Unknown (27 page)

A brief negative was the
inspector's response and
Slim
Gilligan mimicked him when Holmes's eyes shifted
in
his direction.

The sleuth thought for a moment.
"There may be a
break
in this case shortly, but because of the powerful
and
potentially dangerous elements involved, I doubt if
a
disclosure of value is due to fall into our laps. There
fore,
it behooves us to concentrate for the time on Bar
ker.
If he learned something, we can, as well."

It is sticking in his craw a
bit,
I
thought.
A
fellow
investigator,
either by diligence or chance, has come
across
information that has so far eluded Sherlock
Holmes.
One of his greatest assets has always been his complete confidence in
his ability, which precludes any possibility of negative thinking.
But he's reached an impasse and he won't rest until he's thought
his way round
it.

My musings were interrupted by
MacDonald, who
had
often been the audience to one of Holmes' patented
tour
de force
solutions
and must have savored a
denouement
of his own.

"Relative to Barker,"
said the Aberdeenian, softly, "I have a wee bit o' information.
Bystanders identified the
vehicle
which ran him down as a hansom. So the Yard
in
its slow-movin' manner investigated all the public conveyances it
could." There was a touch of triumphant
malice
in his words that had to be directed toward
Holmes.
"We found one not far from the furniture warehouse that housed
the Amateur Mendicant So
ciety."

Holmes was watching him intently
as he paused. I
recalled
the Society MacDonald mentioned. It was a
case
my friend solved in '87.

"The front right wheel had a
stain on it and our labo
ratory
men were able to establish it as blood. They used
the
very reagent you discovered Mr. Holmes to estab
lish
that fact. In addition, they discovered that the blood
was
the same type as Barker's. The hansom had been
stolen
and then abandoned."

"Capital work, Mr. Mac!"
said Holmes, with enthu
siasm.
"While we have assumed that Barker met his
death
by foul play, it is comforting to have a deduction
verified.
This evidence might not be accepted as conclu
sive
in a court of law, but I believe we can take it as
fact.
Coincidence can be stretched but so far. All right
then,
if we have no more revelations to contribute let us center our
energies on Barker and whatever he discovered. I would like to
know what he was doing at the
Nonpareil
Club. That may have a bearing on what he found."

"Let me inquire into that,"
volunteered MacDonald.
"In
the process of investigating his death it would be
reasonable
to inquire into his employment. In fact, it
would
be strange if I did not."

Holmes nodded. "Also the fact
that Barker's death
has
not been dismissed as accidental might make Dow
son
somewhat nervous, not a bad thing at all. Let me
inquire
into his personal life and quarters. I have some
ideas
regarding that, Slim, which it might be better for
Mr.
Mac not to be aware of. Officially, that is."

The inspector knew Holmes's
methods, having been
associated
with him on a number of cases. His craggy
face
loosened to permit a wise smile. "Barker's landlady
said
that his lawyer had paid for the rental of his lodg
ings
till the end of the month," he mentioned. "Strange
that
we have found no trace of said gentleman," he
added
in such a manner that I was sure he knew of
Holmes's
involvement.

"But, as Gilligan said, some
things are best not
known,"
concluded MacDonald.

He seemed on the verge of rising
when I became con
scious
of the sound of music on the street below. I was
looking
at Holmes at this very moment and saw his alert eyes flick toward the
casement window. Was I right in
thinking
that his face suddenly hardened?

"Strange. An organ grinder on
Baker Street at this
hour,"
I commented. Instinctively, I rose from my chair
by
the fire, moving toward the window.

"Passing by, no doubt,"
said Holmes, quickly, but my
curiosity
was aroused and I crossed to the aperture.

From long habit, I peered out from
the side of the curtains rather than opening them. Behind me,
Mac-
Donald had also
risen, preparatory to leaving. Holmes's voice had a touch of urgency
to it.

"Inspector, simply as matter
of security, why don't
you
depart via our back yard," he suggested.

I looked back from the window in
surprise. This was
an
unusual thought on Holmes's part and I could see
that
it puzzled MacDonald as well. However, he did not choose to comment
on it.

"Vera well," said he, in
his low-timbered voice as
my
attention returned to the street outside.

