Sherlock Holmes and the Twelve Days of Christmas: An enthralling collection of festive mysteries by Roger Riccard

Author:Roger Riccard [Riccard, Roger]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavour Media
Published: 2018-11-30T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

Holmes returned at about eleven, having completed the exchange of the geese. He had left the boys to take turns watching them from a discreet corner of the barn Here they would not be noticed, but could raise the alarm should someone disturb the flock.

I was sleeping lightly and awoke only briefly at the sound of Holmes’s bedroom door opening and closing. When I arose early the next morning he was gone, leaving a note to come to Kew after I had breakfasted.

However, as I was reading this missive, Wiggins arrived with an urgent message from Holmes to return to Kew with him in a cab he had waiting.

“Mr. ‘Olmes said to bring your pistol, Doctor. You’re going to check out a suspect,” declared the young street urchin.

I retrieved my Webley, secured it in my coat pocket and accompanied Wiggins to the cab. We made good time back to Kew Palace, where we found guardsmen now patrolling the grounds and guarding the entrance. We were admitted upon my identifying myself, and Holmes, dressed in working man’s garb, greeted us briskly with Tommy in tow.

“Ah, there you are, Watson. Things have taken an unexpected turn, and we must focus our attention upon a missing suspect.”

He paid Wiggins and Tommy the money he had promised, as well as the cab fare, for the morning was decidedly cold. He and I boarded the growler in which I had arrived, and he gave the driver an address in North Sheen. As we sped along the roads and byways he explained the happenings of the night before.

“When we left you, Watson, we collected the new flock of geese from Breckinridge and replaced those at Kew. Wiggins and Tommy took turns keeping an eye on the new birds throughout the night. I returned to Breckinridge with the suspect geese, and came back to Baker Street for a few hours’ sleep. I returned here at five this morning and saw that all was as we arranged it. The boys helped Witherspoon with the butchering and plucking. The rest of the staff were kept away from the birds until they were delivered to the cook.

“Miss Wilcox accounted herself well. She actually reported me to the guards for wandering about the grounds as I was verifying clues and movements of various persons. Apparently my attire quite deceived her.”

“That is a strong point in her favour,” I replied. “But who is it we are going to confront now?”

“Fritz Houser did not show up for work this morning, Watson. I will have to see him to confirm my observations, but the description Witherspoon verified for me leads me to suspect his involvement. The fact that he failed to report to work today also tells against him. It is very suspicious behaviour, which he should have avoided since the results of the plot are not likely to be known until late tonight or tomorrow.”

We soon found ourselves in Manor Grove, a lane of brick tenements. The buildings on the south side

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