PINNACLE BOOKS NEW YORK (28 page)

"When
the assassin went to Michael's house and
used
the name Shadrach to gain admittance
. .
."

"The
art critic assumed he carried a message
from
Hananish. In the Bible, Hananiah became Shadrach."

"Then
Hananish hired this Lightfoot chap to kill
off
his partners."

"The
cripple is the only one of the trio still alive,
so
that statement seems to have merit," replied
Holmes
dryly.

"But
if they were close friends?
. . ."

"I
mentioned but recently that thieves fall out.
Possibly
Hananish felt that his co-conspirators had served their purpose and
were best out of the way.
Or, and I
rather fancy this idea, Hananish is going for even bigger game and
wants to clear his back
trail."

I
was incapable of following this line of reasoning
and
did not question Holmes about it, since there was an interruption in
our discussion. A tap on the
door and
Billy presented himself with an envelope,
which
he handed to Holmes, along with some news.

"A
gentleman's below askin' fer you, Mr. 'Olmes.
Ledger
by name."

A
quick look flashed between the sleuth and
myself
as he signaled for Billy to show the gun
expert
up.
"Quick dividends on your
investigation, Wat
son."

"I
hope so."

Then
Ledger was at our door. It was Holmes who
ushered
him in. After disposing of his coat, the
youthful-looking
chap came to the point with a
promptness
that must have sat well with my
friend.

"Dr.
Watson told me about a shot fired at you,
sir,"
he said.

"More
in the general vicinity, I think," responded
the
sleuth.

"Could
you show me roughly the path of the
bullet?"
he asked.

Holmes
indicated the windowpane through
which
the missile had passed. He then showed
Ledger
where the spent bullet had lodged itself in
our
floorboards. The man plotted the flight of the
slug
much as Holmes had done, and then gazed out
at
the night scene. After letting his eyes wander for
a
moment, he indicated a building, standing tall in
the
next block, to Holmes and myself, who were
now
beside him at the bow window.

"What
might that be?" he inquired.

"The
warehouse of Spears and Henry, the well-
known
liquor firm. The answer to your next ques
tion
is yes. A man could have gained the roof
without
much difficulty and escaped from the area
rapidly
as well."

"That's
the spot," stated Ledger. "It's a goodly
distance,
but a Sharps rifle could have made it."

Another
quick glance passed between Holmes and myself. The sleuth knew that
the Sharps was
an
American make, and he promptly proved it.

"It
was a small bullet that I extracted from the
floorboards."

"A
Mauser, then," said Ledger. "The Germans are
manufacturing
them in quantity. A long-range
high-velocity
small-bore rifle using smokeless pow
der.
Selling them to the Boers in Africa. There'll be
some
trouble down there one of these days."
^*
Noting surprise on
both our faces, he explained.
"Mercenaries
are rather tuned to such matters, you
see."

^*
The
masquerader called the turn here, far the Boer War broke out in 1899,
and the British cavalry was decimated by the very weapon he
described
in the hands of master marksmen.

"I
do," replied Holmes. "What is your thought
regarding
the shot? I'd better tell you that I think it
was
fired at a candle that was on the desk there."
He
indicated the spot he was referring to.

"Did
he hit the candle?" asked Ledger quickly.

At
Holmes's nod, a sigh escaped the man. "That
helps,
sir, for there's just so many that good."

"Could
you have done it?" inquired Holmes.

For
a split second there was a flashing smile of
almost
boyish bravado on our visitor's face. "If the
other
light in the room was dim, the candle would
have
stood out nicely. I think I could have hit the
wick."

"So
do I," replied Holmes, "and that's what I
think
our unknown shootist was aiming at."

It
was obvious that Ledger appreciated the word
unknown.

"It
gives me an idea of where to look.
The doctor
here said you thought some of
the hired sharpshooters were involved."

"You
might consider the name of Ramsey
Michael."

"That
art critic chap who was murdered?"

"I'd
be interested to know if any of the marksmen
were
ever approached by him."

