The Best and Wisest Man by Hamish Crawford

Author:Hamish Crawford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sherlock Holmes, mystery, crime, british crime, sherlock holmes novels, sherlock holmes fiction
ISBN: 9781780927404
Publisher: Andrews UK
Published: 2015-02-26T00:00:00+00:00

10 ‘The Dying Detective’, Strand Magazine, December 1913.

1891

“But indeed, if you are trivial, I cannot blame you, for the days of the great cases are past. Man, or at least criminal man, has lost all his enterprise and originality. As to my own little practice, it seems to be degenerating into an agency for recovering lost lead pencils, and giving advice to young ladies from boarding schools.”

-‘The Copper Beeches’ (1892)

26 April - In the mail this morning there came a curious correspondence. It was written on high-quality paper, in the delicate handwriting of a refined lady. It did not, however, match the writing or prose style of Kate or Mrs. Forrester, or any other friends. No friend of mine, similarly, would write me an anonymous letter, knowing the unsettling feeling I had when Thaddeus Sholto’s missive arrived that fateful day.

Dear Mrs. Mary Watson,

I write to you on a matter of some delicacy. I would be very gratified if you would consent to meet with me to discuss matters of importance to you and your family. A single afternoon of your time is, I assure you, all that I require, whatever its outcome may be. I shall be at the Orangerie Teahouse in Kensington Gardens on Thursday at 1:00. I do not mean to disconcert you with this correspondence and assure you that my intentions are entirely benevolent.

A Friend

James has reconciled with Holmes, although he is still adamant that he will devote more time to his new family when the time is right. Today he was talking with an editor at the Strand Magazine named Herbert Greenhough Smith. I am sure this bodes well for future Sherlock Holmes publications, but at the moment it leaves me without anyone to advise me on my course of action. I thus went to see Mrs. Forrester, always a trusted confidante at times like this.

“As you say, it is a woman’s writing. So what could the danger be?” she asked rhetorically.

“I am not so sure about that reasoning.”

“Well, are there any women whom either you or Dr. Watson may have come into contact with professionally? It may be someone looking for Sherlock Holmes.”

“You have something there, Mrs. Forrester. James mentioned someone … Irene Adler was her name, Holmes always knew her as ‘The Woman’. Perhaps it could be her?”

Though I still have my doubts, being able to put a face to a name does make me a little more confident about the prospect of meeting this person.

4 May-I am still reeling from this strange encounter. To think that all week I had been avoiding mentioning it to James. My mind was made up after all, and there seemed to be little point in discussing it with him until after it had occurred. Now that it has, though, I scarcely know what to tell him. I came home trembling, and held little Mary tight to my bosom for a long while.

I arrived slightly early in the Strand, and walked into the busy tea room. How

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