Redacted Sherlock Holmes - Volume 2

Orlando Pearson

Description

Volume II of the Redacted Sherlock Holmes presents more stories manifestly too scandalous to publish in the lifetime of the Great Baker Street detective. Here we meet Sherlock Holmes as he investigates:- why the publication of a British Government report of a recent war is being delayed;- the continued career of James Windibank, villain of A Case of Identity;- the mystery behind the commissioner of a musical masterpiece;- a notorious killing in 1930's Berlin; and- the complex relationship between Queen Victoria, her family and her domestic servants.Finally, The Adventure of the Fourth Messenger elucidates the contribution of Sherlock Holmes to the writing of the Bible. Mr Pearson mixes canonical stories, history and speculation to produce a sensationally entertaining brew which all lovers of serious sleuthing will find themselves unable to put down. In this volume:- The Alcock Report- The Camberwell Tyrant- An Anonymous Commission- The German Interpreter- The Prince and the Munshi- The Adventure of the Fourth messenger

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 29 juin 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781780929750
• Langue: English

Extrait

Title Page
The Redacted Sherlock Holmes
Volume II
Orlando Pearson



Publisher Information
Published in the UK by
MX Publishing
335 Princess Park Manor
Royal Drive,
London, N11 3GX
www.mxpublishing.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© Copyright 2016 Orlando Pearson
The right of Orlando Pearson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
The opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MX Publishing or Andrews UK.