"All
right, Mr. Holmes." The pseudo-Ledger was
no
waster of words and took his departure at this point.

I
was regarding Holmes with some concern.
"What
if the chap was involved in the robbery?"

"A
possibility."

"Aren't
you rather setting yourself up as a target?"

"We've
been that for some time, Watson—both of
us,
if you will recall."

Holmes
had taken the lamp from the small
Duncan
Phyfe table near the bow window and
passed
it across the panes of glass once. Replacing
it,
he caught me regarding him with amazement.

"I
don't want Ledger detained by Burlington
Bertie
or Tiny, you see. The American just might be
able
to do us a considerable service."

Of
course
, I thought.
He's
got the premises staked
out.
Probably with arrangements to follow visitors if need be, which means
the involvement of Slip
pery
Styles, the human shadow. No wonder
Holmes
was so casual about a possible attempt on
us.

Though
unseen, the boys from Limehouse were
on
duty.

As
I dwelled on this comforting fact, Holmes had
seated
himself at the desk and opened the message
delivered
by Billy at the time that the American
had
arrived. Now his eyes rose from the single
sheet
of foolscap.

"Most
interesting. I sent Billy to the Diogenes
Club
with some questions for Mycroft. He provided
a
record of recent gold transactions for us, you
recall."

The
sleuth's thin and dexterous fingers indicated the message before him.
"My brother assures me that Burton Hananish has not been
involved in the
sale of precious metal
up to this time."

"You
suspected that he had been?"

"When
something works, there is a natural incli
nation
to repeat it. With two bankers involved, I
had
a thought that the treasure train matter might
be
a sequel to a previous manipulation, sporting
new
trappings, of course."

"But,
Holmes, there have been no big bullion
robberies
in recent years. I read the papers, too."

"Granted.
But some family plate, old coins pur
loined
from a collection, some dentures, and given
the
necessary equipment and expertise, it can all
be
melted down. Remove the alloy and you have pure gold, which can be
poured into molds and—
presto—gold
bullion, as valuable as that taken
from
the treasure train."

Here
was a new thought, and my mind raced to
grasp
it.
"You picture a large-scale
fencing operation to dispose of stolen gold by converting objects
into
metal."

"With
the necessary purification. Gold is quite
unique,
Watson. Say you have a medallion of
twenty-four-carat
gold
. . ."

"I
wouldn't mind, really."

"Alas,
we deal but in fantasy. Your medallion is
beautifully
engraved and valuable, but it is stolen.
Being
identifiable, the thief would be well advised
to
melt it down, for without its engraving and
shaping,
the object is still of value for it is pure
gold."

"Your
point being that my medallion could
completely
lose its identity without losing all its
value."

"Which
is more than can be said for precious
jewels
or rare paintings. But we wander far afield. I
am
dropping the fence idea and am now con
sidering
another more to the point."

Again
Holmes tapped the letter on the desk.
"My
brother touches on a matter relative to the cable from von
Shalloway."

"I
wondered when you would bring that up.
What
has the esteemed chief of the Berlin police to
do
with this case?"

"He
is our fastest and most accurate contact in
mid-Europe.
There are many twists and turns to
this
matter, Watson, but one fact stands out. We
went
to Gloucester to approach Hananish. I wished
to
see the man and size him up. In our interview,
little
was said that was not old hat. Yet shortly
thereafter
a dirty tricks brigade attempted to spirit
you
away with the idea of laying me by the heels as
well.
If Hananish was behind it, something must
have
been said that got his hackles up. I believe
it
was his inadvertent reference to the Deutsche
Bank."

"That's
why you contacted von Shalloway in
Berlin."

"With
good results. But let us deal with this in a
step
progression. One: the gold bonds of the Credit
Lyonnais
can be redeemed by the investors in two
weeks,
two: the five hundred thousand pounds'
worth
of gold on the treasure train has been stolen
and,
as of this moment, not recovered; three:
according
to von Shalloway, the Deutsche Bank has
made
an arrangement with the Bank of En
gland
. . ."