Notes From the Dispatch Box of John H Watson, MD

by Ashton, Hugh

  “ You are correct. My name is Avery Pillstone, and I have been in the employ of the British Museum for the past thirty years. For the last five of these, I have held the position of Visiting Curator—a somewhat curious title for one holding a permanent post, but one which is used to describe that member of the Museum’s staff who is responsible for the care and safekeeping of those collections and items that are loaned by other institutes. But before we proceed further, there is the delicate question of your fee, should you work on the problem I am about to pose to you.”

  “ My professional charges are on a fixed scale, but there are occasions when I remit them altogether. I do not think you will need to worry yourself unduly about this matter. Judging by your agitation, it would seem that one of the loans of which you have been granted custody is no longer in the possession of the Museum ? ”

  “ That is indeed the case,” answered Pillstone. “ I refer to the Vatican cameos.”

  Holmes gave no sign of recognising the objects to which our visitor had referred, and I must have appeared equally blank, for our visitor threw up his hands in the air. “ You have never heard of them ? ” he exclaimed in bewilderment.

  “ I live a simple sheltered life, and such works of art are often the furthest things from my mind,” smiled Holmes.

  “ I confess they may be something of an esoteric subject outside the circles in which I move,” admitted Pillstone. “ I may say that, without boasting, I am reckoned to be one of the first five in the country when it comes to questions regarding smaller artistic artefacts of this type, and I live such a sheltered life, to use your term, Mr. Holmes, that I sometimes fall under the impression that the whole world shares my interest—nay, my passion—in such matters. Why, my dear wife—”

  A discreet cough from Holmes interrupted him.

  “ Many pardons. I tend to become carried away in my enthusiasms, so I am informed,” he said, smiling at his own absurdity. Despite his somewhat comic nature, there was an endearing quality to this unworldly scholar, who reminded me of one of my schoolmasters who had attempted in vain to impart the rudiments of Greek to me, despite his best efforts. “ These Vatican cameos,” he explained, “ are the work of an unknown Italian master of the fifteenth century. They are thirteen in number, and represent Our Lord, together with the twelve Apostles. They were presented by the King of Naples, Alfonso II, to the Pope of that time when the King entered a monastery following his abdication. Since that time, they have remained in the Vatican, and this is the first time that they have ever left Italy. I must confess that I was personally instrumental in persuading the Holy See to allow them to be lent to our Museum, and that after many guarantees and undertakings that the Museum would take responsibility for their safety.”

  “ And now they are missing ? ” asked Sherlock Holmes.

  “ Worse than that,” Pillstone told us. “ They are missing, and a substitution has been made. And this, on the very day before the cameos were to be placed on public display.”

  “ I see.”

  “ Due to the value of the cameos—the aesthetic and artistic value, that is—we had determined that we place them in a cabinet by themselves in a gallery which would display them to their best advantage, and allowing the public to view them, without the distractions that would be present were they to be shown alongside other works of art.”

  “ And were this loan and the exhibition widely known ? ”

  “ Inside the Museum, yes. It was something of a coup, if I may say so, for us—that is to say, myself—” he added, with a little obvious pride, “ —to have made the arrangements for their loan. It is the first time that they have travelled outside the bounds of the Vatican itself, and it required some delicate negotiations for this to happen. However, as you yourself demonstrated to me just now, they are of somewhat specialist interest, and I do not think that the general public has been made aware of the loan. We were planning to place a notice in the entrances to the Museum, informing the public of the exhibition. Naturally, since the cameos have been removed, this course of action has not been followed.”

  “ There has been a substitution made, you say ? ”

  “ You may see for yourself,” Pillstone told us, withdrawing a small box from his pocket, and extracting a circular plaque some three inches in diameter from it. He passed the plaque to Holmes, who examined it briefly, and then burst out laughing.

  I was puzzled by this, but extended my hand, and Holmes passed the cameo, for such it was, to me. I took one look, and I too was unable to contain my mirth. Carved in a crude but recognisable fashion was a head caricaturing our Prime Minister.

  “ I apologise for my laughter just now,” remarked Holmes. “ I am sure that this is not an event calling for merriment on your part, but there is a humorous side to this, provided, of course, that one is not the victim, as is the case with you.”

  “ This was the cameo that replaced the figure of Our Lord in the centre of the display,” commented Pillstone. “ The other twelve cameos that replaced those of the Apostles depicted Cabinet ministers and prominent politicians, in much the same style as the one you hold in your hand.”

  “ Were these cameos mounted in any kind of setting ? ” asked Holmes.

  “ They are currently un-mounted, though in the last century they were placed in a gilded gesso frame that was, in the opinion of most experts, hideous. In our display of the cameos at the Museum, we had taken the liberty of placing the Apostles in a sequence to match that of the famous depiction of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, placing them on a velvet cushion inside the display case.”

  “ Which was locked, naturally ? ”

  “ Of course, with the key being held in my office while I am in the Museum and taken home by me when I return home. There is also a reserve key being held by the janitorial staff. Such reserve keys are themselves held under lock and key, with the Curator and his Deputy alone holding the keys and combination to the safe in which these are held.”