On the pavement below there was a
raggedy man
winding
the crank of an ancient street organ. He was gazing upward at
illuminated windows in a hopeful
manner
and, indeed, one did open and there was a flash
of
metal in the light of the gas jet of the street lamp and
a
clink as it struck the cobblestones. Like a flash, a
small
monkey darted from atop the musical instrument
to
retrieve the coin, causing me to smile, but only for a
moment,
for in the wavering jet of the lamp I noted
another
presence in a doorway opposite Mrs. Hudson's
house.
For but an instant I glimpsed an Oriental face
peering
at the organ grinder's monkey and then it disap
peared
into the darkness.

"Good Lord!" I
exclaimed, turning back to the oth
ers.
"There's a Chinaman outside and he's watching this
house,
I'm sure."

As both Gilligan and the inspector
instinctively
stepped
toward the window, they were halted by a sur
prising
statement from Sherlock Holmes.

"I know."

Gilligan, as always, exhibited no
reaction but both
MacDonald's
and my eyebrows escalated.

"The organ grinder is an . .
. associate. The possi
bility
of the hand of Chu San Fu reaching as far as
Baker
Street had occurred to me."

"And the music was the
signal," said MacDonald.
"Then
the Oriental must have arrived but recently. I see now the reason for
my leaving by the back."

I had vacated my position at the
window and Gilligan had replaced me there. One glance at the street
was enough for the cracksman.

"Slippery Styles," he
exclaimed, with a grin. "Iffen
the
watcher leaves, 'e won't be alone. Though 'e'll never know it,"
Gilligan added, with relish.

"This puts a different
complexion on things," stated
MacDonald,
his face suddenly creased with worry.

"Come now," replied
Holmes, "after Styles leaves
and
he will have to shortly, to prevent being conspicu
ous,
Wiggins and a couple of his street urchin friends
will
be in the vicinity."

"Ta
...
a smart move, Guv," said Gilligan.
"Them
Baker Street irreg'lars can wander at will without attractin'
notice."

"In a matter such as this,
considering the forces that form the opposition, I need all the help
I can get," said
Holmes,
and this was a remarkable admission to come
from
him.

MacDonald and I exchanged a
significant glance.
Holmes
was notorious for his lack of concern about his
personal
safety, a fact that had prompted many an un
comfortable
thought for both of us. I was reassured by
the
conviction that some of London's finest might soon
find
themselves in the area as well.

MacDonald bid us goodnight and
made his way
down
the stairs and out the rear past the plane tree in
our
small yard and through the inconspicuous door that
served
as a seldom-used back exit. From there, he had
easy
access via the Mews to King Street and a route of
departure
safe from the eyes of the watcher without.

I wondered for a moment if the
back of our residence
was
being watched. The Chinese crime tsar seemed to have unlimited
manpower at his command. But then I realized that Wiggins and the
irregulars were no doubt
already
on the scene and would have notified Holmes
had
our rear been under surveillance.

With the leaving of MacDonald,
Holmes had some
instructions
for Gilligan. To facilitate them, he crossed
to
the desk and scrawled an address on a sheet of paper,
which
he tendered to our ally.

"Slim, here's where Barker
had lodgings during his
London
residence, which was terminated in such an un
fortunate
manner. The front door has a Crowley lock.
You
might find the back more convenient. There are
two
windows to his living room, either of which will not
delay
you more than thirty seconds. I noted that there is
convenient
ivy on the back wall of the building as well.
While
I spent some time going through Barker's things,
a
more detailed search is called for."

"Right you are, Guv,"
replied the cracksman, with
his
ready smile. "It's a pleasure doin' biz wiv you. Ev
ery
little caper is like a summer breeze."

"Let's hope they are all like
this one." For a brief
moment
there was that gleam in Holmes's eyes that was
reserved
for very few people indeed. "But think, my
good
fellow, how reassuring it is to know that a com
plex
problem would become simple in your deft hands."

Holmes was habitually sparing in
his praise, and I
knew
of very few who commanded his respect. Not all of them, associates
like Gilligan. Von Herder, the blind
mechanic
who had worked for Moriarty, was one. Van
Seddar,
the Dutch gem expert associated with Count
Sylvius
was another. And, of course, that late Napoleon of crime, Moriarty
and his right-hand man, Colonel Se
bastian
Moran, were held in the highest esteem by the sleuth for their
talents if not for their motives and mor
als.
Gilligan had his place in this diverse and limited
group.