Sherlock Holmes and the Telephone Murder Mystery by Hall John

Author:Hall, John [Hall, John]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Published: 2015-06-29T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

‘And what do you think to that young man, Watson?’ asked Holmes as he set off down the road.

‘He seems forthright enough. And his testimony corroborates what we already knew.’

‘Indeed. One thing emerged, and that is that the outside staff were not in the habit if venturing into the main house, although Welsh is obviously an exception. The letter opener, then, must have been taken from Gregson’s room either by a guest, or by one of the inside servants.’

‘You entirely dismiss the notion of a tramp, or casual burglar, then?’

‘I put it low on the list of possibilities, let us say. The guests are perhaps the most likely candidates, although I agree that it is not a pleasant thought.’ He frowned. ‘Or the Welshes? H’mm.’

‘Perhaps one of the maids – ?’

‘They are “maids” by courtesy only, I fear,’ said Holmes. ‘Both are, you will have observed, rather elderly and respectable women. Neither struck me as having a homicidal gleam in her eye, or – though it is perhaps a trifle ungallant to say it – as being likely to have a lover to whom the letter opener might be handed for use as a weapon.’

‘And by the same token, and despite your plausible arguments, I am inclined to dismiss the Welshes, husband and wife,’ I said. ‘Apart from their patent honesty, neither of them appears to me to have any good reason to kill one of the guests. Which does just leave one of the guests, unpalatable though the idea undoubtedly is, just as you say.’ I stopped dead in my tracks, and looked him squarely in the eye. ‘Holmes, I am growing increasingly concerned about Gregson – do you really think we are justified in letting him go on all unknowing and unsuspicious?’

Holmes pointed with his stick. ‘This is our lane, Watson. Yes, you are right. I shall take steps to ensure that Gregson has nothing to fear from the killer, always assuming that Gregson was the intended victim.’

I started down the lane he had indicated. ‘I am glad to hear you say so, Holmes. This must be the footpath the lad spoke of,’ I added, leading the way off to the right.

A walk of under half a mile along a path, dark and cool in the shade of the great trees on either hand, brought us to a gate, with a roughly made notice board reading, ‘Belmont. Private. Keep out.’ I made as if to enter, but Holmes pulled me back.

‘A moment, Watson. I am anxious to examine the outside of the house, and the garden, but they will still be at luncheon, and I do not want to disturb them.’

‘Or let them see what you are up to, Holmes?’

‘As you say. So let us first take this opportunity to look at this end of the garden, for your tramps or gypsies must needs have come this way.’ He examined the gate thoroughly. ‘Nothing to be made of that, I fear. Recently oiled, by Welsh, I suppose.’ He opened the gate, and set off up a steep and narrow path, all overgrown with weeds.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.