Sherlock Holmes & The Master Engraver (Sherlock Holmes Revival) (6 page)

“Indeed, I suspect I may already have the how of the problem, and to within a day, I believe I may know the when of it.

“But even with the corroboration of my suspicions, a Sisyphean task still remains – that of locating the identity and whereabouts of the perpetrators, the stolen plates and paper before they can combine to full effect and thus achieve their nefarious objective.”

Once again our volatile client had returned to wringing his hands, now not in agitation but in gratitude. “My dear Sir, how could I have doubted you? Please forgive me! You will perhaps understand that a burden of this gravity rests heavy on an old man’s shoulders; but already I feel the weight lifting! May I make as bold as to enquire as to your direction of enquiry from here on in?”

“You may Mr Petch, or at least such that directly involve you and your staff; I shall require to interview the watchmen, to which end I would propose to visit your works somewhat before nine, when I assume I shall be present at the changeover? Thereafter I shall examine the premises.”

“That is correct Mr Holmes; I shall send word ahead so that you may be expected and conducted around. What more may I do to assist?”

“I also wish to speak with Mr Perkins and Mr Bacon as urgently as it may be arranged.”

“Oh dear, Mr Holmes; that presents considerable difficulties. “ Holmes frowned.

“Why is that?”

“Because both, you see, left for long-planned visits to foreign parts after we closed the premises – Mr Bacon for Ireland, somewhere near Belfast as I recall, and Mr Perkins is, I believe, visiting his daughter in France. I regret I have no address for either, and they will not be returning until the New Year.”

“They are still absent then? Does that not strike you as strange Mr Petch, that this theft should occur precisely at the time that your partners are both abroad and unreachable?

“A most curious concurrence – the more regrettable in that it may severely impede my enquiries. I assume, therefore, that neither is yet aware of the theft? No matter, it cannot be helped at present. On another point, did your wife by chance obtain a calling card from the two workmen who repaired your orchid-house?”

“She did, Mr Holmes, and I believe I have it...” He rummaged through his pocket-book and produced a grubby scrap of pasteboard “...here.”

He handed it to Holmes who examined it in a perfunctory fashion, then passed it to me. “What do you make of that Watson?”

I studied it closely and read:

NATHAN MADGWICK

‘Small Building Works,

Brick-Laying, Glazing, Plumbing

& General Repairs’

ESTIMATES BY ARRANGEMENT

98 Clerkenwell Road, London E.

“I see nothing particularly out of the ordinary here, Holmes; it appears on the face of things to be a very run-of-the-mill workman’s calling card. Or do I overlook something?”

I knew of a certainty I must have missed some point of significance, else Holmes would not have sought my comments.

“In that it is a perfectly ordinary tradesman’s card you are quite correct, Watson. But consider the time of year, and the vast geography of London. Does it not strike you as being somewhat implausible that a Clerkenwell builder should happen to be passing along a remote Richmond lane some miles distant, with no work in prospect, and approaching Christmas, with all the necessary materials ready and at hand, and the very morning following the vandalism of the glass-house? Oddly, the Clerkenwell Road is considerably closer to Mr Petch’s premises at Fleet Street than it is to the leafy lanes of Richmond.

“That certainly strikes me as rather irregular, that or an astonishing coincidence – and you know well how much I mistrust coincidences; they are somewhat rarer than most people suppose. The matter will without doubt bear considerably closer enquiry.”

He returned his attention to our client. “Now I am sure you will understand, Mr Petch that my consultations are based upon, if you will, my own exacting science of what you might term reverse reasoning.

“That is to say, I am presented with a problematic circumstance, perhaps a theft, a disappearance, a murder even; it is my craft to deduce backwards, eliminating in due order of time and circumstance all those explanations which will not serve, until at last I arrive inescapably at the only one, no matter how improbable, which will.

“You may view this as the reconstruction, through observation and deduction, of events now passed. At the outset there are a great many suspect individuals who may fall within my purview, some rather more plausible than others.”

Petch sat forward in his chair. “Am I then to understand, Mr Holmes that you have already formed a view as to the party or parties involved in this dreadful business?” Holmes laughed, but entirely without humour.

