Sherlock Holmes: The London Terrors by William Meikle by William Meikle

Author:William Meikle [Meikle, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dark Regions Press
Published: 2016-09-26T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

EF

We only broached the subject of the sarcophagus once in the weeks that followed, and only then because it had been preying on my mind.

“Why the mummification?” I asked. “I would have expected a more Greek burial for the Macedonian king.”

We were once again sitting beside the fire in the comfort of the Baker Street apartment, filled with a hearty supper and passing idle time before adjourning to our beds.

“Ah, but you are forgetting your history, Watson,” Holmes replied. “He was not just a Greek king—he was a Pharaoh, and a great admirer of all things Egyptian. I have no doubt that he would have looked on the line of rulers before him in that country, seen their tombs and edifices, and thought of himself as no less worthy of a grand final resting place—and an equal chance at immortality.”

“Pish,” I said. “Stuff and nonsense. Dead is dead—we have both seen enough corpses to be all too aware of that fact.”

“That we have, Watson,” Holmes replied sadly. “But there will always be those who wonder—those seeking an advantage over the rest of us mere mortals. I fear the three we met in that cellar are three such men. They went to inordinate lengths for their prize. I only hope they are happy now that they have it in their grasp.”

“And you still do not know what they were after?”

Holmes shook his head. “I have not enough facts at hand to make an accurate guess. But I will say one thing, Watson—I do not think we are quite done with those three yet.”

Holmes’ prediction was proved accurate several weeks after that conversation. We started to see stories in the Thunderer concerning one or the other of the trio. Grimshawe’s South African mines threw up a new diamond field bigger than any ever before found, Richards’ exploration team struck oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and Northwich made a deal with several Asian governments that meant he would become the largest importer of hardwoods to the Commonwealth. These three items alone meant that the men were once more thrust into the higher echelons of society, and when they all arrived in London soon after the headlines, they proceeded to cut a swath through society parties that became the talk of the town.

“It will not be long now, Watson,” Holmes said after I had remarked on Northwich’s latest mention in the society pages. “These things have a rhythm to them all their own, and this particular dance will shortly come to an end.”

3

Two days later Northwich’s tall servant, Jake, arrived on our doorstep just after dawn.

He still did not speak, neither to Mrs. Hudson nor to me when she called me down to join her; merely handed me a sheet of paper. There were several lines of crabbed, hurried writing.

“Come quickly, Holmes. We are in need of you again. We offer another two hundred guineas for a swift resolution.”

It was signed simply, ‘Northwich’. The headed notepaper had Grimshawe’s name on it, and gave an address in Islington.

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