  “ Given the value of the cameos, were any extra precautions made regarding the security of the gallery ? ”

  “ An extra porter would have been placed at the door to the room during visiting hours, but otherwise there were to be no special arrangements in that regard.”

  “ When do you think the substitution was made ? ”

  “ It must have been last night after we closed to visitors. I saw the cameos in the case before I left the Museum yesterday evening, following the closing of the building to the public.”

  “ That time would seem logical. Naturally, the key to the case is still in your possession ? ”

  “ It is. I have a habit of counting the keys on my chain both before and after my journeys to the museum. It is somewhat of a fad of mine, but I am sure you understand my concerns in this matter.” Holmes silently nodded his assent. Our visitor continued his narrative. “ There is no sign that there has been any attempt to force the lock on either my office door or the desk drawer. I noticed the substitution of the cameos just before we opened the Museum to visitors this morning. I had arrived at the office, had removed my boots, as you observed, Mr. Holmes, and replaced them with the soft slippers that I sometimes wear at work. My feet suffer from the pressure of shoes and boots at times, and it is a comfort to me to be able to wear these slippers, especially on those days when I have no occasion to meet the public. In any event, this inclement weather had caused my boots to become wet, and I had no desire to spend the day in such discomfort.

  “ Having effected this change, and attended to the correspondence that had come my way, I determined to inspect the items for which I have responsibility. It is my regular habit, as it is of most of us at the Museum, to make such a tour of inspection before the morning influx of visitors. In this particular instance, it being the first day on which the cameos were to be shown, I considered it to be a necessity. As I approached the glass-sided case containing the cameos, I noticed that they did not appear to be precisely in the positions in which
I had left them the previous evening. I looked a little more closely, and thereupon realised that the substitution had been made. I returned immediately to my office, retrieved the key to the case, and unlocked it. I removed all the cameos, returned to my office, and instructed my assistant to draft a notice informing the public that the cameos were temporarily not on display. I left the key with him in order that he might put the notice in the case, and close off the gallery pending further investigation.”

  “ Did you inform him of the substitution ? ”

  “ Of course.”

  “ His reaction ? ”

  “ He appeared to be as shocked as I. I had little time to take much note, though, as I was busy changing my boots—in great haste, as you remarked—and I snatched up the central cameo to bring to you.”

  “ Can you give me an idea of the value of these cameos ? ”

  Pillstone spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “ That is impossible to say, Mr. Holmes. They are unique, and represent the finest craftsmanship of their age. In terms of purely monetary value, they would be worth many tens of thousands of pounds, given that a buyer could be located. However, as landmarks in the history of art, they are literally without price. Their loss represents a severe blow to the prestige of the Museum—nay, to the prestige of the country which has allowed this to take place.” He placed his head in his hands, and appeared to be sobbing.

  “ Come, man,” said Holmes, not unkindly. “ From what you tell me, you have little or nothing to reproach yourself for. This theft seems to have been carried out in spite of you, rather than as a result of any action or omission on your part. The first thing we must do is to carry out an inspection of the area. Watson, if you take a hansom with Mr. Pillstone to the Museum, I will be with you shortly.”

  zz

  My ride to the museum with Avery Pillstone was undertaken in near silence, as he sat beside me in the cab, shivering with the cold, and seemingly wrapped in his own thoughts. On our arrival at the Museum, he escorted me through areas usually closed to the public to his office, where a warm radiator seemed to restore his spirits a little.

  A younger man, a little under thirty years of age by my estimation, was sitting at a desk to one side of the room, and Pillstone introduced me to him. Pillstone’s desk was on the other side, and was slightly larger and more ornate, as befitted his rank. The walls were lined with bookshelves, containing books on art in many languages, and I gazed at them curiously.

  “ I do not read all these languages fluently,” he smiled, “ but it is necessary for me to have a smattering of many of them, in order to understand the doings of my colleagues in other countries. Although my field of expertise is the early Renaissance, I have had to make myself a Jack of all trades in order to keep abreast of these developments.”

  “ Would you and the gentleman care for tea ? ” asked Pillstone’s assistant. “ It is about time, and it is no trouble for me to ask for another cup when I collect the teapot from the kitchen.”

  “ An excellent idea, McCoy,” Pillstone told him. “ Bring two extra cups, if you please. We are expecting another visitor.”

  “ Certainly, Mr. Pillstone.”

  Something in the younger man’s voice caught my attention, and when he had left the room, I enquired regarding his origins. “ Is he from Scotland ? ” I asked.

  “ No, though I, too, was deceived by his voice at first. His family is from Londonderry in Ireland, and they are descended from Scots settlers who arrived there some years ago. When will Mr. Holmes join us, do you think ? ”

  “ I confess that I do not know. He is sometimes a little eccentric in his movements, but almost always arrives at the correct conclusions before anyone else, however late he may be in arriving here.”

  McCoy re-entered the room, bearing a simple tray, on which stood a teapot and all necessary appurtenances for the production of that most British of beverages. In a few minutes, we were sipping from our cups, when the door opened, and a porter announced the arrival of Sherlock Holmes, who was introduced to McCoy, and declined the latter’s offer of tea.

