Three May Keep A Secret - A Sherlock Holmes Adventure , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Richard Ryan

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109 pages

English

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When a meeting with a client goes disastrously wrong, Sherlock Holmes soon finds himself involved in a case of murder with two dead bodies and too few clues.From some clear pieces of glass and a raven's feather, the Great Detective must divine exactly who the client was and what prompted him to seek assistance at 221B. Fortunately, Holmes has a number of experts upon whom he can rely as well as his own vast store of esoteric knowledge.Treading a twisted path, Holmes soon finds himself matching wits with an unseen criminal, who appears to be the equal of the late Professor Moriarty. At the same time, he is tasked with sparing the monarchy any possible embarrassment that may stem from the investigation.It's a deadly game of cat-and-mouse that finds Holmes and Watson attending underground auctions, using rare and priceless artefacts as bait and holding a late night vigil in anticipation of deterring a theft, all the while trying to understand how a priceless antiquity fits into their investigation.Like his previous books, Richard T. Ryan's Three May Keep a Secret is a deft blend of history and mystery, interweaving real-life personalities and ancient artefacts with the gas-lit streets of Victorian England and the characters of the Canon. The end result is a pastiche that should appeal to anyone who appreciates a tangled skein spiced with a healthy dollop of suspense and intrigue.

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Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	08 septembre 2021
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781787058118
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0300€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Three May Keep A Secret
A Sherlock Holmes Adventure
Richard Ryan

Published in 2021 by
MX Publishing
www.mxpublishing.com
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
Copyright © 2021 Richard Ryan
The right of Richard Ryan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted 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.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cover design by Brian Belanger

As always this book is dedicated to my wife, Grace; as well as my daughter, Kaitlin, and her husband Daniel; my son, Michael, and his wife, Amanda,
But this is especially for my grandchildren, Riley Grace and Henry Robert.
Thank you for putting up with me!

Introduction
Three May Keep a Secret is the sixth Sherlock Holmes adventure to make its way from the battered tin dispatch box, which I acquired at an estate auction near St. Andrew’s in Scotland, to the printed page.
As I have noted previously, for various reasons, all of the stories in the box apparently failed to see the light of day during Dr. Watson‘s lifetime. Several were politically sensitive – both in England and abroad – while others may have been perceived by Holmes as an affront to his well-known vanity. A number of the remainder might have aroused the ire of various noble and powerful families. I cannot imagine that Holmes would have been troubled in the least at the umbrage taken by others; however, Watson, being the more pragmatic of the two, would certainly have felt that discretion was the better part of valor, especially when it came to his own literary endeavors.
That being said, Three May Keep a Secret is a rather strange tale that may have been held back for any and all of the reasons cited above. There are certainly those moments when Holmes’ brilliance is as incandescent as ever, and I believe they more than offset those rare occasions where the Great Detective is a little lagging in his usual luminescence.
However, one must also consider the possible ramifications that the revelations made in this story might have on future generations – both for the institutions, and possibly some members of the nobility – of those countries involved as well as for the common man.
Still, one cannot help but speculate what the reaction to this tale might have been had Watson chosen to reveal it over the course of several months in The Strand. Although I am tempted to hazard a guess, I shall refrain, since such idle speculation would almost certainly result in a reproving glance from Holmes and the recitation of one of his well-known maxims: “I never guess. It is a shocking habit—destructive to the logical faculty.”
Richard T. Ryan

