The Spanish Butler (A Sherlock Holmes Uncovered Tale Book 8) by Ehrman Steven

Author:Ehrman, Steven [Ehrman, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2014-09-15T03:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

The years I had spent with Holmes had still not accustomed me to his insights and I am afraid my mouth hung agape at his deduction.

“Calm yourself and be seated, Watson,” said Holmes, as he observed my reaction. I did as I was bid and sat in my armchair. “The deduction was a small one, I assure you. The window is open, as you will observe, and I heard you arguing with the cabbie about the fare to and from East Ham. Deducing that you visited the Bloomfields was quite a simple matter after that.”

“You are quite correct, of course,” I said. “But I doubt you know why I went.”

“I can think of no reason other than to question them about Seoc Macnab,” he said blandly.

“I see that you know all, Holmes,” I said somewhat glumly. “I thought that for once I might be ahead of you on the trail.”

“Cheer yourself, Doctor. I am anxious to hear of your trip to East Ham. Indeed, you have done me a service.”

“I am glad to hear that, but how did you divine that Seoc Macnab was the reason for my trip?”

“I too stopped by Park Lane today,” he said. “I was told that I had missed you by an hour. I was further informed by Miss Burton that Seoc Macnab had called. I am afraid that Miss Burton is not to be trusted with a secret. Tell me of your encounter with the man, Watson.”

I quickly related to Holmes of how I had observed the Scotsman leave the Bloomfield home and how I had chased him into Hyde Park. Holmes appeared bemused by my recitation of the chase.

“My, oh my, Watson,” he said with a slight chuckle. “Civilian life has turned you quite soft if you could not catch that elderly fellow.”

“He had a substantial lead on me, Holmes” I replied in protest. “One question I wish to have answered is whether or not this fellow is a confederate of yours. That is his claim.”

“I assure you, Doctor, that Seoc Macnab and I are not working together.”

He spoke the words with conviction.

“It would seem then that this Macnab person has an interest in the case separate from our own,” said I.

Holmes had no reply to this and lapsed into silence. A further question came to my mind.

“Holmes, just why did you stop by the Bloomfield home today?”

I hardly expected an answer, but Holmes surprised me by promptly replying.

“I had a question that I wished to ask Miss Burton, and I wanted to examine the murder scene again. There was a theory that I wished to test.”

“And what question was that?”

“I asked her if Mrs. Berta Bloomfield was particularly frugal on her clothing.”

“What an odd question, Holmes. Frugal how?”

“Simply that some ladies with wealthy husbands might have dozens of evening gowns, for instance.”

“What was the reply?”

“She said the lady indeed was discriminating about her clothes and talked of economy.”

I might have further questioned Holmes, but at that moment Inspector Hopkins was admitted to our rooms.

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.