The Redacted Sherlock Holmes - Volume 2 by Orlando Pearson

Author:Orlando Pearson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sherlock Holmes, mystery, crime, british crime, sherlock holmes fiction, sherlock holmes novels, sherlock holmes short fiction
ISBN: 9781780929750
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited 2016
Published: 2016-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

An Anonymous Commission

The story that follows is a difficult one to chronicle in a way that makes the sequence of its events clear for the reader. Its narrative includes a journey Holmes and I made to Vienna with a brief sojourn in Bonn on the Rhine, but the anonymous commission of the title of this story had nothing to do with the original reason why Holmes and I travelled to Central Europe. Furthermore, we met two key figures in this story before we had any idea that we were going to be engaged in the investigation of this commission and with no idea when we met them of the crucial role they would play in the resolution of events that are of the greatest importance to musical history.

In June of 1891 Holmes was asked by the British Government to be its consultant on political events in the Hapsburg Empire. Holmes had a number of other investigations to carry out at this time, but to prepare him to act in his new capacity, it was arranged for him to be invited to a number of diplomatic receptions in London before he left for a tour of Central European capitals. I was also fortunate enough to be invited, as the British Government had asked me to accompany Holmes on his mission to record events.

When our diplomatic work finally started, the first city on our tour of duty was, inevitably, Vienna. We arrived there in early February 1892 and were accommodated at the excellent Imperial Hotel on the Ringstraβe. Our mission in the great city at the heart of the Hapsburg Empire required the utmost political delicacy and may at some point in the future serve as the basis of a separate story. The events I am now recounting, however, had nothing to do with this and, apart from one very brief episode about two thirds of the way through this narrative, I will not refer again to our pursuit of the original objective of our journey.

As we sat having dinner on our first evening at the hotel, a waiter came to our table.

“Herr Holmes, a lady has arrived and is waiting in the foyer to see you,” he said stiffly.

“Is she here on her own?” asked my friend surprised.

“Yes, sir,” said the waiter, “she is unaccompanied.”

“She must have a pressing requirement to see me if she felt the need to come here at night on her own. Do you know the reason for her visit?”

“She would not say who she was or what she wanted. If you wish, sir, you can see her if you look through the window at the end of this dining room down into the lobby.”

Holmes and I looked down into the bustling reception hall of the hotel and it was immediately clear who our client was. Seated bolt upright and alone, dressed all in black, was a lady with dark curly hair.

“We cannot leave a woman who has evidently been newly widowed to wait for us,” said Holmes.

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.