Young Sherlock Holmes_ Death Cloud - Andrew Lane [65]
Sherlock glanced across at Matty and smiled. Crowe seemed oblivious to the fact that he was a foreigner in this country himself.
‘Nobody’s ever seen this Baron Maupertuis, an’ his staff were all brought with him, not hired locally, which didn’t endear him to the villagers much. All their supplies and whatever were bought in from somewhere else, not purchased nearby. Anyway, the landlord was listenin’ to us and said that the Baron had moved out earlier today. Apparently there was a convoy of carts went down the road, all stacked up with boxes and furniture, with a black two-wheeler bringin’ up the rear. An’ then a while later, there was more carts, this time stacked up with large boxes covered with sheets. I suspect those were the beehives you mentioned, young man. They probably used smoke to calm the bees down an’ send them to sleep. That’s what proper beekeepers do if they’re movin’ hives.’
‘They took the beehives with them? Why?’
Amyus Crowe nodded. ‘That’s a very good question. If you’re evacuatin’ in a hurry, why take all the beehives with you? It’s only goin’ to slow you down, an’ it’s not like you can’t get more bees elsewhere.’ He mused for a moment. ‘It looks like your escape has spooked them. They couldn’t take the chance that you might go to the police and the police would come to investigate. They’ve relocated somewhere else, and we need to know where.’
‘We could follow them,’ Sherlock said.
Crowe shook his head. ‘They’ve got too good a start.’
‘They’ll have to travel slowly,’ Sherlock insisted. ‘They’ve got the beehives with them. One person on a horse could catch up with them.’
‘Too many roads they could have taken,’ Crowe persisted.
‘A long convoy of carts? People would spot them and remember. And they’re not going to be taking country roads in bad condition – they’ll be sticking to main routes. That cuts down the options.’
Crowe grinned. ‘Well thought through, lad.’
‘You’d already thought of that?’ Sherlock asked, frowning.
‘Yeah, but I didn’t want to spoon-feed you with the answers. I wanted to see if you were capable of thinking something through, especially if I was pushing you in the opposite direction.’ Crowe stood up. ‘I know some guys near our cottage who have horses and could do with a few shillings. I’ll send them out looking for this convoy. I suggest you go back to Holmes Manor and make your peace with your family. Tell them you were with me all the time – that should calm things down. I’ll swing round tomorrow and let you know what I’ve discovered.’
The four of them trotted back along back roads and cross-country paths until they were close to Farnham, where they said their goodbyes. Matty headed off towards wherever he’d left his boat, while Crowe and Virginia trotted in the direction of their cottage. Sherlock let his horse stand quietly for a moment, allowing the events of the past day to settle in his mind, becoming memories rather than a jumble of sensory impressions. Eventually, when he felt calmer, he guided the horse towards Holmes Manor.
When he arrived, he wondered for a moment where to leave the horse. It wasn’t his, after all. On the other hand, its previous owner seemed to have abandoned it, and it was definitely a step up from the rackety old bicycle that Matty had found for him. In the end he left it in the stable with a bale of hay. If it was there tomorrow, he would take it as a sign that he was meant to keep it.
Dinner was just being served as he walked into the house. Normal behaviour, as if nothing had happened, as if the world was exactly the same as it had been that morning. He glanced at his clothes, dusted his jacket down, and headed into the dining room.
The meal was a surreal experience. His aunt chattered on about nothing in particular as usual, and his uncle read from a large book as he ate, muttering beneath his breath every now and then. Mrs Eglantine stared at him from her position over by the wall. It was hard to reconcile the calm, civilized atmosphere with the fact that he’d been knocked out, abducted,