Further Notes From the Dispatch Box of John H Watson MD (The Dispatch Box of John H Watson, MD)
Page 17
“ He had met Parkins previously on the occasion that the will was drawn up, and it was a stroke of luck for him that Parkins wished to change the terms of his estate, and a further stroke of luck that his lazy superior sent him alone on the errand to Parkins’ house. Maybe this was not an act that had been premeditated, but the idea possibly struck him as he sat there in the house talking to the blind man, and he suddenly realised that Parkins’ affliction could be turned to his own advantage.”
“ You mean that Parkins believed he was dictating a codicil, but whatever he dictated was ignored, and Lynch simply wrote down that his future bride was to inherit ? ”
“ Precisely. He was familiar, after all, with the original will, having written it out, and was well-placed to produce a valid codicil. We will probably never know what Parkins intended the codicil to express, unless Lynch chooses to tell us. Following the completion of the false codicil, Lynch carefully guided the blind man’s hand to the place on the page—you noticed several drops of ink and a few lines where the pen had initially been placed in the wrong position, did you not ? And the faithful servants witnessed the signature.”
“ It is a most infamous crime ! ” I exclaimed.
“ Indeed it is infamous, but it would be impossible to prove the crime. If we confront Lynch with our findings,” (and here may I add, Doctor, that I was touched, as I was to be touched many times in the future, by Sherlock Holmes’ sharing of the credit in the case) “ he will undoubtedly deny the accusation, and who is to gainsay him ? We lack proof, and I believe that proof will never be forthcoming.” He broke off and pulled out his watch. “ Let us return to the Lynch residence. He should be returned by now.”
The door was opened, and we were admitted to a weeping Mrs. Lynch. Through her sobs she showed us a brief note from her husband, informing her that he had left her, and he had withdrawn their savings from their bank, but she was not to worry, since he had left enough for her to live on.
We visited the bank into which Mrs. Lynch told us the inheritance from Parkins had been deposited, and learned from the manager that Lynch had entered the bank just before closing time and had withdrawn all his money in five-pound Bank of England notes. He had also, as we had previously been informed, left a small sum which would earn his wife a relative pittance in interest.
Mr. Holmes and I assumed that he had received a message from some source—maybe another clerk at the solicitor’s, though all the clerks denied it when I questioned them later—and had fled the coop. My first instinct was to find the man and bring him to justice, but Mr. Holmes disagreed with me.
“ Even if you do manage to locate him, on what charge will you detain him ? ”
“ Why, on that of fraud, of course.”
“ And how will you prove this ? As I said to you earlier, there is one living witness—the suspect himself. No jury will ever convict him based on our deductions. You now realise, I trust, the importance of seeming trifles, but to persuade a jury of their significance...” He shrugged. “ I believe Victor Lynch has achieved a status that many more experienced criminals would envy—that of being known to have committed a crime against which any attempts at prosecution are doomed to failure.”
I saw the truth of Mr. Holmes’ observation that it would be impossible to bring a successful prosecution, and accordingly decided not to proceed further with the investigation, though all my instincts and sense of justice rebelled at this. Lynch, it is hardly necessary for me to add, was never seen again, at least under that name.
I confess, though, that I experienced some satisfaction in watching the Parkins brothers’ faces when I told them that the money they were expecting was now outside their grasp, and would remain for ever so.
-oOo-
AND THAT, DR. WATSON, is how I came to meet Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and the first case in which I witnessed his extraordinary powers, the likes of which I believe we will never again see. His death is a tragic loss to me, both professionally and personally, and even the removal of Professor Moriarty from the face of the earth is a poor exchange.
-oOo-
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Table of Contents
Dedication
Foreword by Philip C. Eyster, D.Min.
Editor’s Notes by Hugh Ashton
Acknowledgements
Sherlock Holmes and the Abernetty Horror
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Finsbury House
Sherlock Holmes and the Curious Affair of the Archdeacon
An Account of the Victor Lynch Forgery
Other books from Inknbeans Press
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