I have decided that the only course open to me is to use the Disintegration Machine on myself. I could not ask you or my wife to operate it and so I devised a mechanical device that will trigger the operation from the chair. If you receive this letter you know that I have been successful. My wife expects me to leave early in the morning though I believe she suspects what I intend to do.
I enclose a key to my laboratory and will lock the door from inside to make sure that no-one tampers with the machine. My solicitor has documents that will put control of the house in your hands after my wife’s death.
My notes on the operation of the machine will be on my workbench in the laboratory but I ask that you do not recall me until such time as there has been sufficient advances in medicine to replace my heart, or to place my brain in a new host. I still have so much to give but know that this body is no longer adequate.
When your children are old enough to be able to carry this burden, as I suspect that the advances will not take place in your lifetime, please provide them with the necessary instruction.
I have always valued your friendship, even if I have never shown it.
Please make sure that my wife is cared for. GEORGE EDWARD CHALLENGER
PROFESSOR CHALLENGER AND THE SPIDER’S KISS
by Bob Lock “ My dear George, to anyone else I would say sit down before reading on, but to you dear friend I will simply say, goodbye, for know now that by reading this it means I am no more.”
My grip tightened on the sheet of paper and unconsciously I clenched my jaw, making my teeth grind audibly. My guest looked up from his newspaper at the sound.
“Bad news there old fellah?” Lord John Roxton asked as he blew out a stream of smoke from his pipe. I tried to relax but could feel the rigid mask my bearded face had become. It took me a second or two before I composed myself enough to reply. “I fear so, Roxton,” I raised the letter, “this is from Dr Casement and the opening lines bode ill. I dread to read on.”
“ Casement, the geologist chap you and Professor Summerlee entrusted with the blue clay diamonds we discovered on The Lost World?”
“The very one,” I replied. “Let me read on.” Roxton nodded silently and drew deeply on his pipe again. Soon the small study in my suite of rooms off Hyde Park was filled with the aromatic smell and fog of Navy Cut.
“ The ways and means of my demise are not known to me, my friend, but the certainty of it cannot be doubted. Initially I thought I had placated her by the offer of the few diamonds in my possession but I was wrong. She wants them all and she can be very compelling but I did not concede to her demands. She does not know where the main bulk of the diamonds are stored but I urge you to move them immediately, George. I have not left a paper trail to their location but am vexed that I might have somehow unintentionally gave her an indication of their whereabouts. She is a highly intelligent woman and if indeed she has discovered, through a slip of my tongue, some clue to their locality then I am of no further use to her. That is why I formulated this letter and left it with a colleague should I suddenly pass away. Take care my friend. She is on her way. I have no name for her but her demeanour and her accoutrement brings to mind an insect. A creature that preys on others, builds webs of deceit and has no mercy for its victim. She wears widow’s weeds, George. Watch and beware of the woman who I am sure is more akin to a venomous spider than a human being.
Your friend,
Algernon Casement.” “ Hellfire and damnation!” I yelled out and caused poor Roxton to jump so that he spilled his pipe into his lap. “Sorry old boy,” I said as he quickly patted out the embers and then looked at me quizzically.
“Worse than you thought then, eh?”
I nodded. “Much, much worse. Casement is dead. Murdered I believe.”
“By Jove, Challenger! How?” I stroked my beard. “I’ve yet to ascertain but I’ll not rest until I find out how and who is responsible for his death. Come,” I said to Roxton and I rose from my armchair, “let us away to Algie’s home and see what has happened and if there are any clues to be found there.”
The Hansom cab got us to Algie’s home in good time. Passing Baker Street I averted my eyes and must have muttered something as Roxton queried me.
“ It was nothing,” I replied and then explained,“was just expressing a hope that Holmes has not heard yet and already stuck his parish pick-axe of a nose into the affair. The man is a veritable magnet for trouble and strife.”
“I take it you don’t like him?” asked Roxton.
“Can’t abide the narcotized Mary. Watson is a genial sort though.” I answered.
