The Last Notes From the Dispatch Box of John H Watson, MD

by Hugh Ashton

  I accepted Holmes’ words on the matter, though in truth I had failed to note any of the points that he mentioned.

  We arrived in London, and Holmes immediately hailed a cab to take him to Somerset House.

  “ Shall I come with you ? ” I asked him.

  “ No, no, you may return to Baker-street.  Meet me here at Euston Station at five-thirty.  If you can talk Mrs. Hudson into providing us with a picnic dinner to refresh ourselves on the journey, so much the better.”

  “ We are returning tonight ? ” I asked incredulously.

  “ Indeed we are.  I am sure that our departure for London will have been communicated in some way to Soames and Mathews, who will therefore find this Friday to be uninterrupted, and a convenient time for the regular meeting with the roughnecks about whom we were informed by Miss Devereux.  Staying at the same inn as these men, we will be in an excellent position to observe and make further plans.  Half-past six here,” he reminded me, climbing into the cab.  “ Do not fail to be here.”

  I followed Holmes’ instructions, and was waiting at Euston Station at the appointed time.  Mrs.  Hudson had risen to the occasion, and I was equipped with a small hamper containing an excellent cold repast.

  “ Well done, Watson,” Holmes remarked to me, and remarking the hamper as we boarded the first-class carriage.  “ I see your afternoon as been as profitably spent as my own.”

  “ You discovered something of interest, then ? ”

  “ Indeed I did,” rubbing his hands together.  “ Young Gerald Devereux died some two years ago, in the town to which we are now travelling.  The idea of his being sent away was a false trail.”

  “ And the cause of death ? ”

  “ It was given as ‘drowning’.  Intriguing, no ? ”

  “ Indeed so.”

  “ I have the name of the doctor who signed the death certificate.  It is more than likely that he is still in practice, or at least living in the town.  He will be our first port of call tomorrow.”

  “ And tonight ? ”

  “ We observe.  Now let us perform another investigation,” he said, opening the hamper.  “ Excellent, Watson.  Mrs.  Hudson has done us proud.”

  On arrival at our destination, Holmes and I deposited our scanty luggage at the inn, and we made our stealthy way to the Devereux house, where we lay in wait by the icehouse in a position where it was possible to watch all comings and goings.

  We had not long to wait before two roughly dressed men appeared, walking down the drive towards the house.  Holmes produced a pair of opera glasses from inside his coat, and studied the couple.  He whistled softly.  “ By George ! ” he exclaimed in an excited whisper.  “ I fancy that our friends at the Yard will be glad to see this pair of beauties safely locked away.  Though I have always considered that they have their base here in the Midlands, I know that they have been active in London, but have lacked the evidence to ensure their arrest and conviction.”

  “ You know them, obviously ? ” I asked.

  “ Indeed I do.  I see before me James Dowell and Earnest Haddon, two men at the top of their profession, which is housebreaking.  I have little doubt that they have been summoned here at least in part as a result of our conversation last night.”

  To my surprise, it was Soames, and not Mathews, who opened the door to these men.

  “ I had expected that,” said Holmes.  As we watched, the lights went on in the room that I judged to be the library where we had held our conversation with Soames, signifying, to my mind, that some sort of conference was being held there.

  “ Shall we listen at the window ? ” I said to Holmes, but he shook his head.

  “ No, I fear that we would not hear anything, and the risk of discovery while it is still light is too great.  Maybe after sunset, in about an hour’s time, I guess.”

  In the event, we were surprised by the emergence of Soames from the house, making his way to the stable block.

  “ Surely they cannot be leaving already ? ” Holmes muttered to himself.  “ It is not yet dark.”

  We waited, and soon a horse drawing an open dogcart appeared from the stables, with Soames driving it.

  “ I had assumed that the purpose of a carriage after dark was to protect the identities of the visitors,” mused my friend.  “ It would appear that this is some other purpose.”

