Sherlock Holmes and The London Particular by Daniel D. Victor

Author:Daniel D. Victor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sherlock holmes, mystery, crime, british crime, sherlock holmes fiction, sherlock holmes novel
ISBN: 9781787054219
Publisher: Andrews UK
Published: 2019-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five: Thuggery

To my dear friend [actor] Henry E. Dixey

whose make-up . . . I copied and whose suggestion

I followed when I spent a week among

the “confiding crooks of Wood Street.”

- Richard Harding Davis

Inscribed on the back of a Photo of himself, The Bookman, June 1916

I

As I had hoped, the visit to my surgery the next morning, a chill Monday, lasted less than an hour. The short work-period left me the rest of the day to help Holmes resolve the Boston Street murders. With no one waiting to see me after I had administered to the only two patients who had come in - abrasions bothered one; an annoying cough irritated the other - I felt comfortable locking the door and returning to our rooms. Happily, no other medical issues were raising cause for alarm.

Would the same could be said for conditions at Baker Street. As soon as I alighted from my hansom at 221, I noted an unsavoury fellow loitering across the road. He was leaning against the wall of the yellow brick building opposite our windows. To conceal his face, he had pulled a flat cap over his brow and turned up the collar of his heavy dark coat. And yet I could still discern the stubble on his chin and an unlit cigar butt at his lips. Worse, from the direction of his gaze, I saw that he was clearly watching our rooms.

I hurried up the stairs to inform Sherlock Holmes. “There’s a sinister-looking character eying our windows from across the road,” I announced upon entering the sitting room.

My friend rose from the table where he had been enjoying a cup of tea. Slowly, he walked to the window, calmly pushed aside the white curtain, and casually glanced outside.

“Yes, Watson. I noticed him earlier.”

“But shouldn’t we worry? The blackguard seems to be focusing on our rooms in particular. He might mean us harm. At the very least, he could frighten off your clients - not to mention distressing Mrs. Hudson.”

Holmes dismissed my concern with the wave of his hand. “More important at the moment, old fellow, is what I learned earlier this morning. I too was out. I visited the Public Record Office in Chancery Lane with the intention of discovering who owns No. 11 Boston Street.”

“An excellent idea, Holmes, but-”

“Yes, I know. You’re worried about the stranger across the road. Trust me - the fact that those papers could not be located is more significant than that - what did you call him? - ‘sinister-looking character’ outside our windows. I tell you, Watson, only someone with connections to the government could have had a hand in removing those papers.”

Significant indeed - Lieutenant Stanton and the MP, Sir Roderick Childs, came to mind - but I would not be put off. “The man outside,” I reminded him.

“Yes, yes,” Holmes sighed, casting a lingering look at the fire, “Very well then. Let’s have a talk with this miscreant who has so disturbed you.”

Holmes’ tepid call to action made me feel as if the alarm I had sounded concerned only myself.

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.