“You can’t seriously believe Holmes is umm…” Roxton tailed off.
“Have you ever seen him with a woman?” I asked. “The man is a bohemian and a boor.”
“But he has an incredible and astonishing mind. His deductive skills are second to none.” “ And he will be the first to let you know that, dear Roxton,” I explained. “I suppose every man is at liberty to choose his path through life but I can’t help but wonder what he could achieve without the need of such vile things as cocaine and opium.”
“No-one is perfect, Challenger. I wager he despairs at your rambunctious attitude to everything.”
I glared at Roxton. “Ridiculous!” “ How many other men do you know who are capable of placing their wife on a seven foot high pedestal in the hall when he loses an argument with her?” Roxton replied with a grin.
“ It seems that damn reporter, Malone has been carrying tales again,” I growled as Roxton broke into guffaws of laughter at my discomfort.
*** Casement’s apartments were two streets from Baker Street and cordoned off by police. However, upon identifying myself to the sergeant in charge, Sergeant Peters he told us, both Roxton and I were allowed access to the rooms on the understanding that I could identify the body as poor old Casement was a widower and had no children.
The sitting room was dark as the heavy curtains were drawn closed and according to the sergeant had been like that when the body had been discovered. The room’s only illumination were the two gas lamps either side of the fireplace, which contained the remains of a burnt-out fire. Lying on a rug before the spent fire was the corpse of a black dog and sitting slumped in a nearby leather armchair was the body of Algernon Casement.
“ The coroner has been summoned but any fool can see the gentleman is dead,” the sergeant said as he stepped closer to the fireplace.
“That’s obvious Sergeant, but what I’d like to know is what killed him,” I said and then I looked over at the dog, “and whether or not it killed poor old Max too?”
Peters kneeled by Max’s body. “ Why would anyone kill his dog?” He ran his hand across the animal’s back. “The body is still warm,” he said as he rested his hand on the black fur. “Can’t have died all that long ago.” Peters drew his hand away and sniffed it. “Strewth, what’s this now?”
I strode to his side and looked at his hand that he was proffering to me. The palm looked greasy and there was a pungent aroma emanating from it. “Was it on the dog?” I asked. Peters nodded and ran his hand over the dog’s fur again. “Yes, on its neck and head.” He wiped his hand on his trouser leg. “Damn, it’s beginning to burn somewhat. He looked at his hand and then showed it to me. Blistering had formed and the skin looked taut, red and angry. “The heat…” he started to say but went rigid and then began to collapse at my feet. Roxton gasped and leapt to catch the falling sergeant and I was a split-second too late in shouting a warning.
“Don’t touch him John!” I cried but my alarm was futile as Roxton caught him before he crashed to the ground. Roxton gave me a quizzical look as he lowered the sergeant carefully to the floor. Peters’ eyes rolled up into his head until only the whites showed and his rasping breathing slowed and stopped.
“ Challenger, he would have surely struck his head! I think he’s stopped breathing. Should I loosen his collar?” Roxton asked me. Then looked at one of his hands which had turned an
even redder hue than its normal colour, attained through its exposure to the adventurer’s time spent in the sun and wind. I searched the room frantically until my eyes fell upon what I was looking for. The vase of flowers had seen better days as the blooms were faded and limp. I only hoped it wasn’t for lack of water. In two strides I was within reach of the vase upon the table and grasping it I snatched out the flowers as I rushed back to Roxton’s side. He was holding his wrist now and looking at the palm of his hand. “Somethin’s not right here fellah. It feels hot!”
“Keep still! It’s too late for him I’m afraid, but you still have a chance.” I bellowed at him as I tipped the water that was in the vase over his hand. Upon contact with the skin on his palm the water turned white and bubbled slightly. I’d noticed a downstairs cloakroom just off the entrance hall when coming into the suite of rooms and I ran there to refill the vase. When I returned to the room Roxton was sitting on the floor, his thin frame drooping and making his peculiarly rounded shoulders even more hunched. For a moment I thought my intervention was too late but he looked up at me and gave a sickly grin.
