The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures - Mike Ashley [263]
As we entered, Lord Eversden rose and came across to greet us.
“I received your telegram, Mr Holmes,” he said. “As you can see, they are all here. Inspector Lestrade will be arriving in about one hour’s time.” He motioned us to sit down, which I did on an upright chair near Baron Nopchka. Holmes declined the invitation and remained standing.
“My lords and gentlemen,” began Holmes, “I am happy to be able to report that I have unravelled the mystery that has recently cast a shadow over international relations. Regrettably, it is unlikely that we will be able to bring the culprit to justice, since we are dealing with a very clever criminal. My investigations allow me to conclude that an armed burgler managed to gain entry to the house. He made his way stealthily upstairs, where he was surprised by Mr Anton Simeonov. Before Mr Simeonov was able to raise the alarm, the burglar drew his revolver and shot him, just as the victim was about to defend himself by drawing out his own weapon. The murderer was then able to conceal himself behind the large armchair in the corridor and stayed there when you all arrived at the scene. When you all left the corridor, he made his escape through one of the windows, through which he jumped. He then cleverly concealed his tracks and made off. It is highly unlikely that he will ever be apprehended.”
We all stared at Holmes. Lord Eversden said: “But this is not credible, Mr Holmes. There is nothing to suggest that such a thing happened.” He turned a troubled look to Mycroft, who, alone in the gathered audience, was nodding, with an amused smile of understanding on his face.
Count Balinsky snorted derisively: “Do you think my Government will accept such a story, such a transparent fabrication?” He rose to his feet. “Excuse me, Lord Eversden, but I am obliged to telegraph the Czar’s cabinet.” He took a step or two across the room, with a smile of malicious satisfaction on his face, when Holmes took a long stride and barred his way.
“My dear Count,” he said severely, “I strongly advise you to sit down. The story I have given you may be preferable to your Government – and to you – than the alternative I am able to offer.” The Count glared at Holmes, but slowly his expression changed to one of hunted suspicion. Holmes returned to the spot at which he had been standing, while the Count remained standing for a few moments. The whole room was tense. Slowly, the Count resumed his seat.
“The difficulty with this case was the absence of a motive, other than the obvious one in the case of an assassination by agents of the Turkish Government,” said Holmes. “The foolishness of such an undertaking, especially under the present political atmosphere, suggested that murder by a Turkish agent was extremely unlikely. Such a crime could not possibly have served the aims of the Turkish Government – in fact, quite the reverse – so I dismissed it as a real possibility from the outset. However, this does not mean that the murder could not have been committed by a Turkish person for non-political reasons. This, too, seemed unlikely, since such a person committing such a crime would be perfectly aware of the political interpretation that some people would put upon it.
“Therefore, my working hypothesis was that the crime was not committed by either of the Turkish guests. Orman Pasha, in any case, was not under suspicion, since he was with Lord Eversden at the time. But Colonel Yusufoglu was found kneeling beside Simeonov and Count Balinsky accused him of the murder. On the other hand, the colonel appeared to be unarmed but, had he been the murderer, he would not have had time to dispose of the weapon, unless he shot Simeonov, rushed away to dispose of the weapon and then, perversely, returned to place himself in the incriminating position of kneeling beside the man he had shot.
“The other confusing aspect of this case is that I had started with the assumption that Simeonov’s murderer