Gaslight Grimoire_ Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes - Barbara Hambly [29]
I looked at the letter, and attempted to emulate my friend’s methods. “It is written on heavy paper,” I began, “simply yet elegantly embossed, from which I would deduce a certain level of wealth allied with good taste. It is in a woman’s hand, firm and clear, which would seem to denote that its writer is a person of determination as well as intelligence.”
“And pray how do you deduce the intelligence, without having read the letter?” asked my friend.
“Why, from the fact that she has had the good sense to consult Sherlock Holmes, and not one of the pretenders to his crown.”
“A touch, Watson!” laughed Holmes. “A distinct touch! But now read the lady’s letter, and see what opinion you form of her and her case.”
I turned my attention to the paper, and read:
Lufford Abbey
Warwickshire
Dear Mr. Holmes,
Having read of your methods and cases, I am turning to you in hopes that you will be able to bring an end to a series of disturbances which have occurred over the past two months, and which have left our local constabulary at a complete loss. What began as a series of minor annoyances has gradually become something more sinister; but as these events have not, as yet, resulted in a crime being committed, I am told that there is little the police can do.
My husband is in complete agreement with me that steps must be taken; yet I will be candid and state that he does not agree that this is a matter for Mr. Sherlock Holmes. I hasten to add that his admiration for you is as great as mine; where we differ is in our ideas as to the nature of the events. I firmly believe that a human agency is at work, whereas my husband is of the opinion that we must seek for an answer that lies beyond our five senses.
I fear that any account which I could lay before you in a letter would fail to give a true indication of what we are suffering. However, suffering we are, and I hope that you will be able to see your way to meeting with us, so that we may lay the facts before you. I have included a note of the most convenient trains, and a telegram indicating your arrival time will ensure that you are met at the station.
I thank you in advance for your consideration of this matter; merely writing this letter has taken some of the weight from my mind, and I am in hopes that your arrival and investigation will put an end to the worries with which we are beset.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. John Fitzgerald
“Well, Watson? And what do you make of it?”
I placed the letter on the table. “The letter confirms my opinion of the lady’s character and intelligence. She does not set down a jumble of facts, fancies, and theories, but rather writes in a business-like manner which yet does not conceal her anxiety. The fact that she and her husband have thought it necessary to involve the police indicates that the matter is serious, for Mrs. Fitzgerald does not, from this letter, strike me as a woman who is given to imagining things; unlike her husband, I might add.”
“Yes, her husband, who believes that the solution to their problem lies beyond the evidence of our five senses.” Holmes shook his head. “I have never yet met with a case which is not capable of a rational solution, however irrational it may appear at the outset, and I have no doubt that this mystery will prove the same as the others.”
“You have decided to take the case, then?”
“Yes. As the lady was so thoughtful as to include a list of train times, I took the liberty of sending a telegram indicating that we would travel up on the 12:23 train. I take it that your patients can do without you for a day or so?”
“I can certainly make arrangements, Holmes, if you would like me to accompany you.”
“Of course I would, Watson! A trip to the Warwickshire countryside will prove a welcome respite from a damp London spring; and I will need my chronicler with me, to record my efforts,