She had indeed turned and, with an abruptness which signalled an end to indecision, crossed the road. We heard a ring of the bell and then a voice at the door, enquiring if Mr Holmes was at home, a signal which caused my friend to gather up the untidy papers and thrust them into his bedroom. He had exchanged his dressing-gown for a jacket when Mrs Hudson knocked at the door and announced, "Mrs Cecil Forrester."
The lady was middle-aged, yet her slim figure and graceful air gave her an air of youth that many a younger woman might have envied. She was well and fashionably dressed in a navy-blue costume which combined elegance with restraint. Her features were attractive, yet drawn with worry and fatigue, and there were still traces of indecision marked upon her countenance. She looked from one of us to the other, and my friend stepped forward.
"Mrs Forrester, I am Sherlock Holmes, and this is my friend and colleague, Dr John Watson. Pray take a seat, and tell us what difficulty brings you here."
Our client took her seat in an armchair and Holmes sat opposite her. For a moment she remained silent, her eyes fixed on the rug and her hands twisting nervously in her lap. Then she took a deep breath, as one who steels herself for the worst, and looked up.
"Mr Holmes, I have come to you because I do not know what else to do, and there is no one else to whom I can turn. Over the past few weeks several items of value have disappeared from our home, and I need you to find the culprit."
"Surely the police would be ...," began Holmes, but our client interrupted.
"The police have not the first idea as to the truth," she said with some anger. "My husband called them in at my urging, and all they have been able to do thus far is upset the staff and accuse my maid, Sarah, who I am sure knows nothing of the matter."
"Perhaps," said Holmes soothingly, "you might explain to us exactly what has occurred, so that we may form an opinion."
"Certainly, Mr Holmes." She paused for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts, and then launched into her tale.
"My husband is the assistant manager of Williams and Ca, a firm of insurers in the City. He commands an excellent salary, and as I am not without some income of my own we live, quite comfortably, in a house in Camberwell. We were married twelve years ago, and all has gone smoothly with us until recently.
"My husband's business has increased a good deal in the past few months, and as they are short of staff at the moment Cecil has had to spend more time than usual in the City, so I have not seen him as much as I formerly did. It was two months ago that I first noticed something amiss. I was looking for a receipt in my husband's desk at home, and found that one of the drawers would not open properly. I managed to work it loose, and found that a box which had been placed at the back of it had jammed. I recognized the box as one which had contained a pair of gold and diamond cufflinks which I had given Cecil on his last birthday. The box was empty, and I thought that odd, as I knew Cecil wore the cufflinks on formal occasions only, and was hardly likely to wear them to work. I meant to ask him about them, but he was again late in arriving home. I had arranged to attend the theatre with friends and, as I was myself late in returning, the matter slipped my mind before I could mention it.
"Three weeks ago I noticed that a gold repeater watch he had inherited from his grandfather was missing from its case. I remembered, however, that it had not been striking properly, and Cecil said that he would have to have it cleaned and repaired. I naturally assumed that it was at the watchmaker's, and thought no more about it.
"It was last Wednesday when matters came to a head. I had planned to do some shopping in the afternoon, and then take tea with a friend, as it was the servants' half-day. I took a brooch out of my jewellery case before I left, and placed the case back in the drawer of my dressing-table. When I returned home and went to replace the brooch in the case, I noticed that the contents had been somewhat disturbed, and was horrified to find that a valuable emerald ring which had been in there had vanished. I
searched the case and drawer thoroughly, thinking that perhaps it had fallen out, but could not find it anywhere. The ring has great sentimental value to me, as it belonged to my mother, and I was terribly distraught when Cecil arrived home.
"He saw at once that something was wrong, and went dreadfully pale when I told him about the ring. However, he did his best to console me, saying that he was sure I had merely misplaced it, and that it would come to light soon. It was then that a terrible thought struck me. I remembered the empty box where the cufflinks should have been, and the missing watch. Could there be some connection with my missing ring?