“It’s not burni ng now,” he explained but I doused his palm with another vase full of water anyway. That moment the coroner appeared at the door with a constable and they both froze in the doorway.
“Gentlemen, don’t touch anything, anything at all. Something is amiss here and we need to discover what before someone else dies,” I warned them. Both remained where they were but the constable pointed to Peters.
“What’s happened to the sergeant?” He asked. I put the vase down and ignored the question for a moment as I examined Roxton. “How do you feel, old man?” Roxton examined his hand and nodded.
“It’s cooled down now old chap but I’m feeling quite queasy,” Roxton said. “Right, we need to get you to hospital. I think I’ve neutralised the acid but I think that was just the agent to get the poison into your system,” I explained. Roxton’s face grew pale as he gawped open-mouthed at me. “Close your mouth, Roxton you look ridiculous.”
“Poison, Challenger?” he queried. “Did I hear you correctly? Poison?” “ Aye, a fast-acting one too.” I beckoned the coroner and the constable forward. “Gentlemen, you may witness the scene but as I have warned do not touch anything. My first impression is that both men and the dog have been poisoned. And if I am not mistaken it’s a poison I’ve seen before on that plateau in South America. I’d bet my best bottle of twelve-yearold scotch that it’s curare.”
“I’m Doctor Hugh Reynolds, county coroner,” the coroner said but didn’t proffer a hand. I surmised he was worried to touch anything, including me. “Challenger, you say it is curare, but forgive me, although the symptoms seem to point to that medium doesn’t curare need to penetrate the skin to be viable? I warrant the poison you saw in South America was administered by an arrow or dart. There are no signs of those here.”
It was a reasonable stance to take, I thought. But he was wrong. “Usually it would be from penetrating through the skin but I think this is something new. The heat felt before the paralysation set in and death occurred made me think of an acid or an agent of some sort which caused a breach of the epidermis and allowed the poison into the blood system.”
“An amalgam of poison and some sort of acid?” Reynolds said with an air of wonder in his voice. I nodded and went to examine Casem ent’s corpse. One of his hands was on the chair’s arm but the other hung over the side. I surveyed the area of the chair where his hand had been. It glistened as if there was a residue of grease upon it. Taking a handkerchief from my pocket I covered my hand and moved Casement’s other arm. It fell to the side of the chair.Another area of the greasy substance presented itself. Next I scrutinised the dog’s coat near its neck and head. Max had some of the same residue there upon his fur. It was in an area I imagined Casement smoothing or petting. I bent slightly and sniffed. There was the obvious odour of dog but I also caught an aromatic, tarry odour. The armchair had the same smell.
“It was spread over the armchair’s arms. Casement placed his hands on it when he sat. Then he smoothed old Max here before the paralysis set in thereby condemning the dog too. It was over in minutes.” I glanced at Peters’ body. “I didn’t understand in time to help the sergeant. But, you were lucky, Roxton. You had less contact with the compound and I managed to respond in time.”
*** I watched the ambulance take a reluctant Roxton to hospital for a checkup. Casement’s rooms were locked up and warning notices posted and I was at a loss as to what to do next. The only lead I had was Casement’s letter and the knowledge that somewhere in London was a woman who would be coming for me next.
Perhaps that was the way to proceed, I thought. If I made myself a big enough target I could perhaps lure her out. I smiled. I’ve been told I resemble an Assyrian bull and have a similar demeanour too. I didn’t imagine I would have to try very hard to attract attention. I decided to go to The Diogenes Club to read the papers and think. There was a risk of crossing paths with Holmes but at least the man would not be able to speak to me as talking was not allowed. The morning had dragged on to midday and the weather was mild and clear, I decided to walk.