“Consider, if you will, Mr Petch, the cast of players you have already furnished; we have the watchmen Gunton and Shadwell, the engineer Hollum and the rest of your staff, the walk-on characters of the glazier Madgwick and his unidentified assistant, your maid, your wife, countless unknown others who may have general or particular knowledge of your work, not to mention the illustrious Messrs Perkins, Bacon and Petch themselves. Can you name one, or a union of several of these, who would not stand to profit from the illicit possession of authentic Bank of England printing plates and paper to match?

“At the very least, I do not doubt that they could instantly, and with exceeding ease, be sold on for a very sizeable sum of money to any number of eager bidders from the shadowy under-world of criminals, both at home and conceivably, even abroad, with no requirement whatsoever even to become involved in the actual process of the printing itself!”

Petch stared, horror-struck. “But my wife, the watchmen, myself and my partners? Sir, I do believe you overreach your mark! I will not hear of any complicity on their part or mine! Why, it was I who came to seek your assistance!”

“That is explicitly my point, Mr Petch, and in the tediously banal case of the Billingsgate poisonings, it was the cherubic-faced architect of the murders himself who sought my help after he had administered arsenic to his wife when she had become profoundly suspicious of his clandestine, murderous activities – he sought to divert police attention away from himself by very publicly enlisting the services of Sherlock Holmes. It was a naive attempt to create a distraction, a most imprudent and transparent subterfuge. It availed him naught; I was not deceived, and he was duly hanged for his pains, regardless.

“And desperate criminals have resorted to more deceitful courses than merely retaining a consulting detective or the police in their attempts to construct for themselves an alibi.

“I recall the case of one Feodor Herzog – the first violin of the Württemberg Symphony Orchestra who brutally garrotted two fellow musicians with an E string, having baselessly supposed his unfortunate and innocent victims – a cellist and the timpanist – to be engaged in improper relationships with his wife, then a prima-ballerina on tour with the Bolshoi; upon sensing police enquiries pointing alarmingly in his own direction, one night he applied a like ligature deliberately and viciously to his own gullet resulting in a most spectacular, but not life threatening, wound; this in order to divert suspicion to some other quarter. His allegation that he had unaccountably been attacked by the same unknown strangler who had murdered his wife’s supposed lovers was not believed.

“In point of fact, he was cuckolded by the orchestra conductor, a notorious Russian lothario who walks free to this day, while Herzog languishes in jail.

“In short, Mr Petch, it is not without precedent for conniving individuals to report their own crimes, destroy their own property, or even harm themselves in an attempt to appear as injured or blameless parties. Do you now perhaps begin to take my meaning?”

Throughout this somewhat ruthless monologue, Henry Petch sat silent, eyes downcast; he appeared to me to be staring again at his curiously evolved, sinewy right hand. Holmes continued: “I tell you these things Mr Petch simply that you may have an understanding of my commission at this early stage; I must commence with a canvas large enough to accommodate all the subjects, and use a broad brush. The fine detail, I anticipate, will be concluded in due course.

“As to the players in this dark tableau, there are many reasons why one of them might have turned for the bad – greed, envy, pressing debt. Too, it is conceivable that a man may be complicit in a crime perhaps, for example, through imprudent talk, or falling victim to a blackmailer.

“Now let us consider the circumstances Mr Petch. The safe was neither removed nor was the lock picked; explosives such as Nobel’s Blasting Powder were not employed, yet still the plates are missing. You assert that to copy the keys is a virtual impossibility, and that there are only four sets on the face of this earth, three held by you and your partners and a further by the watchmen.

“Yet it remains an incontestable fact that the safe has been violated. How else, except with a functioning key? And who else could have knowledge of the plates’ existence or location? If I eliminate all those hypotheses which are impossible, then that which remains, however unbelievable, must be the truth. The believable truth is that a key was used in this theft.

“Where, pray, would you start your search?” Petch remained silent. “But the blameless may rest easy – it is only the guilty that need fear my attentions.

“Now as you stated, Mr Petch, delay is a luxury we can ill afford; therefore it is essential that I visit your house and speak with Mrs Petch. To our certain knowledge, she is the only one who observed the two workmen is she not?”

“Correct Mr Holmes, she and of course, Dulcie, the maid; she will visit our house at four o’clock tomorrow, to assist my wife for the evening; then she will not return to her regular duties until Boxing Day morning, but you will be welcome to interview her if it will assist.”