"I asked Cecil if he had taken the watch to be repaired, and he seemed very surprised that I should ask. His surprise gave me all the answer I needed, and I told him what I had found. It seemed obvious to me that a thief had been at work, and I urged Cecil to call in the police. A policeman came out to the house the next day, and we soon discovered that other items were missing, such as a tie-pin and a gold snuff-box."
Our client paused for breath. Holmes, who had been listening carefully to her tale, said, "Your husband has been working long hours for some time, you said. For how long, exactly?"
Mrs Forrester looked somewhat surprised at the question. "Really, Mr Holmes, I cannot see what that has to do with the matter."
"Nevertheless, Mrs Forrester, I repeat the question. The smallest matter may have a bearing upon the case."
"Well, it began in June, as far as I can remember."
"And has continued until the present time?"
"Yes."
"Have the hours remained unchanged?"
"No—no, he began working even later towards the end of August." Mrs Forrester had appeared puzzled by the line of questioning, but now understanding broke over her face. "I believe I see the reasoning behind your questions, Mr Holmes. You think that someone has been watching the house from outside, someone who has noted the long hours my husband works and knows when the house will be empty."
"Possibly," said my friend in a noncommittal voice. "I cannot theorize before I have all my data. The items that have gone missing thus far — cufflinks, a watch, a tie-pin, a snuff-box — all have belonged to your husband?"
"All except my ring, Mr Holmes." "Quite so. Has anything else been missed?"
"No."
"Yet you must have many more items of value. Has none of your other jewellery vanished?"
"No, Mr Holmes. I am sure I would have noticed."
Holmes stretched in his chair. "Surely the official force found no difficulty in seeing to the bottom of this affair, for if you will pardon my saying so it hardly seems complex."
"Well, complex or no, Mr Holmes, the man accomplished little beyond turning our house upside-down before telling us that my maid, Sarah, was the most likely culprit, and that if he could search her belongings he was sure the missing items would be found."
"Upon what did he base this conclusion?"
"He had been told that Wednesday was the servants' half-day, and he checked on their actions during the afternoon. We employ four servants — a cook, a housekeeper, a governess, and Sarah. The cook had been visiting her family, and they all confirmed that she had been with them for the entire afternoon. Mrs Lodge, our housekeeper, had spent her afternoon with a friend, and again it was proved that she had been away from the house for the entire time. Mary, our governess, had been out with the twins, who were attending the birthday party of one of their young friends, and her whereabouts are above question. Poor Sarah, however, had been feeling rather poorly, and had spent the afternoon in her room, resting. Of course, she had no proof of this, and the policeman fixed on this point, as he could see no signs of anyone from outside forcing an entry into the house."
"That seems eminently reasonable, if a trifle mundane," said Holmes. "What makes you so positive that your maid is innocent?"
"Mr Holmes, Sarah has been with me for several years, and I know she would never do such a thing. The policeman thinks me foolish, I am sure, but I know that she is innocen
t, and I will not see her subjected to any indignities. The poor girl is very upset, and is terrified that she will lose her position, or worse."
"What, pray, is your husband's reaction?"
"Cecil does not want to see her prosecuted as a thief, and seems to feel that it will be difficult to prove the case against her
conclusively. However, he seems convinced of Sarah's guilt, and is urging me to dismiss her. This I shall not do until I have proof one way or the other. That is why I have come to you for help."
I could not help but admire the woman for her compassion, and her staunch defence of her maid. My friend, however, merely shrugged and said, "The police case seems fairly clear. What exactly is it that you would have me do?"
"I would like you to come to the house and see what you can find. It is well known that you can see things which remain hidden to others. I am sure that you will find evidence which the police have overlooked or misconstrued. Please say you will help!"
Holmes thought for a moment, then said quietly, "Yes. I will help."
