The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part II
Page 33
WATSON: (Sitting) Of course. (He flexes his injured shoulder) Damn weather.
HOLMES: Not much, I’d wager. How’s the old war wound?
WATSON: Making its presence felt. What do you mean, not much?
HOLMES: It’s fog that’s the criminal’s friend. On a night like this, most self-respecting villains are safely tucked up with a drink and a good smoke.
WATSON: Both of which they probably stole from some honest, hard-working citizen.
HOLMES: No doubt.
WATSON: Brandy?
HOLMES: Thank you.
The brandy is close at hand. Watson pours two glasses.
As he does so, Holmes idly picks up his violin and prepares to play, quietly checking the tuning. He breaks off.
You don’t mind?
WATSON: Of course not. Take my mind off my damn shoulder.
HOLMES: I’ll do my best.
A moment as he composes himself.
Then he begins to play: a slow plaintive melody: The Shepherd’s Lament from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde. After a few bars he breaks off.
WATSON: Don’t stop.
HOLMES: Not too depressing for a cold winter’s night?
WATSON: I wouldn’t have called it depressing. Plaintive, yes.
HOLMES: Plaintive. The very word.
He starts again. As he plays:
A dying man lies alone, helplessly waiting for the woman he loves. For her sake, he’s turned his back on everything: his friends, his country, his hopes for the future. And now he waits for her... and she does not appear.
WATSON: What’s it from?
HOLMES: Tristan and Isolde. A hymn to love and death.
He stops playing.
WATSON: He had a pretty bleak view of love, your Wagner.
HOLMES: It’s a bleak emotion.
WATSON: Oh, come on.
HOLMES: The Elizabethans had the right idea. To them, love was a disease. If you caught it, you were doomed.
WATSON: I’ll stick to my definition, thank you. Here.
He passes Holmes his brandy.
HOLMES: Thank you. Love is a positive force for good? Love brings out the best in man?
WATSON: I think so.
HOLMES: You should have met Tobias and Emily Guttridge.
WATSON: Who the devil were they?
HOLMES: The Guttridges of Cripplegate Square. They caught the disease.
WATSON: You mean they were in love.
HOLMES: It goes somewhat further than that.
WATSON: One of your cases?
HOLMES: Yes, before you and I met.
WATSON: Is it a... good story?
HOLMES: (A smile) Come on, Watson. If you want to hear it, say so.
WATSON: (A smile) Of course I want to hear it.
HOLMES: A dark tale for a dark night. Very well, Doctor. Keep the brandy to hand, light up a cigar and let me shatter your illusions about love.
Music: the Tristan tune, this time as heard in the actual opera - the haunting, atmospheric sound of a solo flute.
The music takes us into Holmes’s tale. It runs under:
SCENE 2. INT. THE READING ROOM, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
Nathaniel Collington Smith is checking a pile of books. Holmes is in his early twenties.
SMITH: The Annals of Crime. Police Review. Criminals and Their Characteristics. A Survey of Delinquent Behaviour. Your books, Mr. Holmes.
HOLMES: Thank you, Mr. Smith.
Smith slides the books across a counter.
The music disappears as we cut back to:
SCENE 3. INT. THE SITTING ROOM AT 221b, BAKER STREET.
HOLMES: I don’t believe I’ve ever mentioned Collington Smith.
WATSON: Never.
HOLMES: Nathaniel Collington Smith. He worked in the library at the British Museum. When I came down from university I spent a good deal of time there reading up on various subjects.
WATSON: Like the history of crime?
HOLMES: It’s an essential study for a detective. If they’d put in a book collection down at Scotland Yard, their success rate would soar.
WATSON: Only if you persuaded them actually to read the books.
HOLMES: Smith could have persuaded them. He had that rare combination: he not only possessed knowledge, he was able to enthuse others with the thirst for it.
Cut to:
SCENE 4. INT. THE READING ROOM, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
SMITH: If I might make a small comment...
HOLMES: Of course.
