The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes by Loren Estleman

Author:Loren Estleman [Estleman, Loren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery & Detective
ISBN: 9781848567474
Amazon: 1848567472
Publisher: Titan Books
Published: 1979-01-01T11:00:00+00:00

Eleven

I CHASE A MURDERER

I cannot say how long I stood there after the hansom passed bearing its sinister passenger, staring towards the snowy curtain which had descended upon it. The audacity of the man defied belief; hunted in every corner of the land, he had chosen to ride in broad daylight through one of London’s most frequented neighbourhoods, as if no murder had ever taken place. I had pictured him quaking in some dank hole, loath to venture out for fear of the gallows. There was something obscene about his present arrogance, which seemed to reflect a deep-seated contempt for established order. I stood aghast at his presumption.

At length, however, I shook myself out of my stupor and cast about wildly for a means of pursuit. As luck would have it, a second hansom was approaching at just that moment; I dashed out into the street and waved it down.

I caught a glimpse of the driver’s florid face, set off by a pair of massive white eyebrows, as I swung inside, exhorting him to keep the cab ahead within sight. ‘You’ve got it, guv’nor,’ said he, and we lurched into motion.

We spotted our quarry just as it turned west onto Queen Anne Street, and followed suit. Evidently Hyde was not aware of his pursuers, for his cab was proceeding at normal speed for the slippery condition of the pavement. Snowflakes swirled round us, now heavy, now light, at times blotting out the cab ahead, but always it came back into view, recognisable by the distinctive red feather which the driver wore in his hatband. We followed at a discreet distance. At Wellbeck Street he turned south. Pacing ourselves cautiously, we rounded the corner a few seconds behind him.

At this point Hyde must have become suspicious, for at Wigmore Street the hansom in which he was riding swung eastwards, describing a complete circle from where I had first caught sight of him at Harley Street. I leant out and directed my cabby to continue across Wigmore and pull over to the kerb beyond the corner.

My reasoning proved sound when, moments later, the cab bearing Hyde crossed in front of us heading west in the direction of Marylebone Lane. Our failure to follow him onto Wigmore had apparently convinced him that his fears were groundless. I gave him a few seconds and then signalled my cabby to proceed by rapping upon the roof with my stick. We turned right at the next corner and took up the chase where we had left off.

Our wheels made sucking sounds as we rolled through the slush, slowing down frequently to avoid striking the pedestrians who hurried back and forth across the street, collars turned up and heads bowed against the cold and damp. Forced to continue in this fashion, we were hard put to keep Hyde’s vehicle within sight and yet not give ourselves away. Fortunately my driver appeared to be a past master at this, as the gap between the two cabs neither increased nor diminished in spite of the many hindrances.

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