Our client gave a sigh of relief, and a smile erased some of the strain from her features. "Thank you, Mr Holmes. Will you come back to Camberwell with me now?"
"No," said Holmes. Noting her look of surprise and disappointment, he added, "I have a pressing engagement in an hour's time, but I shall be at your disposal after that. If you will leave your address with us, we shall be out to see you no later than three o'clock."
After our client had left, Holmes sat musing for some minutes, while I sat quietly, waiting. Much as I wished to know his thoughts, I refrained from interrupting his reverie, knowing his dislike of being disturbed. Finally he sprang from his chair and picked up his hat and stick.
"Off to your appointment?" I asked.
"Yes, Watson, and it is one to which you might be interested in accompanying me. I am off to see Mr Cecil Forrester, of the firm of Williams and Co."
"I was not aware that you had an appointment with him."
"Nor was I, until a few minutes ago, when I excused myself from accompanying Mrs Forrester. The truth is, Watson, that I wish to see Mr Forrester before examining the house."
We hailed a cab, and eventually found ourselves deposited in a small square off Threadneedle Street, in the shadow of the Royal Exchange. The office of Williams and Co. appeared to be prosperous, judging by the hum of activity which greeted us as we entered. Holmes explained to a clerk that we were there to see Mr Forrester on urgent business, and the emphasis placed on the word "urgent" caused the man to hurry off. He returned with the news that Mr Forrester would see us in a moment. Holmes, whose keen eye had been noting down details of the office, commented on the activity.
"We're no busier than usual," replied the clerk. "We did have another chap employed for a few months, to help us with some extra business, but we let him go three months ago. Ah, Mr Forrester will see you now."
We were ushered into his office, and the clerk left, closing the door behind him. Our client's husband was a man of about five-and forty, although his pale and somewhat haggard face made him seem older. He gazed at us in puzzlement.
"My clerk said you had urgent business with me, gentlemen, but I am afraid I cannot place your faces."
"Perhaps you can place our names," said my friend smoothly. "I am Sherlock Holmes, and this gentleman is my colleague, Dr Watson. We have been asked by Mrs Forrester to look into the matter of some missing jewellery."
Forrester's face went even more pale, and he sat down abruptly. "My wife came to you?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
"Yes," said Holmes, "and I informed her that I would call upon her at three o'clock this afternoon. Unless, that is, you would care to explain to me why you have secretly been taking your own possessions."
Forrester sprang from his chair and stood trembling behind his desk. He began to say something, but no words issued from his mouth. Then he sank back down and buried his face in his hands.
"It is all up," he said finally. "How much do you know?"
"I know most of what you did. You have been taking your own valuables one by one and either selling them or pawning them. When you had exhausted your own articles you took a ring from your wife's jewellery case, which brought everything to light. I should imagine that you would have preferred not to involve the police, but there really was no other way, and you must have counted on suspicion falling on a member of staff rather than the respectable head of the household. In this you were not disappointed, and you were prepared to see your wife's innocent maid accused and dismissed rather than admit your own culpability."
The man looked up, amazement struggling with the fear on his face. "How do you know this?" he whispered.
"Your wife said that all the missing items save the ring were yours, which was suggestive, as thieves are not usually selective in their choice. Then, too, there was the fact that the thefts occurred over a period of some weeks. If a servant was responsible, is it likely that she would take only one piece at a time, knowing that she could be discovered at any moment? No. Any thief would strike once, take all they could, and vanish.Your wife also mentioned that you had been working very long hours of late, and this change of habit was concurrent with the start of the thefts. It seemed likely that the cause of your late hours was not connected with work, but with something that required money. Am I correct?"
Forrester nodded. Now that the initial shock had passed, he seemed almost relieved, as if glad that his secret had been discovered. When at last he spoke he did so in a stronger voice than he had previously used.
