by John Hall
Mrs Norton looked from one to the other of us. ‘They have abducted Godfrey,’ she said.
‘What?’ said Holmes.
‘You mean Gottfried and Karl?’ I asked. ‘But why –’
‘No, no! Gottfried and Karl have not taken him.’
‘Who, then?’
Mrs Norton shook her head quickly. ‘That, I cannot say for sure.’
‘I think you had better start at the beginning,’ said Holmes.
‘You are right,’ said Mrs Norton. ‘Well, then, it was as I told you in London, in part at least. The papers were indeed stolen, just as I said, though I did not tell you the real circumstances.’ She put a hand to her head, and I poured some water for her. ‘Thank you, Doctor Watson. The first part of my account, the meeting with Karl, his persuading me to send the photograph to the King of Scandinavia, that was true, as was the part about meeting Godfrey, our deciding to leave London and live quietly, and so forth. But then I lied to you when I said there was an attempt at burglary; or at any rate, I should have said that the attempt succeeded. Yes, the papers were stolen, though I did not immediately realize that Karl was the thief, despite the fact that it was he who had persuaded me to threaten the king earlier. I thought earnestly about what I should do, and decided to send a warning to the king, to tell him I no longer had the papers. But then before I had done so, on the following morning, a strange man called at the house –’
‘How “strange”?’ asked Holmes.
‘I mean partly that I did not know him; but partly that he looked – odd. I suspect he was wearing a wig, a disguise; as you are aware, Mr Holmes, I am no stranger to disguise myself, and I could swear that he was attempting to hide his real identity. Well, he represented himself to me as a detective. He said that there had been reports of burglaries, suspicious characters, in the neighbourhood, and he asked if I had seen or heard anything out of the ordinary, or if there had been any attempt to break into the house. Naturally, that increased my initial distrust of him, for none of the neighbours had ever mentioned anything of the sort to me. I at once associated him in my mind with the theft of the papers; but he made no threat, did not ask for money, or anything of that kind, as one might have expected. So what could I do? I merely told him that I would keep a look out, and he left.’
‘And then?’
‘Then, the next day again, that is, two days after the theft of the papers, I had been out, trying to think what to do. I had not sent a message to the king, as I had at first intended –’
‘And why not?’ asked Holmes.
Mrs Norton hesitated. ‘To be frank, Mr Holmes, I half suspected that the suspicious man who had called upon me the previous day might be an agent of the king’s. I have said that I did not know what to think, much less what to do. There seemed no-one to whom I could turn; indeed, I had not even told Godfrey about the theft of the papers, not wishing to stir up old and painful memories.’ She hesitated again. ‘I walked in the parks and the streets, my mind a whirl. I determined that at least I should tell Godfrey of the theft, ask his advice. I returned home, then, for Godfrey was at home, or so I thought. But when I arrived, I found that our private apartments had been ransacked, and Godfrey had vanished. I questioned the servants, and discovered that two men had called upon Godfrey earlier; neither they, nor Godfrey, had been seen to leave. I decided that enough was enough, and that I should call the police. I did not intend to mention the papers, of course, but merely to report Godfrey’s abduction. But as I was about to send to the prefecture, a note was delivered – “You will be contacted”, it read, “but do not call the police, as you value your husband’s life”. That was clear enough; I did as I was asked, and waited, though it was the longest wait I have ever known.
‘A second message summoned me to a nearby café, and that odd man was there again. He ignored my pleas and protests; his first questions were about the papers, where were they, and so on. I told him they were stolen, and it was obvious that he did not believe me. I burst into tears, swore by all that I held sacred that it was true, swore by Godfrey’s very life, and in the end I persuaded him to believe me. It was he who muttered, “That devil Karl”, and thus identified the culprit. I saw at once that it was so, and – desperate to get Godfrey back – told him of the earlier episode with Karl. He seemed to believe me, and I had hopes that, now that there was no possibility of my handing the papers over, Godfrey would be freed. But then the dreadful man told me that it did not matter that Karl had the papers – if I wanted to see Godfrey alive, I must recover them! I cried, I protested, but to no avail. I then saw that I must do as he asked, and persuaded him to help me.’