“I shall, and it will; by-the-by, do you by chance recall where in France the titled lady who furnished the maid’s reference resides?” Petch pursed his lips and furrowed his brow in thought. “Yes, I have it now; a small village called Obânes St-Amarin. I recall from her letter that it is in the south-west of the country, I believe not very distant from the coastal town of La Rochelle.” Holmes jotted a further note. “Now in conclusion, Mr Petch, be so good as to describe candidly your partners, in particular their general character, any foibles or eccentricities, their private interests and fallibilities. Please be entirely honest and direct in all respects.”

“Very well Mr Holmes. We three are much of an age and many think, of an appearance – indeed, on occasion we have been taken for brothers -but otherwise we are quite disparate in character. “Mr Perkins I would characterise as a model of sobriety, perhaps a little gloomy, discreet, utterly trustworthy and quite indispensable in the business. He controls all expenditure and contracts for the partnership – we may always rely upon him to select the keenest quotations.

“A confirmed bachelor, he lives quietly in Harrow and is, I understand, deeply involved in fund-raising with his local Parish. On occasion he appears to struggle with something of a moral conflict between earning a very satisfactory income from the business of manufacturing money for those who already have ample, while working assiduously to raise desperately-needed funds for those who have none.

“Mr Bacon is cut from an altogether different bolt of cloth; his work is by-and-large diligent and satisfactory unless he is tardy in his time-keeping – an occasional failing he regrettably exhibits, particularly after playing late at cards and a little too much, ah, refreshment at The Bagatelle Club, something of which he is perhaps rather too fond.

“He is by nature rather more flamboyant and garrulous than I or Mr Perkins, and thus the task of gaining fresh business, new clients and commissions falls within his remit. He, too, eschews the institution of matrimony, but I believe he enjoys the company of several of London’s, ah, livelier female socialites.

“As to myself, I imagine you already know all there is worth knowing.” Holmes concluded his scribbling and looked up intently at our client. “I believe I do, Mr Petch. Now there is little more that need concern you.

“I shall visit your business premises, and I shall also explore Clerkenwell. Perhaps it would be as well, so as to forestall idle gossip and rumour, if I were to assume another guise for these enquiries – I suggest a surveyor examining your premises with a view to further refurbishments and security enhancements?

“In that way I shall be able to access all areas without exciting undue speculation – I suspect that gossip of Sherlock Holmes investigating the premises of Perkins, Bacon & Petch would serve only to fuel unnecessary speculation, which would be exceedingly unhelpful, both to my enquiries and undoubtedly to your relationship with The Bank of England.”

“An excellent idea Mr Holmes; I shall send word ahead and make it so. Under what identity shall you attend?” Holmes pondered briefly. “A solid name, an English name, one unlikely to excite comment.” He glanced across at me with a flicker of amusement.“Would you object, Doctor, if I were to borrow your persona and become Mr John Watson, Surveyor, for the day?” I laughed. “Not in the least Holmes. Then I shall be your assistant, Mr…” my eye happened upon a brewer’s dray passing in the street below “…Whitbread?” And so it was that the newly-incarnated John Watson, Surveyor, along with his assistant, Mr Whitbread, prepared to survey the Fleet Street engraving and printing works of Perkins, Baker & Petch, and then to seek out Mr Nathan Madgwick. Holmes returned his attention to our client. “Mr Petch, I will cautiously add that there is yet reason to be optimistic. Still, we must plan for the worst while hoping for the best. In passing, I would strongly urge you to double, at least, the number of occasions when the watchmen tour the premises, and replace all your locks as soon as practicable. I have a great deal to accomplish, and so I bid you goodnight; I shall contact you when I have news.” The audience was at an end; Holmes clearly had learned all that he needed to commence his hunt. Mr Petch departed, seemingly with rather greater fortitude than when we first had encountered him at lunch. As the door closed Holmes sprang from his chair, rubbing his hands in glee. Brandishing Petch’s calling card he cried: “What a splendid conundrum, Watson, and what a perfectly splendid Christmas gift has been delivered to us! I would rather sink my teeth into this tough little nut than the tenderest Christmas goose in all London! I sense it is grown from greed, coated in cupidity and liberally dipped in deceit. Noel, Noel and thrice Noel!