Three May Keep a Secret
A Sherlock Holmes Adventure

Foreword
Alone and bereft of my dearest friend, I believed I had given up chronicling the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, on May 4, 1891. Like most of the rest of the world, I was under the impression that my friend had perished, along with his nemesis, Professor James Moriarty, in a fight to the death that started at the top of the Reichenbach Falls.
As you know by now, Holmes had staged his own death, and very few people knew the truth surrounding the events of that fateful day. As you are no doubt also aware, I was among those kept in the dark for three years.
During that time, I had resumed my medical practice and eschewed my pen although there were still tales to be told. I considered bringing to light a few unpublished cases, but without my companion beside me to tease and cajole me about my shortsightedness and lack of observation, it seemed rather selfish.
I consoled myself with the thought that there were other cases that I had promised to withhold for various reasons and still a few others that I had pledged would never be revealed until a set period of time had elapsed. I was optimistic about the latter affording me an excuse to resume my writing career, but in those moments of true introspection I knew I was deluding myself.
Suddenly in the spring of 1894, my world was turned upside down. Holmes had miraculously reappeared in my study disguised as an old bookseller. Shortly thereafter, Colonel Sebastian Moran was apprehended and brought to justice, and all seemed right with the world again.
Until of course, this adventure that follows began with a rather imperious note to Sherlock Holmes seeking an audience. As fate would have it, the note was the impetus that served as a springboard to a case that required the utmost delicacy on both our parts for reasons that shall become obvious.
In the cruelest of ironies, after an extended hiatus, we at last had an adventure. I was poised – nay, I was eager – to resume my literary endeavors when fate stepped in, in the form of … I see I am getting ahead of myself. At any rate, events conspired and made it impossible for the details to be revealed at that time. As a result, my literary efforts remained stymied.
As was my wont, I wrote the case up and then assigned it to my tin dispatch box. I have no doubt that it will one day grace the pages of The Strand, and demonstrate once again the inestimable talents of my friend.
Should this particular tale have been released earlier? Perhaps. But the decision was not mine to make; after all, I had given my word. That being said and certain restrictions having expired, I offer for your consideration, the following which I have titled, Three May Keep a Secret .
John H. Watson, M.D.
One man may read the Bhagavata by the light of a lamp, and another may commit a forgery by that very light; but the lamp is unaffected. The sun sheds its light on the wicked as well as on the virtuous.
— Ramakrishna
“The enemy is within the gates; it is with our own luxury, our own folly, our own criminality that we have to contend.”
— Marcus Tullius Cicero
“Three May keep a secret, if two are dead.”
— Benjamin Franklin

Chapter 1
Of all the adventures which I have shared with my friend, Sherlock Holmes, during our years together, I am not certain that any had a more unusual beginning than that which involved the late Ralph Prescott.
The events that make up the bulk of the case began in the summer of 1894, shortly after Holmes’ miraculous resurrection from the waters at the bottom of the Reichenbach Falls. As you might expect, upon his return from the “dead” and following the apprehension of Colonel Sebastian Moran, Holmes had been besieged with cases. Displaying his usual preference for the outré, he had refused to accept the vast majority of them, describing many of them as “mundane” or proclaiming about others that the solution was “so patently self-evident that even a Scotland Yard inspector could not fail to arrive at the correct conclusion.”
One morning in late July, after I had once again taken up residence at Baker Street, I made my way home after an early morning medical emergency.
Holmes was in a fine mood, and we were chatting amicably over lunch about the violin concert he had attended the previous evening, when our long-suffering landlady knocked on our door. In his usual brusque manner, Holmes replied, “Come in, Mrs. Hudson.”
She entered clutching a small envelope and said, “I am so sorry to disturb you, gentlemen, but this just arrived by messenger for you, Mr. Holmes.”
Taking it from her, he opened it, and as she turned to leave, he said, “Mrs. Hudson, if you please.”
After perusing it twice, Holmes looked at her and said, “Kindly inform the messenger I will not be at home at the appointed hour, and please stress I am not accepting any new cases at the moment.”
“I would, sir,” she replied, “but the messenger didn’t wait for a reply. He simply delivered the envelope, and then he hopped on his bicycle and pedaled off toward Marylebone Road.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Hudson. That will be all.”
“What does it say, Holmes?”
He then handed me a single sheet of note paper, which had been folded in half. Upon opening it, I read the following:
Dear Mr . Holmes,
I shall call upon you this afternoon precisely at half three. I expect that you will make yourself available as it is a matter of some urgency – and delicacy.
I look forward to making your acquaintance.
Sincerely,
Ralph Prescott
“What do you make of it, Holmes?”
“Actually, I make rather little of it. The paper is of exceptionally fine quality and quite costly. The writer has employed a high-quality fountain pen, quite possibly a Waterman or a Wirk, although I am inclined to lean strongly towards the former. The hand that composed the note is strong and confident. Further, Mr. Prescott has gone through the expense of having had it delivered by messenger service rather than post.
“I should also wager that he is an Englishman, despite the use of an American pen, given his use of the expression ‘half three’ rather than the more American ‘half past three.’
“All of that tells me that he is a man of some means and one who is quite used to issuing orders and having them obeyed without question. I find the line ‘I expect that you wil