‘He took part in the charade in London, then, impersonating Karl?’
Mrs Norton nodded. ‘I am truly sorry, Mr Holmes. But what else could I do? I thought that if I could get you to recover the papers from Karl and Gottfried, I could save Godfrey.’
I asked, ‘But then, was the whole business about your being tied up a fake? I could have sworn you were in some distress.’
Mrs Norton managed a faint smile. ‘My distress was real enough, Doctor, and for obvious reasons. For the rest, we could not tell if – or, rather, when – Mr Holmes would take our bait. My – “confederate”, as I suppose I must call him, for I still have no notion of his real identity, untied me every so often, and I took a little water, and attended to my other needs. But we had to keep up the pretence.’
‘This fellow was in the house, then, when we arrived?’ asked Holmes quickly.
‘That, I cannot say. I think not, for he crept in by the back door at intervals. It now occurs to me that he probably had a confederate of his own, to keep watch,’ said Mrs Norton. ‘That would be perfectly sensible, would it not? But it is merely surmise upon my part, for I knew nothing of what he was up to, apart from what I have told you.’
‘H’mm. Well, madam, you would perhaps have done better to tell us this at the outset,’ said Holmes. ‘I wonder – if it is not Gottfried and Karl, then who has abducted Mr Norton?’
‘The anarchists, perhaps?’ I suggested.
‘Oh, the anarchists, to be sure.’ But there was an odd note in Holmes’s voice.
‘Well then, who else?’ I asked him.
‘I had thought, perhaps the king, as Mrs Norton suspected?’
‘Doesn’t make any sense, Holmes. The king has consulted you before, why should he not do so again, without any need for this rigmarole?’
‘It is an interesting problem, is it not? Quite like one of your thrillers, Watson.’
‘H’mm. A problem for any writer, though, Holmes. If the hero didn’t do it, and the villains didn’t do it, then who the devil did do it?’ I recollected myself, and added hastily, ‘I beg your pardon, Mrs Norton. I did not intend to make light of what must be a very distressing matter, but it is a pretty puzzle, I must say. Any ideas, Holmes?’
Holmes shrugged, and looked again at Mrs Norton. ‘It is hardly the most pressing matter to demand our attention. Assuming that you had persuaded us to hand the papers back to you, what were you instructed to do then?’
‘To place an advertisement in the “Personal” columns of the newspapers. I have a note of the wording here, some nonsense about “Irene wishes to inform her Papa that all is well now”. I did not choose the code myself.’
‘Indeed not.’
‘Then “Papa” would reply in the same fashion, a newspaper advertisement telling me where to go to meet him.’
‘And these advertisements were to be in the local papers? That is to say, the Bohemian papers?’
‘Just so. The Journal de Bohème, the Dopzhe Matin, and so on.’
Holmes looked at me. ‘Interesting.’
‘As meaning that the villains – whoever they may be – are here in Bohemia? More, I would say that they were here in Dopzhe itself, for they could not rely upon the newspapers reaching an isolated rural spot in good time.’
‘I agree,’ said Holmes. ‘Very well, suppose we place the adver
tisement, and Watson and I go along to see who turns up? We might follow them, and I guarantee they would never see us.’
Mrs Norton shook her head. ‘But they would know that I had betrayed them, and what price Godfrey’s life then? Nobody else was supposed to know the form of the advertisement, so whether I go or not, they will know I have deceived them.’
Besides,’ I pointed out, ‘the appointed rendezvous will most likely be a café, or other public place. Some spot where the villains can observe Mrs Norton, check that she is not followed, before they make contact.’
‘Doctor Watson is right,’ said Mrs Norton. ‘The only thing that will serve is for me to take the papers. I must, if I am to save Godfrey.’
‘Impossible,’ said Holmes with a quick shake of the head. ‘Too dangerous by far. I must consider the king –’
‘My husband’s life is in your hands. You guaranteed to follow anyone who contacted me, did you not?’