  Soames dismounted from the box, and appeared to re-enter the house by a door that was invisible to us.  Within two or three minutes, another door opened, and four men : the two visitors, Mathews, and Soames, left the building and started to walk in our direction.

  “ Fool that I am ! ” Holmes whispered.  “ I should have guessed that this would be their destination.  Quick, Watson, there is no time to lose ! ” Somewhat inelegantly, we hurriedly moved behind a bush, hoping that our movements would not be noticed by the approaching group of men.

  To our relief, they did not appear to have noticed us, and made straight for the icehouse door.  It was now possible to see that the two housebreakers, Dowell and Haddon, were carrying lengths of sacking.  Mathews inserted the key in the lock, the door swung open, and the party entered the icehouse.  The electrical lighting inside was activated, and light streamed in the dusk from the chinks surrounding the now reclosed door.

  We waited, not daring to move, and our patience was rewarded after about ten minutes, when the four men emerged, carrying two long sackcloth-swathed bundles, one to each two men.  Mathews and his partner put down theirs as the lighting was extinguished and Mathews closed and locked the icehouse door, and the pair resumed their burden, following the other two and walking towards the dogcart, where the bundles were deposited.  It did not take the skills of Sherlock Holmes for me to deduce the contents of the sacking.

  Soames remounted the box, and the two visitors sprang into the cart, whereupon Soames whipped the horse into a slow walk, and the cart set off down the drive.  Mathews re-entered the house, and shut the door.

  “ Shall we follow ? ” I asked Holmes.

  “ No,” he replied, shaking his head.  “ I fear it would profit us little to do so.”

  “ But what is the meaning of all this ? ” I asked.

  “ I have a strong suspicion that it is as foul a business as I have ever encountered,” said Sherlock Holmes, “ and I do not say that lightly.  I can hardly believe that I would ever encounter such a thing in this modern scientific age.” He paused in thought for a moment, and then spoke.  “ Come, I believe there will be little more to see here tonight.  Let us return to the inn.”

  On our return, Holmes, by means of decoying the landlord on an errand for some hot water to be carried to our room, managed to catch sight of the entries in the hotel register for the two visitors.  “ As I thought, Watson,” he explained to me, “ they have not bothered to register under the names that their mothers gave them.  They both have given an address in a town in Staffordshire, though, and though the addresses are undoubtedly false, the town itself may well be their place of residence.  It may be as well to telegraph to the police of that town early tomorrow morning and advise them that these two rogues will be returning by train.”

  “ And we will be visiting the doctor tomorrow ? ”

  “ Indeed so.” He stretched mightily and yawned.  “ It has been a hard day.  I will smoke a last pipe before turning in.”

  On my waking the next morning, I discovered Holmes had already arisen, and had walked to the post office, where he had somehow arranged for the telegram to be sent to the provincial police before the post-office had opened.  “ We will not take breakfast until our two friends have departed the inn,” he announced, entering the room as I was shaving.  “ I have just dispatched a wire to the Staffordshire Constabulary informing them of the existence of these villains who will soon be r
eturning, and advising them to search their lodgings for evidence of the proceeds of the robbery at the Duke of Northampton’s London house the other day.”

  Eventually, we made our way downstairs and broke our fast most satisfactorily with eggs and home-cured bacon.  “ And now for the doctor,” said Holmes, wiping his thin lips with the napkin, and rising from the table.

  On enquiry, the residence of Doctor Hawthorne proved to be close by, and a matter of a few minutes’ walk brought us to a handsome villa set in a carefully tended garden.  The door was opened by an elderly woman, who introduced herself as the doctor’s housekeeper, and led us to the study, where Hawthorne received us.

  He was an elderly man, somewhat stooped, but his white hair framed a face that bespoke a considerable alertness and intelligence.

