else I would be climbing the walls. This may finally put us in a strong position at last. I dislike being forced into a defensive posture.” He cocked his head. “While I am gone, Guthrie, your task will remain as before, evaluating all we have put together about the last several days. I have a theory that will depend upon you making as comprehensive an assessment as possible.”

  “As you wish, sir,” I said, taking a scone and dipping it into my tea, as I had done as a boy in Scotland; my mother had often chastised me for ill-manners, but did it herself, upon occasion. “When do you plan to return?”

  “From this first venture? No later than one o’clock. I assume I will have more to do before the day is over.” He finished his breakfast with a flourish.

  “And there is the theatre tonight,” I reminded him.

  “What do you mean?” Mycroft Holmes asked, arresting his cup on its way to his lips.

  “You said that if Sutton was not back this evening, you would take his place in MacBeth,” I reminded him.

  “So I did, and so I shall, if I must,” said Holmes stalwartly, then added, “I hope we may have Sutton back with us before then.”

  “As do I,” I told him. “But it may not be possible, in which case—”

  “I know, I know,” said Holmes impatiently. “He has done more than that for me every day,” he went on, somewhat displeased with the possibility looming ahead of him. “I am prepared to do what I must to preserve our fictions for both our sakes.” He put his plate aside, saying decisively, “I am going to look at what Sutton has available for disguises.”

  “He seems improved,” said Miss Gatspy as soon as Mycroft Holmes left the library.

  “Let us hope it continues,” I said.

  “Do you doubt it will?” Her large, celestial eyes r
evealed her own apprehension.

  All I could say was, “We shall see.”

  FROM THE PERSONAL JOURNAL OF PHILIP TYERS

  I have just returned from informing the Admiralty of MH’s illness only to find MH himself rigged out in an outrageous disguise, complete with white hair and beard and a massive walking stick. He has outlined his plan to me, and now is preparing to go rollicking off across the roofs of our neighbors’ buildings to escape notice. He has instructed me to leave a ladder at the study window, and to be ready to admit him by that route between half-twelve and one.

  G has gone down to talk to Hastings, and Miss Gatspy has left for the morning, leaving G and me to deal with unfolding events here ...

  SOMEHOW the morning faded away more swiftly than I had thought possible. I had occupied my time as Mycroft Holmes had ordered me, and now I had eight pages of comprehensive summary to present to him upon his return. It was not the same as being out, pursuing various clues, but it was useful and necessary, as I reminded myself every twenty minutes or so. I had managed to find several suspicious points in the events of the last six days, yet none of them, by themselves, would seem anything significant: seen together, they became ominous. My head ached from effort and apprehension, and I had, to my chagrin, begun to feel my lack of sleep again.

  Tyers brought me another pot of strong black tea, saying as he did, “You are doing well, Mister Guthrie, and no doubt about it.”

  “Thanks for the encouragement,” I said, far from convinced of it myself. “I shall have material to present, and that is important.”

  “It is,” Tyers agreed. “The Admiralty have said that Mister Holmes is to notify them when he is sufficiently recovered to resume the daily visits of the courier, and when he will be able to return to his duties. I have assured them both would be done in a timely manner.” He made ready to leave the library, but I stopped him.

  “What if we don’t get Sutton back? What then?” I had been wrestling with that possibility most of the morning, but now that I actually voiced my fear, it redoubled.