Dedication
For My Family



The Alcock Report
In chronicling some of the adventures in which I collaborated with Mr Sherlock Holmes, I have, wherever possible, been at pains to protect the identity of the clients involved. No one, for example, need ever know what prominent individual pawned the beryl coronet in the story of that name, just as the identity of the killer of the notorious blackmailer, Charles Augustus Milverton, is a secret which nothing will persuade me to divulge.
The lurid tale of marital intrigue which forms the start of this story would have fallen into a similar category had it not become inextricably linked with a matter of such great national importance that any attempt at concealing the identities of those involved would be in vain.
It was a cold and wet day in early 1899 and we had spent it indoors. Holmes was engaged in a chemical experiment, the main effect of which seemed to be the belching of sulphurous clouds of smoke noxiously, and at times blindingly, out of a test tube and across our living room while I buried myself in some medical research on the use of toxins as antidotes.
Just as it was getting dark, there was a ring on the bell below and the buttons brought up our new client.
Robert Munroe was no stranger to controversy. A newspaper magnate of international standing, he aroused fear and loathing across three continents, although those who had most cause to fear and loathe him were also those who did their utmost to ingratiate themselves with him and his employees. His personal life was also a cause of controversy. My reader may remember the story I penned under the title “A Scandal in Bohemia”, describing our encounter of 1888 with the glamourous singer and adventuress Irene Adler. After marrying her fiancé, the lawyer Mr Godfrey Norton, Miss Adler (as I shall continue to call her) was suddenly and mysteriously widowed when the couple had returned to London for Mr Norton to continue his legal career. Within a few months of her bereavement, Miss Adler had taken up with the much older Mr Munroe and the pair had scandalised London society by openly living together as a couple in Bryony Lodge even though remaining unmarried.
Such was the reach of the man’s powers that, as the short and unprepossessing Mr Munroe sat down before us, I had no idea whether he had come to threaten us or consult with us. To my surprise, however, he too seemed uncertain on how to start discussions. There was a prolonged silence and in the end it was Holmes who opened proceedings by asking “How may I help you, Mr Munroe?”
“As you may be aware, Mr Holmes,” said Munroe at last, “I have been engaged in an intimate friendship with your former adversary, Miss Irene Adler. This friendship has been a source of great happiness to me over the last ten years, but in recent months Miss Adler’s behaviour has become increasingly irregular. I wished to consult with you as a man of the world on what I should do.”
I think it is fair to say that during my entire association with Sherlock Holmes, I never felt a greater sense of curiosity as I felt when Mr Munroe said these words. Of all my friend’s antagonists, she was the only one who earned his admiration. Although this admiration did not translate itself into love (such an emotion was as unthinkable for Holmes as sand would be for a delicate time-piece), Irene Adler had always been for Holmes the woman - indeed I never heard him refer to her as anything else. Accordingly my gaze flitted from the media mogul before me to my friend next to me as I sought to gauge the latter’s reaction to Mr Munroe’s deposition.
Holmes’s face, I confess somewhat to my disappointment, showed no reaction at all. He merely asked in a calm voice:
“And what form has this irregular behaviour taken?”
“She has taken to locking herself into a cupboard several times a day.”
“And has she given any indication to you of her reasons for acting as you describe?”
“All my attempts at discussions with her on this matter are met with the response that some matters in life are too important to be worth discussing.”
“Is there anything special about the cupboard into which your wife secretes herself?”
“Nothing at all. It is a cupboard under the stairs and is used for the storage of cleaning products. There is no means of communication from the cupboard, it is too small to admit more than one person, and there are no signs that she has been seeking to tunnel out of the cupboard.”
“And did this irregular mode of behaviour start suddenly, or did it come upon her gradually?”
“As you will understand, Mr Holmes, although Miss Adler and I live in Bryony Lodge in St John’s Wood, I am frequently absent on business for extended periods, so I am not in a position to say precisely when this behaviour started. I first noted my associate’s habit of concealing herself at intervals during the day when I returned from America in August of last year. Since that time this behaviour has been at a constant levels and whenever I am at home she withdraws without explanation at regular periods during the day.”
“Is this really a topic you consider worthy of my attention? Is it not something that you might just need to learn to live with?”
“I have been married several times before, Mr Holmes. My experience is that when one thing happens which seems out of place, it is followed by others.”
“I see,” said Holmes. “I should warn you before I start, Mr Munroe, that if I investigate this, the outcome may be unwelcome to you.”
Munroe shrugged. “That is a risk I am prepared to take,” he said.
“And how is the rest of your relationship?”
During all the cases in which I have collaborated with Holmes, I had never heard him pose so invasive a question to any client. I was unsure if I should look at my friend to see whether he showed any embarrassment in posing it, or at Mr Munroe to assess his reaction to it, or, in accordance with the mores of our times, if I should avert my gaze altogether. I eventually decided on the latter course of action. There was a long pause before Mr Munroe answered.
“I guess it is a fair question you pose, Mr Holmes, although it is not the sort of questioning I am accustomed to answering even if my newspapers are good at asking it.” He paused again. I looked up from the elaborate detail of the carpet pattern on which I had been focusing the liveliest attention as I was eager to see how Mr Munroe looked as he continued his answer. In the silence before he started speaking again, his face passed through expressions of anger, resignation and eventually calm before he said “My relationship with Miss Adler in all other respects is functioning normally.”
“So what is it you want me to do, Mr Munroe?”
“Something must have triggered this behaviour, Mr Holmes. I want you to find out what it is. Maybe if I understand this, I will be able to deal with it - one way or the other.”
“Very good,” said Holmes. “If you leave it with me, I shall look into it to your satisfaction. I shall revert to you in three days.”
Mr Munroe had barely closed the outside door and Holmes was just reaching for his pipe when there was a ring on the bell below and the buttons brought up a telegram.
“Well, well,” said Holmes. “It is my brother coming to see us.”
“That would be for the first time since the Bruce Partington plans in 1895,” I ventured.
“It must indeed be a significant matter to make Mycroft want to consult with us,” observed Holmes. “His routine means he is seldom seen outside a circle of his small flat in Pall Mall, the high government offices in Whitehall where he works, and the Diogenes club where he spends his evenings. You may recall that at the time of the submarine mystery, I told you he often is the British Government in that he is the great clearing house for all government thinking. Nothing has altered since then in spite of two changes of prime minister and the election of a new governing party. So what could Mycroft want with us?”
“Does he say what he wants to see you about?” I asked.
“‘Must see you about Qarim is all his telegram says.”
Most of my readers will require no reminder of the war in Qarim although it is not a topic that has previously been mentioned in my writings on the activities of my friend.
Qarim’s despotic leader was accused of having constructed a gun that could fire shells of such a size and with such accuracy that it could be used to target the Suez Canal and thus threaten this country’s shipping links with its co