SMITH: Criminals and Their Characteristics. It is perhaps a trifle... unsound.
HOLMES: You’ve read it?
SMITH: Oh dear me no. Librarians don’t read books, Mr. Holmes. They simply know about them.
HOLMES: (Chuckles. Then:) Unsound?
SMITH: That is the general opinion. Sloppily argued from some highly dubious data.
HOLMES: Then please take it back.
SMITH: Why?
HOLMES: I’ve no wish to clutter my mind with useless information.
SMITH: My dear sir. Your mind may not have elastic walls but it does at least possess both an entrance and an exit. Read the book. Decide for yourself what to retain. One can learn from the unsound as well as the sound, you know. Surely they taught you that, up at the university?
HOLMES: Mr. Smith, anyone foolish enough to have voiced that sentiment would have been rapidly removed from the building and confined as a lunatic.
SMITH: Really? Fascinating. What a good job I never went there.
HOLMES: (A vocal smile)
Cut to:
SCENE 5. INT. THE SITTING ROOM, 221b BAKER STREET.
HOLMES: He was a remarkable man.
WATSON: He sounds it.
HOLMES: I learned a good deal in that reading room, and by no means all of it from the books.
Cut to:
SCENE 6. INT. A GALLERY, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
No-one is around.
Holmes and Smith approach, deep in conversation.
SMITH: This is the finest place in the capital to study one’s fellow man. In the course of a single morning here you can observe more characteristics than in a week outside. Only the other day - (I noticed a man...)
Holmes interrupts, stopping their progress.
HOLMES: What was that?
SMITH: I heard nothing.
HOLMES: I was sure... Yes. Listen.
They listen.
For the first time, we hear:
JENNY: (Off, muffled) (Crying)
SMITH: That’s a woman crying.
HOLMES: I thought I was right. Probably one of the cleaning staff. I’m sorry, you were saying?
SMITH: Mr. Holmes, you disappoint me.
HOLMES: In what way?
SMITH: I believe it’s emanating from that store-room. (Moving off) Come with me.
Cut to:
SCENE 7. INT. A SMALL STORE ROOM, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
The door opens.
JENNY: (Stifles her tears)
SMITH: My dear child, what are you doing in here?
JENNY: Sorry sir. It won’t happen again, sir. I’ll get back to work.
SMITH: You’ll do nothing of the sort.
JENNY: Sir?
Cut to:
SCENE 8. INT. SMITH’S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
Small, homely. Perhaps an unobtrusive clock ticks, sedately.
Smith is pouring a cup of tea.
SMITH: Sugar?
JENNY: Sir?
SMITH: Do you take sugar?
JENNY: No, sir, no thank you.
SMITH: Very well. Mr. Holmes, kindly pass over that plate of bisc
uits, would you?
Holmes is a little nonplussed by all of this. It makes him uncomfortable.
HOLMES: Yes, of course. Here.
He passes over the plate.
I should be going.
SMITH: No, I think perhaps you should stay.
Something in Smith’s voice makes Holmes change his mind.
HOLMES: Very well.
SMITH: Excellent. Now - I am Nathaniel Collington Smith and this gentleman is Mr. Sherlock Holmes. And you are...?
JENNY: Jenny, sir. Jenny Snell.
SMITH: Drink your tea, Miss Snell.
JENNY: I shouldn’t be in here. If Miss McCarthy finds out...
SMITH: You may safely leave Miss McCarthy to me. Drink your tea, then Mr. Holmes will pour you some more and you can tell us what’s wrong.
JENNY: (Relaxing) Yes sir. Thank you, sir.
She drinks, gratefully.
Cut to:
SCENE 9. INT. THE SITTING ROOM, 221b BAKER STREET.
HOLMES: That was typical of the man. She wasn’t a servant to him, just a soul in distress.
WATSON: What was the matter with the girl? Obviously, it was nothing trivial.
HOLMES: How do you know that?
WATSON: If it were, you would hardly be telling me about it, would you? When do we get to the Guttridges of Cripplegate Square?