  Upon our introducing ourselves, he smiled.  “ I have heard of you, Mr.  Holmes,” he said.  “ I have spent many happy hours reading of your adventures as recorded by Doctor Watson here, and I am happy to make your acquaintance.  I trust that you are not here on any business connected with your line of work ? ”

  “ As it happens, I am engaged on a case where your help would be invaluable,” Holmes told him.

  A look of surprise came into the other’s face.  “ Dear me !  I had no idea that I would ever figure in one of your mysteries,” he said.  “ Do you suspect me of a crime, or one of my acquaintances, perhaps ? ”

  “ My dear doctor,” Holmes answered him, laughing, “ I merely wish you to furnish me with some information which will fill the gaps in my knowledge.”

  “ I will do my best to assist you.”

  “ I believe that it was you who signed the death certificate of Gerald Devereux, who met his end by drowning two years ago.”

  A cloud passed over the old man’s face.  “ Yes, it was I who signed the certificate.  Why do you ask ?  Is there any doubt concerning the cause of death ?  I assure you that I am as certain of the diagnosis as any that I have made in my life.”

  “ No doubt exists in my mind,” said Holmes.  “ However, I was hoping that you might be able to provide me with some more details concerning the circumstances of the death.”

  “ I will do my best,” replied the other.  “ Gerald was a cheerful youngster — I had known him since he was a young child, and I was a friend of his father, whom you may also know passed away following a hunting accident some three years ago.  I had the unhappy distinction of certifying the deaths of both the father and the son, a circumstance which gives me no pleasure, believe me.” He stopped, and wiped his eyes with his handkerchief.  “ Forgive me, but at one time I would have counted the Devereux family as my own, but since Mrs.  Devereux’ remarriage — ” He broke off.  “ At any rate, Gerald was, as I say, a bright and cheery lad, but a cloud seemed to fall over him after his father’s death.”

  “ That is hardly unnatural,” I remarked.

  “ I agree, but the cloud was of an uncommon nature.  It did not appear to be the grief that is usually occasioned by the loss of a parent, but seemed to stem from some other cause.  Indeed, though Gerald seemed to exhibit a perfectly natural filial grief, there was some deeper shadow that passed over him about a year after his father’s death.  This is not unknown in adolescents, of course, particularly under such trying circumstances, but in the case of Gerald, it was of such intensity that I became fearful for his safety.  In the event, my worst fears were realised.”

  “ Why ?  What can you mean ? ” I asked, though I believed that I already knew the answer to my questions.

  “ I mean that Gerald Devereux killed himself by drowning.  His body was found fully dressed at the bottom of the pool at the deepest part of the river, with the pockets of his jacket and trousers filled with stones.  I have no doubt whatsoever in my mind that it was his intention to kill himself.  The body was seen, and I was called immediately, before the body was even retrieved from the water.  I was able to remove the stones from the pockets without attracting attention, and accordingly, I could certify the death as an accident, rather than as a suicide.  I am aware that I may have acted against the law, but I believe that it was all for the best.” He paused, and once again dabbed at his eyes.

  “ It may be an offence,” admitted Holmes, “ but I hardly think that it is a serious one, and I am sure that should the facts of the matter ever come to light, you will be exonerated for what you have just told us.  Can you make any guess as to why this black mood should have come across this young man’s life ? ”

  “ I can do more than guess,” the other sighed.  “ However, I feel that it is not for me to divulge the secrets of another, even when that other has passed from this life.”

  “ You are sure you cannot do more ? ” asked Holmes.

  “ I fear that I cannot, in all conscience.  If you really do desire further knowledge of this matter, I would suggest that you contact Miss Lydia Scythorpe, though I warn you that the subject is a delicate one, and she may be reluctant to discuss it with you.”

  If Sherlock Holmes was surprised by this speech, he hid it well.  “ We have already spoken to her,” he told Hawthorne, “ but not regarding this subject.”

  At that moment, the heavy slow tolling of a church bell sounded from outside the window.  “ What might that be ? ” I asked the doctor.