‘No, I merely guaranteed that they would not see me,’ said Holmes, a touch nettled. ‘However competent an investigator may be, there is always a risk that the quarry may elude him. Under any other circumstances I would risk it, but not as things are.’
‘Then you are sentencing my husband to death.’
Holmes lifted a hand in genuine horror. ‘You are asking me to choose between your husband’s life, and the future of an entire country.’
‘Yet you must choose,’ said Mrs Norton calmly.
I put in, ‘Holmes, there must be a way. I never yet knew you lose someone you were following, and –’
‘It has happened,’ he said.
‘But – I shall be there, Holmes. And von Gratz, and Markus –’
He held up a hand to silence me. ‘I know all that, Watson. But it is simply too risky. Why, before now I have accumulated evidence, set traps, had all the resources of Scotland Yard at my disposal – and still lost my man. You know it to be true, Doctor.’
I nodded, bitterly disappointed. ‘It is so,’ I told Mrs Norton. ‘The possible risks to the king –’
‘And the certain risk to Godfrey?’
Holmes said, ‘We are perhaps looking at this from the wrong viewpoint, seeing one large problem where in reality there are two quite separate issues. One, the photograph, we have solved. The other, the matter of Mr Norton’s abduction, we have still to consider. Tell me, madam, was any time limit set upon your recovering the papers?’
‘Well, obviously I must recover them before the King of Scandinavia arrives. But apart from that, no, for I could hardly forecast how soon – if at all – you yourself would get the papers from Gottfried and Karl.’
‘The mystery man won’t know, Holmes,’ I put in eagerly. ‘Even Gottfried and Karl will – with a bit of luck – think we have only the forgeries.’
‘Forgeries?’ asked Mrs Norton.
Holmes waved a hand impatiently. ‘A long story, madam. Yes, we may have a few days, perhaps even as long as a week, before they get restless. Mrs Norton, will you place your trust in Watson and myself ?’
Mrs Norton thought for a moment. Then, ‘I have no choice,’ she said. ‘But what if they become impatient and contact me, without waiting for me to place the advertisement?’
‘In that case, you will simply tell them that you have approached me, asking for the return of the papers, but that I replied that I do not yet have them. Remember that they may not know whether that is true; and if somehow they know that I have the papers, and say as much, then you are to say that I must have lied to you, a perfectly logical proceeding under the circumstances. Accuse me of intransigence, of any vice in the calendar, but you must convince them that you have tried to get me to return the papers to you, and that I refused. Say that they must give you more time to persuade me. Do you understand?’
‘Perfectly, Mr Holmes. And in turn I would ask you to remember that Godfrey’s life is in your hands.’
‘You may depend upon me, madam.’ Holmes looked at me. ‘Perhaps, Watson, you would be so good as to call in our friends?’
I did as he asked, and von Gratz and Captain Markus, both of them looking very puzzled, came back into the room. In a very few words Holmes told them what Mrs Norton had just told us.
Markus, honest and straightforward young fellow that he was, looked horrified as he heard of the unfortunate Godfrey Norton’s abduction, and his hand went to the hilt of his sword, or at least to where his sword should have been.
Von Gratz, too, listened intently to Holmes’s account, but there was a peculiar expression on his face, and when Holmes had finished, von Gratz asked quickly, ‘And the photograph?’
‘Ah, yes, the photograph. As I had hinted, I shall keep that myself, just for the time being. It will be safer that way.’
‘Keep it,’ said von Gratz, ‘with a view to its possible use in an exchange, an exchange for Mr Godfrey Norton, that is to say?’
‘It is a remote possibility that we shall need it for that,’ said Holmes, ‘but still it is a possibility, and one that we must consider. After all, a man’s life –’
‘Is of no consequence,’ said von Gratz, stepping forward and picking up the little revolver which Mrs Norton had so recently used to threaten him and the others. ‘No, stay where you are, Mr Holmes, or I shall surely shoot you.’
‘You traitorous dog!’ I said.
Von Gratz laughed aloud.
‘It was you who abducted Mr Norton!’ I shouted.