HOLMES: Patience, Doctor. Let the tale unfold at its own pace.
Cut to:
SCENE 10. INT. SMITH’S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
Jenny takes another gulp of her tea.
She puts down the cup.
SMITH: That’s better. Now, Miss Snell. What is it that’s so upset you?
JENNY: I... can’t tell you.
HOLMES: Is it something to do with your other job?
JENNY: How did you know about that?
HOLMES: I’ve observed you once or twice arriving here in the evenings as I was leaving. You always come wearing some sort of uniform. Obviously, you have other employment during the day.
JENNY: I’m a nursemaid. Well, not really a nursemaid. Just a sort of cleaner really. Like here. (Panicky again) Look, I’ve got to go.
She stands.
SMITH: Miss Smith, please try to stay calm.
JENNY: If anyone finds out...
SMITH: No-one will learn anything from me. And my young friend here is the very soul of discretion. Do you know what a detective is?
JENNY: I think so, sir.
SMITH: Well you’re looking at one. Guardian of secrets, seeker out of truths.
JENNY: Oh.
SMITH: Now please - sit down, compose yourself and tell us what’s wrong. You must not fear.
Cut to:
SCENE 11. INT. THE SITTING ROOM, 221b BAKER STREET.
HOLMES: He had an almost hypnotic way with her. I’d never seen anything like it before.
WATSON: What was her story?
HOLMES: At first it seemed nothing. Just an oversensitive reaction.
Cut to:
SCENE 12. INT. SMITH’S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM
JENNY: During the day I work at Guttridge’s Private Orphanage in Clerkenwell. Have you heard of it?
SMITH: No.
JENNY: Mrs. Guttridge she’s the owner. She takes in babies.
HOLMES: Orphans, presumably.
JENNY: No, sir, not orphans though most of them might as well be.
HOLMES: Then what?
SMITH: Unwanted children, Mr. Holmes.
HOLMES: Unwanted? For what reason?
SMITH: There are many. Cost, space, social stigma, general encumbrance.
HOLMES: Good God.
SMITH: Something else they didn’t teach you at university?
HOLMES: (Absorbing the idea) Yes...
JENNY: Anyway, the women bring their babies to Mrs. Guttridge, and she takes them in.
HOLMES: So she’s a philanthropist.
SMITH: I think you’ll find that money changes hands.
HOLMES: Ah.
Cut to:
SCENE 13. INT. THE SITTING ROOM, 221b BAKER STREET.
WATSON: (Distaste) Baby-farming. You’re talking about baby-farming.
HOLMES: The concept was totally new to me then. It was quite a shock.
WATSON: It’s a shocking practice.
HOLMES: No, I mean it was a shock realising how little I actually knew of life. A valuable lesson.
WATSON: Yes, I’m sure it must have been. (A moment) So - this girl Jenny worked for a baby–farmer.
HOLMES: Yes.
Cut to:
SCENE 14. INT. SMITH’S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
JENNY: The women pay so much a week. Or sometimes, they just make one... donation.
HOLMES: And what happens to the children?
JENNY: Mrs. Guttridge looks after them until they’re older. Then she finds people to take them.
HOLMES: I see. And something has happened to upset this arrangement?
JENNY: Yes sir.
SMITH: Something connected with Mrs. Guttridge?
JENNY: No, sir, not her. It’s her husband. He’s a nasty piece of work, sir, though I shouldn’t say so.
Cut to:
SCENE 15. INT. THE MEDICINE ROOM, THE GUTTRIDGE HOUSE.
GUTTRIDGE: (Very sharp) Get out of here, girl. You’ve no business in here.
JENNY: Please sir, Mrs. Guttridge sent me to fetch some iodine, sir.
GUTTRIDGE: Iodine?
JENNY: Yes sir.
GUTTRIDGE: Very well.
Glass bottles clink as he takes one from a shelf.
You fetched this yourself, do you understand? I was not here.
He hands it over.
JENNY: Very good sir. Thank you sir.
