Disappearance of Inspector Lestrade , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Bob Madia

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

107 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Dr. John H. Watson is a man of medical science, a man of action and a man of letters. His life has been one of adventure and romance. In 1894 he finds himself alone following the death of his great friend Sherlock Holmes three years earlier and now the passing of his beloved wife, Mary. His loneliness is all encompassing and only a true friend can help him to see there is still reason to continue living. But when that friend, Inspector G. Lestrade of Scotland Yard suddenly and mysteriously disappears, Dr. Watson takes it upon himself to discover the reason for the abduction. Watson is thwarted in his investigation by his friend's brother, Mycroft Holmes and by the unseen culprits responsible for Inspector Lestrade's kidnapping. Still, Watson battles on, ignoring orders from Her Majesty's Government, from Scotland Yard and from friends who wish only to see the Good Doctor through the darkest time of his life. Dr. Watson begins to uncover secrets long hidden and the possibility if threats far reaching that could embroil the world in a war never before witnessed. What is truth and what is fiction is a determination Watson will make for himself with near shocking understanding in the final moments.

Informations

Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	05 novembre 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781787056312
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0250€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

The Disappearance of Inspector Lestrade
Bob Madia

First published in 2020 by
MX Publishing
335 Princess Park Manor
Royal Drive, London, N11 3GX
www.mxpublishing.com
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
Copyright © 2020 Bob Madia
The right of Bob Madia to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover design Brian Belanger