  “ Thank you,” he responded, “ but I feel there is little time to waste. Mr. Pillstone, would you have the goodness to show me the case in which the cameos are displayed ? ”

  “ Really ! ” exclaimed McCoy in wonder. “ Are you really in such a hurry to investigate the matter ? ”

  “ If your Curator was so prompt in securing my services in this matter, the least I can do is to return the compliment by being prompt myself,” Holmes replied. “ In any event, the longer the scene of a crime is left uninspected, the greater the opportunity for any evidence that may point to the solution of the mystery to disappear. In a case like this, time is of the essence.”

  “ In that event, I will go ahead and ensure that everything is ready for you,” said McCoy, starting for the door.

  “ Very well,” said Holmes, but there was something in his voice that was more than mere assent to McCoy’s proposal, giving me pause for thought.

  “ Maybe I will take that tea, after all,” he added, as the door closed behind the assistant. He received the cup, and holding it in both hands, moved around the room, pausing at McCoy’s desk, and glancing at the papers strewn across its surface. “ Most interesting,” he remarked, seemingly at random, as he drained his cup and replaced it on the tray. “ Come, let us to the cameos.”

  Pillstone led the way to the gallery in which the cameos had been displayed. The passages through which we passed were not part of the museum that is generally opened to the public, and we met no-one on our journey through these narrow paths, other than two other staff of the Museum, who greeted Pillstone. It was apparent to me that Pillstone had not yet informed these others of the loss.

  “ Who has access to these passages ? ” asked Holmes of Pillstone.

  “ Typically they are left unsecured. The staff frequently need access to the galleries without disturbing visitors,” he responded. “ There is little reason for them to be locked, and the exits from them into the galleries are disguised as part of the architecture of the place, so there is little danger of a member of the public accidentally entering.”

  “ And the entrance into the gallery where we are now going ? ”

  “ That is always left unlocked, to the best of my knowledge. Ah, here we are.” He grasped a handle, and an almost concealed door swung into the gallery where McCoy was already standing by a large display cabinet by the window. Pillstone ushered myself and Holmes into the gallery, which currently appeared to be roped off, and “ out of bounds” to the public. I heard a soft sighing sound as the door of the passage from which we had emerged closed, and I looked behind me. As we had been informed, the door matched the moulding of the general architecture so well that it was difficult to credit the fact that any opening at all existed in the wall.

  Holmes had reached the display case, his footsteps echoing through the empty gallery, and was already examining it closely with the aid of the ever-present lens from his pocket, along with a variety of useful tools for assisting him his work. “ When was the glass on this cabinet last replaced ? ” he asked, straightening up from his inspection.

  “ Dear me, I have no idea,” answered Pillstone. “ Before my time, I am sure. In fact, I do not remember the glass on any case in this Museum ever being replaced.”

  “ Excepting that time in the Furniture Gallery when the Austrian gentleman suffered a seizure and fell against the case of Regency exhibits two years ago,” McCoy put in.

  “ Ah, yes, of course. But that would scarcely be germane to this issue, would it, Mr. Holmes ? ”

  “ I hardly imagine so. If you would be good enough to open the case, please, gentlemen ? ” he invited.

  From his waistcoat pocket, Pillstone produced a chain, which he examined before selecting a small key. He inserted this key carefully into the lock at the base of the case and pulled, exerting a small effort. The door of the case swung open with a loud creaking sound, and Holmes
moved forward, to examine the twelve remaining cameos after first examining the case itself.

  “ Have you reached any conclusion as to the material of which these replacements are made ? ” he asked.

  “ From a cursory examination, I would say that they are made of glass, and composed of a carved portion glued to the darker surface of the base—a technique we call ‘assembled cameo’.”

  “ That would appear to concur with my observations,” remarked Holmes, peering through his lens. “ And the originals ? ”

  “ Carved from layered onyx, and as such almost irreplaceable. Stone of that quality is hard to come by nowadays.”

  “ Whoever replaced them has a strange sense of humour,” replied Holmes. “ Come, Watson, and see for yourself.”

  I stepped to Holmes’ side, and examined the twelve caricatures of famous politicians. Most of them were currently members of the Cabinet, but there were a few prominent members of the Opposition among them. All were instantly recognisable, in the style of the newspaper and magazine drawings of the time, and caused me to smile involuntarily as I mentally ascribed names and characters to faces.

  “ I fear there is little to be learned from these crude pieces, Mr. Holmes,” remarked Pillstone.

  “ Maybe, maybe,” remarked Holmes absently, dropping to one knee and examining the floor near the cabinet with his lens. “ Aha ! ” Withdrawing a pair of tweezers and an envelope from his pocket, he lifted a small object, which I was unable to discern, from the floor, and placed it in the envelope.

  “ At what hour are these galleries usually cleaned each day ? ” he asked.

  “ After I have departed,” replied Pillstone. “ McCoy, you usually stay later than I. Do you know ? ”

  “ This gallery is usually cleaned at about half-past six, I believe, sir,” McCoy told Holmes.