GUTTRIDGE: Tell her otherwise and I’ll see you’re dismissed. Now go.
Jenny rustles away.
Cut to:
SCENE 16. INT. SMITH’S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
HOLMES: Where did this conversation take place?
JENNY: In one of the store rooms, sir. Where the medicines and things are kept.
HOLMES: Interesting.
SMITH: Go on with your story, Jenny. Surely you’re not so upset just because someone told you off?
JENNY: If I was, I’d always be crying, sir. No, it’s more than that.
HOLMES: Give us the facts.
JENNY: Well... I’m not sure I can. Not real facts, like.
HOLMES: Without the facts, how can we help you?
JENNY: Well... (She trails off)
SMITH: There’s more to life than cold facts, Mr. Holmes. Jenny, suppose you tell us this in your own way?
JENNY: Yes, sir. Well, there’s something wrong in that house. Something very wrong. If it was just Mrs. Guttridge, everything would be so different...
HOLMES: But it’s her husband who causes you this alarm.
JENNY: He hates them, sir. The poor little babies. He hates them!
Cut to:
SCENE 17. INT. THE PARLOUR, THE GUTTRIDGE HOUSE.
From a nearby room, three babies cry, noisily, insistently.
GUTTRIDGE: (Wearily) For the love of God. Can’t you shut them up?
JENNY: Some of them are sick, sir.
GUTTRIDGE: Again?
JENNY: Mistress says they’ll be over it soon.
GUTTRIDGE: Why she has to devote her life to this, I cannot tell.
JENNY: She says they need her, sir. They need her.
Cut to:
SCENE 18. INT. THE SITTING ROOM, 221b BAKER STREET.
WATSON: She was a rare woman. Most of them are only interested in the money. The babies come a ve
ry poor second.
HOLMES: You speak from experience?
WATSON: Indirectly. These people are supposed to be registered. Local doctors carry out regular checks. The stories I’ve heard...
HOLMES: Perhaps this one will be different.
WATSON: I hope it is.
Cut to:
SCENE 19. INT. SMITH’S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
JENNY: Mr. Guttridge’s always complaining about the children, about his wife, everything.
HOLMES: And yet he helps her run the orphanage?
JENNY: Yes, sir. In some ways... in some ways he’s just a quiet little man. He does whatever his wife tells him to. He only moans about things when she isn’t there. (She realises how relaxed she’s become) I shouldn’t be talking about him like this. Promise me you won’t tell! Please!
SMITH: We’ve already promised. Have no fears.
JENNY: I’ll try, sir.
SMITH: That’s the way. Well, Jenny - a husband who complains about his wife. I’m afraid that’s something that goes on in a good few households, West End as well as East. Something else has happened, hasn’t it? Something more serious.
JENNY: Yes. Yes it has.
Cut to:
SCENE 20. INT. A BEDROOM, THE GUTTRIDGE HOUSE.
A large room with many cots.
The babies are quiet. Gentle snores, snuffles, sleeping–noises.
Jenny is checking one particular cot.
JENNY: (Approaching) There, that’s good. That’s nice. (Very low) He’ll have nothing to moan about now, will he, the old misery? (Closer) Feeling better, now, are you? Are you?
The baby is not moving. A long moment.
Oh no. No. Please, no...
She runs out.
Cut to:
SCENE 21. INT. SMITH’S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
HOLMES: (Matter–of–factly) How many of them were dead?
JENNY: (Very upset) Three. The three who’d been sick. And sir - (low) This was the day after I saw Mr. Guttridge messing about with the medicines. The very next day.
SMITH: Ah.
JENNY: As God’s in his heaven, sirs. I... I think he killed them.
Cut to:
SCENE 22. INT. THE SITTING ROOM, 221b BAKER STREET.
WATSON: It wouldn’t be the first time, I’m afraid. Were the babies insured?
HOLMES: As usual, you cut straight to the heart of the matter. Yes, they were.
WATSON: Was there a doctor’s report?