Von Gratz laughed again, but then shook his head. ‘I assure you, Doctor, that this unfortunate abduction is as distressing to me as it is to you. And it is as great a puzzle. But really, to call me a traitor, of all men! I promise you, no man deserves the name less than I, for – alone of those in this room – I have the king’s interests at heart.’
‘I say!’ Markus protested, and I dare say that I too made some ineffectual remark.
Von Gratz waved these interruptions aside. ‘So long as ever this plate remains intact,’ he said, ‘the king is in danger.’ And before we could properly realize what he intended, he had raised the revolver and brought its butt down fair and square on the glass plate, which lay on a little table, shattering it into a thousand fragments.
‘You fool!’ cried Holmes.
And Mrs Norton said, ‘Bertie – Baron von Gratz – I once called you friend, and believed you to be such. But now I must ask you never to speak to me again, for you have murdered my husband.’ And with a dignity that was truly regal, she turned on her heel and walked from the room.
EIGHT
‘I am sorry,’ said von Gratz. ‘But my first duty is to the king, and since the plate could still be used against him, it was part of that duty to destroy it.’
Holmes shook his head. ‘You are right of course,’ he said. ‘And I am sorry that I called you a fool. But I had hopes that we could save both these unfortunate men, and now of course we cannot hope to use the plate to save Mr Norton.’
‘Then we’ll just have to use something else,’ I said. ‘Like our wits, for example. You yourself said that we might have as long as a week before anyone gets suspicious.’
Holmes smiled. ‘You are right,’ he said. ‘Though I confess that I have not the slightest notion as to where we might start.’ He looked a question at von Gratz.
‘I have as little inspiration as you, Mr Holmes,’ said von Gratz. ‘Unless it is indeed these devils of anarchists who have abducted Mr Norton in an attempt to acquire the papers and thus bring down the king?’
‘And do you have no clue as to the identity of these anarchists, no idea as to their meeting places?’
‘The Ministry of Justice has, I believe, a department concerned with such matters,’ said von Gratz. ‘His Majesty will doubtless give me the authority to contact them, see what they know.’
‘I confess that I cannot see that it will help us,’ said Holmes, ‘but it is a start. More, it is the only starting place we have, so if you could make some discreet enquiries, and as soon as may be, I shall be grateful.�
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‘Tomorrow, I promise.’
‘And can you think of no-one else who might be involved?’ asked Holmes.
Von Gratz shook his head. ‘Markus?’
Captain Markus said, ‘I can think of nobody, sir. If it is not Gottfried – well! Who else would have any motive for such a cowardly proceeding?’
Holmes said, ‘If it is not political, might it be more prosaic?’ And when we looked blank, he went on, ‘Might those who abducted Mr Norton have done so for money? Not to extort cash from Mrs Norton, but from the king?’
‘Blackmail, you mean?’ I asked.
‘It would make sense, would it not?’ said Holmes. ‘If no-one with a claim to the throne has abducted the fellow, what is left? The king once told me that he would give an entire province of Bohemia to get the photograph back, so perhaps our unknown villains are looking to gain the cash equivalent of a province?’
Von Gratz nodded. ‘It makes good sense. The king has much to lose, it would be worth a considerable sum to ensure that the treaty is signed without any inconvenience. Moreover, payment would be relatively safe, in that when once the treaty is signed, the photograph ceases to be a threat; there is thus no possibility of the criminals continually demanding payments in the future. The king would pay any amount, I am sure, especially if it were more or less a “once and for all” payment. I believe you are right, Mr Holmes.’
‘Although that hardly gets us any further,’ I muttered.
Holmes laughed. ‘I would not say that, Watson. At least it shows us the direction in which we must look. And,’ he added thoughtfully, ‘it may point to the true culprit.’
Remember if you will that this was in 1889; it took only a moment for me to realize what Holmes meant. ‘You mean – Professor Mor –’
He stopped me with a look. ‘It makes sense, Watson.’
Von Gratz and Markus stared at us. Markus asked, ‘You mean you know the identity of the criminal, Mr Holmes?’
‘Say rather that I have my suspicions. Only time will tell if they are correct.’