  “ Ah, that will be for the funeral,” he replied, shaking his head sadly.

  “ What funeral is that ? ” asked Holmes.

  “ The funeral for the two friends of the husband of Mrs.  Devereux, as I still think of her. That is to say, Mr.  Soames.”

  “ What do you know of them ? ”

  “ Only what is common knowledge around the town.  That is to say, that they are London friends of Mr.  Soames who died indigent, and to whom he wished to give a decent burial here in this town.  The bodies were brought from London some days ago, I believe, though no-one saw them arrive.”

  “ And the local undertaker has been responsible for all arrangements ? ” asked Holmes.

  “ I cannot say, but the story I have heard is that the bodies were already in their coffins when they arrived in the town, and have been stored in the icehouse in the park since their arrival.”

  “ I see,” said Holmes.  “ I take it you will not be attending these rites ? ”

  “ I have no love for Soames,” the old man told us firmly.  “ I dislike speaking ill of others, but I must tell you in confidence that he, in my eyes at least, is far from being a gentleman.  I have to confess that I consider that Martha Devereux made a grave mistake in marrying him.”

  “ We called on him yesterday,” Holmes told him.  “ I lack your extended acquaintance with him, but I fear that my views concur with yours as regards his being a gentleman.  Lacking any knowledge of Mrs.  Devereux, I cannot speak to that matter.”

  “ Is there anything else with which I can assist you ? ” Hawthorne asked.

  “ At present, no, but I may wish to ask you some more questions in the future, if I may.”

  We were shown out, and I started for the inn, but Holmes gripped my sleeve.  “ Wait ! ” he said.  He turned towards the church, where a small cortège, consisting of Soames and a woman dressed in black, were following two coffins, borne by pallbearers, towards a couple of open graves.  “ Watch them carefully,” he said, as the coffins were lowered into the ground.  “ Those are not empty, judging by the way they are being handled.”

  “ And yet I would swear that we saw their contents removed last night.”

  “ Indeed so.  Yet another mystery.  Come, let us return to the inn, and thence to London,” he said, as the earth showered down on the coffins.

  At the inn, we were greeted by the landlord, who presented Holmes with a telegram.  “ Came for you just now, sir,” he said.

&nb
sp; Once we were in our room, Holmes ripped open the envelope.  “ Excellent ! ” he cried.  “ This is from the Staffordshire Constabulary, and thanks me for the information I passed to them.  Dowell and Haddon were taken as soon as they stepped off the train, their lodgings were searched, and the bulk of the loot stolen in the Northampton robbery was discovered there.  I am pleased to have withdrawn these two from circulation, at least temporarily, until they can face the Assizes.  Of course, they may turn Queen’s Evidence, but I have my doubts there.”

  We arrived at Euston Station, and Holmes hailed a cab to take us to Cavendish-square.

  “ Not Baker-street ? ” I asked.

  “ On this occasion, I wish to see the Home Secretary.”

  I could hardly refrain from laughing.  “ Do you think that the Home Secretary will wish to see you at home, even supposing that he is in London over the week-end ? ”

  “ I believe so,” he told me seriously.  “ Her Majesty’s Government surely owes me a few small courtesies.  I shall be seriously annoyed if he has failed to honour the request in my telegram that I sent to him this morning when I sent the other to the Staffordshire police.”

  “ And your reason for wishing the Home Secretary to remain in London on a summer Saturday ? ”

  “ Surely that is obvious.  I wish him to sign an exhumation order for those two coffins we have just seen buried.”

  “ You expected this ? ”

  “ Perhaps I did not expect the burial to take place today, but I certainly expected it soon, and I wished to be prepared.”

  I looked at Holmes with respect.  I could not conceive of any other man who would have considered and prepared for an eventuality such as this.

  We arrived at the house of the Home Secretary, and Holmes sent in his card.  We were admitted immediately, and the statesman greeted Holmes familiarly.