*** She contemplated the man as he loped away down the street. His legs were stout and his stride was assured and confident. He wasn’t particularly tall, she surmised, but he was an imposing figure, powerfully built and with an large bearded head which made her think of his bullish nature. She would have not been surprised to see him snort and paw at the ground.
When the small man fell in behind him she smiled and indicated to her coachman to pick her up and follow too. The coachman knew to keep a reasonable distance and she was pleased that he had heeded her instructions. It was intolerable when simple rules were not followed and although it was disagreeable having to train a new member to join her cadre, she had never let that influence her when someone failed to adhere to her directions.
Satisfied that her plans were progressing well, and she could leave them to reach their conclusion she told her driver to take her to the next destination. Upon arriving at her goal, about fifteen minutes later, she had changed out of her normal clothes and, when alighting from the carriage around the corner from the large building, blended in easily with many of the other women who were making their way inside.
*** Sometimes you feel as if you’ve experienced a moment in ti me before, but exactly how or when seems to slip away the more you reach to grab for it. The same goes for that feeling when the hairs on the back of your neck start to rise and a feeling of dread makes a cold sweat break out while your brain tries its damndest to understand just exactly what you are experiencing. I tried not to break stride as both of those feelings swept over me now.
Someone was following me. I was certain of it. I’ve been stalked before. I’ve been in this situation before. The tobacconist’s window I was walking by made a good excuse for me to stop and when I did I feigned interest on the products on display, actually I was monitoring the pavement behind me. The movement was slight but I caught it. Someone had just stepped back into a doorway and that someone was big. I’m not very tall and my pursuer was easily half my height, again I deduced even though the moment was brief. Yes, it was plain to see he was much bigger than me. In fact if you put a gorilla into a suit it would be difficult to differentiate between the two. A plan began to formulate in my mind and I thanked providence that I knew this particular tobacconist well. I opened the door and entered the shop.
“Professor Challenger, well it’s a pleasure to see you again, sir.” Cawdor, the owner of the shop said cheerfully. I don’t think I could ever remember seeing the jolly, red-faced chap with a frown upon his countenance. I strode up to him quickly.
“Cawdor, old boy, I need a favour.” Cawdor’s face beamed even more brightly. “ Certainly Professor, what can I do for you today? A new pipe perhaps or a particularly rare tobacco?”
I raised a hand to stop him. Time was short, I was sure. “No, no, my friend. I seemed
to have acquired a prowler, “A Shadow of sorts” you know keeping up appearances) and I wondered if you’d mind me using your door out the back so I could exit into the alleyway and perhaps give him the slip?”
Cawdor’s face darkened, even now it seemed that a frown from him would be an impossibility. “Certainly, Professor,” he said and ushered me through the little shop. “I have one of those modern telegraphy machines and I could get through to Scotland Yard if you wanted to apprehend the villain?”
“No, that’s not necessary for the moment. The man has done nothing. I cannotaccuse him of a crime he has not committed. I’ll be happy enough just to evade him for now.”
Cawdor nodded and pulled back a heavy curtain which revealed a small door. He drew back the bolts and pushed it open. It creaked in protest and finally I could see the small alleyway beyond. I patted him on the arm.
“ Good man, now secure it after me and perhaps close the shop for half an hour, just in case the fellow decides to come in and investigate my disappearance.” I instructed him.
“ Of course Professor,” he said and glanced at his fob watch. “It’s time I had a nice cup of tea anyway,” he replied and gave me a thumbs up as he closed the door behind me.
The alleyway was seldom used and a thin layer of detritus carpeted the floor. I picked my way over most of it and started away from the road where the stalker was hiding. A noise from behind, perhaps a bottle being sent skittering away by a shoe, made me freeze in mid step. I turned and the way that I’d come was filled with the silhouette of a giant.
“Won’t do you no good to run,” the giant rumbled in a voice so low I could almost feel the vibrations in my chest. “She wants to see you and ain’t no one’s ever gone against her wishes and been glad they’d done so. Best you put these on and come with me,” he held up a pair of iron handcuffs.
New Title 1 Page 9