Introduction
I have been a collector of anything involving Sherlock Holmes and his literary agent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, since I first read The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes when I was twelve years old. I had enjoyed the Basil Rathbone films which were shown alternating weekends during the winter on Channel Nine WGN in Chicago. Opposite them were Charlie Chan mysteries and I humbly admit to liking those more. I thought they were funny.
Anytime there was a new television show, movie, book, magazine or game, I was there. I always tried to be first in line. I always wanted the first copy. I was into Sherlock Holmes before it was cool to be into Sherlock Holmes (thank you Mr. Gatiss and Mr. Moffatt).
When I was young(er), I was the easiest person to shop for when it came to Christmas or my birthday. “Just get me something for my Sherlock Holmes collection,” I’d say. Back in the day, it was easy to find something for my collection that I didn’t already have. Now, I get more duplicates than surprises, and I’m told it’s a challenge to find something I don’t already have. What was once a pretty easy task has become a curse for my loved ones who try desperately to find a book I don’t already have in my more than 1500 volume collection. “I don’t remember seeing this in your collection,” they’d say handing me an obviously gift-wrapped tome. I’d open it and the expression on my face would instantly betray the truth of the matter. “You already have it,” they’d say, crestfallen. “Sorry, yes,” I’d respond. “Let me show you.” We’d then go into the “library” and I’d pull the hardcover off the shelf. “Also, here’s the paperback version,” I’d point out from another section. “And here’s the Spanish translation, the Braille version and the graphic novel.”
Add dozens of toys, games, posters, T-shirts, puzzles, pipes, hats, and varied other knick-knacks and it’s no wonder people now say “I never know what to get him. He has everything!”
That’s actually not true. There are literally thousands of items and books I don’t have, but they’re not easily located or purchased. I don’t have any of the original Strand Magazine appearances of Sherlock Holmes. I can’t afford first editions of the original stories. You just can’t walk into a Barnes and Noble and walk out with a first edition of The Pursuit of the Houseboat by John Kendrick Bangs. That I found at a Star Trek convention, believe it or not. Oddly, Star Trek conventions are good places to find Sherlockian items to add to a collection. I found homemade buttons or Lt. Cmdr. Data as Sherlock Holmes and Geordie LaForge as Dr. Watson in the Star Trek/Sherlock Holmes crossover episode “Elementary, Dear Data” from Star Trek: The Next Generation. I found a copy of the rare first issue of The Paperback Exchange edition of Sherlock Holmes books from editor Gary Lovisi for only a dollar. I was even offered “anything” in a booth in trade for my deerstalker hat. I did not part with it.
Finding new items for my Sherlock Holmes collection has never been difficult for me. Except in one case.
Back in the 1970s there was a TV show called Ellery Queen , starring Jim Hutton as the great detective and created by Columbo and Jessica Fletcher creators Richard Levinson and William Link. I loved this show and I read the real Ellery Queen mysteries I found in the local library. I found one book called “A Study in Terror” in which Ellery is given a handwritten document supposedly done by Dr. Watson and being an unpublished adventure of Sherlock Holmes wherein Holmes hunts Jack the Ripper. The book was in the “free” paperback section of the library and didn’t have enough of Ellery Queen in it at the time for me to read it. Since it was in the library, I put it back because I didn’t believe in keeping books I got from the public library. A year later I would really get into Sherlock Holmes and I went back to find that book. It was gone. I wouldn’t find another copy for more than sixteen years! I searched library book sales, used book stores in the city of Chicago (always a good place to find one or two editions of books to add to the collection), antique stores, and even garage sales. I traveled far and wide searching for a copy of that book (when I say “far and wide” I actually only mean used bookstores in Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Chicago). I just couldn’t find one. The story had been reprinted in a collection of Jack the Ripper stories called “Red Jack,” but it just wasn’t the same as having an original copy.
One day sixteen years after reading the book originally, I was looking up a phone number (in a phone book...remember those?) for a local bookstore and noticed a number for a recently opened used bookstore about ten miles from my house. It wasn’t in an area I traveled frequently, however, so I’d never seen the place before locating the phone number.
On my next day off from work, I made the short trip to the store and what do I find on the bottom shelf of the paperback mystery section? TWO copies of “A Study in Terror” by Ellery Queen. I bought them both.
Despite my decade and a half search for an “old” Sherlock Holmes adventure, I’ve been very good at locating new stuff quickly. However, when I found a book that had been out for over a year without my knowledge, my loving and supportive wife made the statement, “You’re slipping” to me. I was wounded. I considered myself a “book detective” having found copies of old or out-of-print books for many of my friends and dozens of lesser known Sherlock Holmes tomes for myself. One or two are bound to slip through the cracks now and again.
Unfortunately, her claim planted a seed of doubt in my mind. Could I actually be slipping in my eternal search for Sherlockian items to place in my collection? Were my powers fading? On one expedition to Chicagoland bookstores with a friend, I stated to him “there’s one in here” as we crossed the threshold of the store. Within minutes I found a copy of “Sherlock Slept Here” about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s visits to America, a book I did not have in my collection. My friend was amazed!
Was that intuition fading?
Was I ready for a beekeeping farm on the Sussex Downs much like my fabled hero?
I needed something to prove I wasn’t becoming feeble when it came to finding Sherlockian collectibles.
So, when a Chicago radio personality friend of mine called to tell me there was an estate sale planned for a man from the north side of the city and he was a Sherlock Holmes fan, I made sure I had the ready cash and the day off to make the trip.
As fate would have it, my wife developed a cold the morning of the sale. I offered to stay home with her, but she insisted I go and see what I could add to the collection. I really enjoy “treasure hunting” with her and was a little disappointed I had to go alone, but I made sure she had plenty of chicken soup and orange juice and made the trip.
Upon arriving at the estate (and it was a pretty big house), I was informed the Sherlock Holmes collection had been donated to a local college.
Disappointing, to say the least.
I did find a small oak table and four chairs for our kitchen and made a small bid on that. My wife and I had been looking for just such an arrangement for a while and a fifty dollar bid didn’t seem to be out of line.
What I didn’t know was the lot also included an old Army trunk. When I won the bid, the table and chairs were loaded into the back of my truck along with the footlocker.
“What’s this?” I asked the estate sale assistant.
“Dunno,” he said looking at the invoice. “Comes with the table.”
“Anything in it?” I asked.
He checked the invoice again.
“Linens. Napkins. Books,” he said.
Books, I thought. I wonder...
I was never one to turn down a bargain and I knew my wife could find a way to make the trunk look like something you’d use as the center piece for a living room or office. She does a lot with crafts and crocheting.
I brought the items home and wrestled the table and chairs into the kitchen. My wife loved my choice and promised to get them looking like new as soon as she felt better.
“Why’d you buy that thing?” my wife asked upon seeing the Army trunk.
“It came with the kitchen set,” I said. “It’s supposed to have books in it.”
“Not many if you were able to drag that thing in here alone,” she said.
I agreed and got a hammer from my tool box under the kitchen sink.
“Do you want me to try to save this old lock?” I asked kneeling down in front of the chest.
“Looks pretty rusty,” she said, and I took that to m