"Yes.You are correct, Mr Holmes. I did take the items, which were pawned as soon as I had them. I took my own items first, as my wife was not as likely to miss them, and I could always invent a plausible story should she enquire. It was desperation which caused me to take the ring. But you are wrong about Sarah. I did not want to see the poor girl turned out with a thief's name, even though I suggested it. I hoped that the police would find no evidence and would drop the case."
"What caused this desperation?" I asked when he stopped. Forrester rose and gazed out the window behind him for a moment before replying, "Gambling."
He turned back to face us, and I was reminded of a prisoner in the dock making a confession. "I have been gambling at the track for some time now. At first it was done casually, but soon it became a mania, and I was caught tight in its grasp. Try as I might I could not break free, and I began to spend more and more time there. Soon I had heavy debts, and my salary was not enough. I continued betting, however, using the money from the pawned items in the gambler's forlorn hope that one stroke of good fortune would enable me to make good my losses. Soon the money was gone, however, and I needed more. I thought that with the money to be obtained from pawning my wife's ring I could win enough to pay my debts and redeem the pawned items. I was so desperate that I did not even think of what would happen should she discover its loss, for I could not see beyond my debts. I knew the house would be empty on Wednesday afternoon, so I returned and took the ring. I had no idea that Sarah was not feeling well, and had therefore not gone out. When the policeman indicated that he suspected her I was at first relieved, then appalled at what I had done and what I had become. And now — now I do not know what to do."
He sat before us, a broken man. I felt a keen sympathy for him, having experienced some of his fascination for the turf. Well I knew what it could do to a man, for I had seen many ensnared by its coils and dragged down. I had escaped, but I knew many who had not. Still, it could be done, and I said so to Forrester.
"Escape?" he said, in a tired voice. "But how? What shall I do?"
"Tell your wife," said Holmes, who had been sitting quietly. "My wife? But I cannot. The shame ..."
"Is better than the ruin which will certainly come to you if you continue down this path. Come, Sir," he continued in a softer tone, "your wife is a compassionate woman. She came to us out of concern for her maid, and I am sure that if you are honest with her you shall have n
othing to regret. Go to her now and explain everything, then tell Sarah that she has nothing to fear."
Holmes rose to go, but paused at the door. "I shall send a telegram, but please extend my regrets to your wife for not keeping our appointment. I am sure she will understand. Come, Watson."
The Adventure of the Amateur Mendicant Society - John Gregory Betancourt
1887 was one of Holmes's busiest years. We know for certain of at least thirteen cases that year, and indications of several others. Watson refers to some of these at the start of "The Five Orange Pips" although, in his usual devious way, the case of "The Five Orange Pips" itself did not happen in that year but in 1889.
The year began with Holmes facing one of his most formidable opponents, the King of Blackmailers, Charles Augustus Milverton. It was followed by the case of "The Paradol Chamber", which I am still piecing together and hope to bring to you at a future date. After that Holmes was plunged into the major problems of the Netherland-Sumatra Company, which also resulted in the case enticingly referred to as "The Giant Rat of Sumatra", for which the world is not yet ready, and the daring schemes of Baron Maupertuis. It is of some significance, I believe, that all record of these cases has been extinguished and my researches and those of my colleagues have revealed nothing. I have no doubt that Watson was, in any case, concealing identities here, but I also have no doubt that these were amongst some of Holmes's most daring and important cases. His exertions upon them damaged his health to the extent that Watson ordered Holmes to join him on a few days vacation in Surrey to recuperate, whereupon Holmes promptly threw himself into the local case of "The Reigate Squires". The case acted like therapy and within days Holmes was reinvigorated and back in London.
One of the next cases that Holmes took on was "The Adventure of the Amateur Mendicant Society" which Watson delayed from writing down for several years. That delay meant that some of his earlier jottings about the case did not end up in his final papers stored in the despatch box and instead surfaced amongst some other papers found by bookdealer Robert Weinberg, whose own researches I shall return to later. Weinberg sold these papers to John Betancourt who has helped piece the case together.
The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures Page 14
