The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part XIII by David Marcum

Author:David Marcum
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sherlock, conan doyle, holmes, mystery, crime, british crime, detective, murder, whodunnit, thriller, England, Britain, English, British
ISBN: 9781787054448
Publisher: Andrews UK
Published: 2019-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Grosvenor Square Furniture Van

Hugh Ashton

Sharing rooms with Sherlock Holmes often involved my being exposed to strange, even bizarre events. In this regard, few that I can recall surpassed the case in which he saved a prominent member of the peerage from a circumstance that would have exposed him to ridicule at the very least, and possibly put an end to a promising political career.

I was opening the morning post at breakfast, prior to dividing it according to the rules laid down by Holmes. The first, and largest, pile of letters was one that he called “Fire”. These were either begging letters demanding money, or requests to solve problems that he regarded as trivial, such as the tracing of missing dogs or errant husbands. Unless there was something out of the ordinary in these letters, they were consigned, unread by Holmes, to the fire burning in the grate.

The next, “Enquire”, contained details of potential cases requiring further investigation before a decision could be reached as to whether or not to take on the case. This group was significantly smaller than the first.

The last group, dubbed “Hire” by Holmes, were those where he would take the case without any further ado. On most days, no letters met the exacting requirements that would justify their inclusion in this category.

On the day in question, just one fitted the bill to allow it to make its way into the “Hire” group. I placed it beside Holmes’s plate and awaited his arrival at the breakfast table.

“Halloa!” he commented, as he remarked the crested envelope. “The Duke of Staffordshire requires my services? That coat of arms is familiar enough. Or rather,” he added as he examined the envelope more closely, “the Duchess, if the handwriting is to be my guide in this matter.”

“Indeed so,” I confirmed.

I should add here that though his clientele ranged from dukes to dustmen, Holmes preferred to deal with the upper classes. Not only were they more remunerative (though he claimed to pursue his profession for its own sake, it must be confessed that he often exacted large fees for his services from the more affluent of his clients), but, he claimed, the problems that they posed were of a higher standard than those of the lower classes.

He opened the envelope and extracted the letter. “You have read this, Watson?” he enquired, having seemingly perused its contents.

“Indeed so.”

“And what do you make of it?”

“If the events she describes are indeed true, then it is clear to me that she is in need of your assistance.”

“I would agree. It is not in any way usual for a man such as the Duke to shut himself in his room for hours at a time, without food or drink. Moreover, he is a member of the Cabinet, though I cannot imagine that he will retain that honour for long unless his habits change in the near future. The letter also hints at other matters of a mysterious nature, which piques my curiosity.”

“Does it not say

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