The Jubilee Problem: A Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Mystery (The Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Mysteries Book 5) by Anna Elliott & Charles Veley

Author:Anna Elliott & Charles Veley [Elliott, Anna & Veley, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wilton Press
Published: 2017-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

40. BELLINI’S RING

LUCY

Holmes looked up from the letter that I had written to Dr. Watson. “A black-bearded monster,” he repeated.

We were together in the sitting room of 221B Baker Street. Outside, the cold rain lashed at the window. A fire burned in the grate, the light picking out the VR my father had shot into the wall.

Holmes was seated in his favorite armchair beside the hearth. Uncle John sat in an armchair opposite, looking bleary-eyed but still attentive. I hadn’t been surprised to learn that my father’s investigations had kept him awake through most of last night, and I knew Uncle John had journeyed on the train back from Newcastle early the previous morning.

A police constable from H division had already visited Devonshire House and confirmed the identity of the dead girl on Brick Lane as Maud Jones. Not that there had ever been any doubt in my mind.

Now Jack was on duty while Becky was downstairs in the kitchen, no doubt being thoroughly spoiled with cakes and biscuits by Mrs. Hudson. And I was perched amidst the piles of newspapers on the sofa, studying my father’s expression.

“You don’t sound surprised,” I said.

“By the child’s account? No. The details ally perfectly with what I expected.”

“You expected to learn that a monster had murdered Maud Jones and left her body on Brick Lane?”

Holmes gave me a look from under half-lowered eyelids. “You of all people—well versed in the tricks and trade of the theater—should know that appearances can deceive. There are putty and greasepaint, even fully formed masks, which can be used to alter the facial features.”

“So you think Maud’s body was dumped by someone wearing a monstrous mask?”

Sherlock Holmes steepled his fingers, resting them against his upper lip. “On the contrary, learning as much would surprise me greatly.”

I glanced at Uncle John. How he had managed to avoid swearing off my father’s company years ago was a complete mystery.

“Mr. Bellini could have worn a false beard.” I had already filled my father in on the Devonshire House butler and his Italian heritage. “And the description of the carriage might fit one of the Duke’s—big and black with some sort of gold crest on the door. But I’m sure that His Grace has an entire fleet of coachmen and stable boys who keep a close eye on his horses and carriages. And as butler, Bellini would have no excuse whatsoever for taking a carriage out, alone, and at night.”

“Precisely.” Holmes paused. “So you have already come to the same conclusion that I have done.”

“About the bruise on Maud’s neck?” At the time, the mark of a signet ring had seemed to point to Bellini as the guilty party. But the more I thought about that particular clue, the more suspiciously convenient it became. “Has anyone tried to match it to Bellini’s ring?”

“No. The police, in their infinite wisdom, failed to notice the pattern of the bruising. Although in their defense, they are likely under considerable political pressure not to find any link between Maud Jones’s death and His Grace’s household.

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