The Druid of Death - a Sherlock Holmes Adventure by Richard T Ryan

Author:Richard T Ryan [Ryan, Richard T]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sherlock holmes novel, Mystery, sherlock holmes, Crime, british crime, sherlock holmes fiction, murder
ISBN: 5507940
Amazon: B07G2QMB5Y
Publisher: MX Publishing
Published: 2018-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

The next afternoon Lestrade called upon us at Baker Street.

“And how did Mr. Dalton respond to the charges?” asked Holmes.

“Oh, he denied them at first. Claimed that he and his wife had had a terrible row, and that she had taken one of his carriages and driven off.

“But when I saw the scratches on his face, and the dark hair going grey at the temples, I knew he was our man. It took a few hours of interrogation, but eventually he broke down and confessed. It seems his wife had an eye for the gentlemen, and he had actually followed her halfway to Avebury where she was going to meet a gentleman before confronting her.

“He said that she laughed at him, called him an old fool and said he didn’t know how to keep a wife. I think it was her sharp tongue that got the better of him. He admits that he was in a blind rage and the next thing he knew, she was dead.”

“And you believe him?” asked Holmes.

“Why would he lie after admitting to murdering her?”

“Because juries are far more apt to forgive a crime of passion than they are premeditated murder, especially if the wronged party committed the crime. However, this is a case of cold-blooded murder. How convenient that they had a row on a druidic feast day! How convenient that he left her body halfway up the hill at Avebury, a druidic site! No, Lestrade. If you want to see justice served, then I fear you must insist that Mr. Dalton tell you the truth about his relationship with his wife.”

“Well, I will certainly consider that,” said the Inspector. “Now, the next date we must concern ourselves with is the winter solstice, is it not Mr. Holmes?”

“Indeed,” said Holmes, “in druidic lore the winter solstice is often called the Alban Arthur, which Professor Connors informs me can be translated as ‘The Light of Arthur’.”

“Not King Arthur?” exclaimed Lestrade.

“That depends on which group of druids you choose to follow,” said Holmes. “There are those who believe that on that day, King Arthur is reborn as the Sun Child. After all, once the solstice has passed the days start to grow longer.”

“And the other druids? The ones who don’t believe in King Arthur?” I asked.

“They see the light as belonging to the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, also sometimes referred to as the Plough. Arthur or Art is the Gaelic word for ‘bear’.”

“Mr. Holmes, this just gets more confusing. Every time I think we are taking a step forward, there’s another new element introduced. Will it never end?”

“Lestrade, I think the confusion is deliberate. If you had planned a series of crimes, wouldn’t you do everything possible to throw your pursuers off the scent?”

Before Lestrade could reply, Holmes answered his own question: “Of course you would. So, these are merely red herrings designed to make us stray from the path that we should follow.”

“You sound as though you know who killed these people,” said Lestrade.

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.