“Due in some way to the recovery of the knife, and the manner in which it was hidden? Or was there something which you did not pass on to Lestrade and me?”
“On the contrary, I relayed everything that I saw. Only the conclusions I presented were incomplete. I said that a man had crouched down to look out of the window – you recall the fingerprints on the glass? – but as we knew a girl had been in the room, the obvious conclusion was that it was she who had left her imprint. The discovery of the murder weapon where it should not have been simply confirmed my theory.”
“Where it should not have been?” All Holmes had said made perfect sense, but I was in no mood for riddles. Holmes, I think, recognised this, for he hurried to reply.
“On the scaffolding. You recall that I did not initially find the knife, but had to descend and re-ascend the structure via a different ladder? I had calculated the distance that both a man and a girl would be able to cast a bag containing a dagger of the type required to inflict the wounds we saw. The far ladder represented the distance conceivably reached by the toss of a man of average strength, the nearer that of a girl as described by you. As soon as I had confirmed that there was no knife at the far point, I knew that I had been correct all along, and that Potter had been mistaken.”
“Ingenious,” I said with approval, then frowned as a thought occurred to me. “But why then were you so interested in the loafers who helped Constable Howie break down the door?”
“As I said, I was initially led astray by Inspector Potter. I have only myself to blame. I assumed that he was simply mistaken in his belief that you were guilty and, leading from that flawed assumption, that another man must be involved. At that stage it did not cross my mind that he could be misleading us deliberately.”
“You wondered if the smallest man might have been the killer?”
“Exactly. It was improbable, I admit, but if he were of sufficiently diminutive size, it was conceivable that he, and not the girl, had left the fingerprints, thrown the bag, and murdered Miss McLachlan. In the end, he did indeed prove to be an imposter, but not the sort I had hoped.”
“I admit that I wondered whether you thought the little man an assassin, hired by one of your enemies,” Lestrade piped up, with a smile.
“You have evidently taken to reading fiction, Inspector,” Holmes chuckled. “Had I known, I would have advised against it. A limited intellect can only hold so much information before it begins to confuse the real and the imaginary.”
“Holmes!” I chided my friend. “Lestrade has been invaluable in recent weeks. He deserves better than to be insulted.”
I fancy I saw a flicker of contrition cross Holmes’s face. “My apologies, Lestrade,” he said contritely, “I spoke in jest. But I hardly think it likely that any enemy of mine would employ a hired killer in order to carry out so convoluted a strike against me. Far simpler to walk up behind me in any London street and shoot me in the back – or lure me to a convenient waterfall and cause me to fall!”
He laughed, but I repressed a shudder at the thought, and turned the conversation to a less morbid topic. Sometimes Holmes’s sense of humour left much to be desired.
About the Author
Stuart Douglas is the author of numerous short stories and novellas, as well as the Sherlock Holmes novels, The Albino’s Treasure and The Counterfeit Detective. He is one of the founders of Obverse Books, and was Features Editor of the British Fantasy Society journal. He lives in Edinburgh.
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE SCROLL OF THE DEAD
David Stuart Davies
In this fast-paced adventure, Sherlock Holmes attends a seance to unmask an impostor posing as a medium. His foe, Sebastian Melmoth is a man hell-bent on discovering a mysterious Egyptian papyrus that may hold the key to immortality. It is up to Holmes and Watson to use their deductive skills to stop him or face disaster.
ISBN: 9781848564930
Available Now!
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE VEILED DETECTIVE
David Stuart Davies
It is 1880, and a young Sherlock Holmes arrives in London to pursue a career as a private detective. He soon attracts the attention of criminal mastermind Professor James Moriarty, who is driven by his desire to control this fledgling genius. Enter Dr John H. Watson, soon to make history as Holmes’ famous companion.
ISBN: 9781848564909
Available now!
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE TITANIC TRAGEDY
William Seil
Holmes and Watson board the Titanic in 1912, where Holmes is to carry out a secret government mission. Soon after departure, highly important submarine plans for the U.S. navy are stolen. Holmes and Watson work through a list of suspects which includes Colonel James Moriarty, brother to the late Professor Moriarty—will they find the culprit before tragedy strikes?
ISBN: 9780857687104
Available now!
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE STAR OF INDIA
Carole Buggé
Holmes and Watson find themselves caught up in a complex chessboard of a problem, involving a clandestine love affair and the disappearance of a priceless sapphire. Professor James Moriarty is back to tease and torment, leading the duo on a chase through the dark and dangerous back streets of London and beyond.
ISBN: 9780857681218
Available now!
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE ANGEL OF THE OPERA
Sam Siciliano
Paris 1890. Sherlock Holmes is summoned across the English Channel to the famous Opera House. Once there, he is challenged to discover the true motivations and secrets of the notorious phantom, who rules its depths with passion and defiance.
ISBN: 9781848568617
Available now!
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA
Richard L. Boyer
For many years, Dr. Watson kept the tale of The Giant Rat of Sumatra a secret. However, before he died, he arranged that the strange story of the giant rat should be held in the vaults of a London bank until all the protagonists were dead…
ISBN: 9781848568600
Available now!
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes--The Improbable Prisoner Page 24