A Study in Crimson, page 23
‘It seems almost incredible that he was one of the enemy when you consider his role in breaking up Vosperian’s espionage network.’
‘I hope it is not immodest of me to recall that it was I who uncovered Vosperian’s organisation. Rayner put on a show of heroism in order to further ingratiate himself with his superiors, but what he actually did was assassinate Vosperian to keep him from being captured and interrogated. He was now held in such high regard that he was in line to take up duty as the Prime Minister’s personal bodyguard.’
I almost choked at so horrid a prospect. ‘Why, with Churchill’s life in his hands, the damage he might have done is almost incalculable.’
‘And yet, he discovered all those opportunities were at risk when he encountered Mags Hopkin for the second time and learned that, dazed from his accident, he had let slip his true name, his German name. At once he began to form a plan to dispose of the four women who could expose him, one that would divert any suspicion of a rational motive for their murders. He had already adopted one false identity as Philip Rayner, so nothing was more natural than to create another – Crimson Jack, a homicidal lunatic obsessed with imitating the crimes of Jack the Ripper.’
I reflexively set aside the butter knife as I recalled those brutal killings. ‘The cold-bloodedness of it is chilling, and yet I suppose it is quite brilliant in its way.’
‘The fact of Mags Hopkin’s occupation, and the imminence of the date that marked the beginning of the Ripper’s reign of terror in 1888, must have suggested the whole scheme to him. Like the original Ripper, he wrote a taunting letter to the police, peppering it with meaningless clues that would drive Scotland Yard into a maze of dead ends. His final master stroke was to make himself part of the investigation, which would allow him to make sure that no one was able to catch a glimpse of the truth.’
‘But, Holmes, on the night of Emma Wainwright’s murder, wasn’t he busy trailing Sardinas?’
‘No, he merely provided himself with an alibi by seeming to give one to Sardinas. He even wrote up a report which would not be followed up, since it removed Sardinas from the list of suspects. No one would bother to check and find that Sardinas’ actual movements that night bore no resemblance to those reported by Rayner.’
‘So he murdered Emma Wainwright, narrowly evading discovery, then laid out the body of Bronwyn Hughes, whom he had murdered the night before. I see that, Holmes, but why on earth did he strangle Constable Coleman and kidnap Dr Carvel?’
‘Because if the murders remained unsolved, the investigation would go on, and there was a risk that it would eventually end up on his doorstep. It was I, at that time all unsuspecting, who sent him to steal the Ripper diary from the doctor’s safe. Knowing Carvel was under suspicion, he openly approached poor Coleman, who did not suspect that this man he had met already at Scotland Yard was seeking the chance to catch him off guard. With the watcher out of the way, Rayner abducted Dr Carvel and kept him imprisoned in the deepest cellar of a derelict building.’
‘With the intent of pinning the murders on him, a blood relative of the Ripper,’ I realised, ‘and so closing the case.’
Holmes nodded slowly. ‘Within a few days of the final murder, Dr Carvel’s drowned body would have washed up somewhere, just like his uncle’s. A note would be left behind, typed on the same machine as Crimson Jack’s letter – a suicide’s confession.’
‘Unaware that you were following him, Rayner led you right to where the doctor was being held.’
‘Yes, but I could not free him until the last possible instant, otherwise Rayner might be alerted.’
‘But what about the Reverend Conrad Brown, Holmes? What in heaven’s name has become of him?’
‘He is safe and well, I assure you. With the abduction of Dr Carvel, it occurred to me that the murderer might have some dark purpose in mind for the reverend also. Moreover, there was the danger that if word should get out that the murderer’s name was Conrad Brown, then our unsympathetic clergyman might become the victim of vigilante justice. I therefore judged it prudent to arrange with his bishop that he take sanctuary within the Abbey of St Dunstan’s, where the monks’ life of silence would guarantee his anonymity.’
I could not help but be impressed by my friend’s resourcefulness, but one aspect of the affair niggled at me still. ‘I do have to say, Holmes, I am more than a little disappointed that you did not choose to trust me with what you were up to.’
‘Your forthright honesty is one of your outstanding qualities, my dear old friend, but in this case your inability to dissemble would not have served us.’ Holmes laid his hands flat on the table as a gesture of sincerity. ‘I needed time to follow Rayner and uncover the whole network he had inherited from Vosperian. If you had crossed paths with him while in full possession of the truth, you would have been unable to conceal your disgust and that would have been all the warning he required.’
The explanation was made with such a warm show of friendship that I could not bear a grudge. ‘Well, Holmes, faced with the most devious mind we have ever encountered, you have triumphed. You have destroyed an enemy spy ring, rescued Dr Carvel and saved that young woman Dorothy Marx.’
‘There is even better news on that front,’ said Holmes with a broad smile. ‘Miss Marx’s missing fiancé, Lance Corporal Anthony Fowler, has been found alive and well. It seems as though, in spite of all the evils of war and murder, a merciful Providence has decided that they both should be spared to find a happier future together.’
* * *
So it was that Sherlock Holmes stripped away a false face of madness to expose the relentless logic of a purely evil intent. To think of a whole nation in the iron grip of men such as these was almost more than the mind could bear, for they appeared capable of justifying any horror in the terms of their own cruelly arrogant philosophy, no matter how inhuman the consequences. But as Holmes had defeated them in this small but deadly battle, I believed we would defeat them in the larger struggle also.
For myself, my life was altered in ways I could not have foreseen. When a man reaches his fifties and has behind him a history of military service, medical practice, and an almost incredible series of investigative adventures, he might think his best years are past and there only remains a quiet path towards that final rest. He might think that and be quite wrong. All the foregoing might be a mere prelude to what is yet to come and his greatest adventure may only now be opening up before him. I dared to hope that it might be so.
And if there was hope in the future for me, there was hope for all of us. Perhaps one day, when the world emerged from this dread conflict, there might await us yet that wonder the poet so longed for, a cure for all our ills and the mending of our sorrows.
There’s a cold wind coming… such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast. But it’s God’s own wind none the less, and a cleaner, better, stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm has cleared.
SHERLOCK HOLMES, IN
His Final Bow
BY SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The films which served as the inspiration for this novel have been favourites of my entire family for many years. They are famous all over the world, and yet, as far as I am aware, it has never occurred to anyone to base a novel on this version of Sherlock Holmes. I felt that in doing so I could remain faithful to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s immortal characters, while at the same time viewing Holmes and Watson in a new light. I was encouraged by the approving words Denis Conan Doyle wrote to the producers of Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror in 1942:
Gentlemen:
My sincere congratulations. This is incomparably the best Sherlock Holmes film ever made. Mr Basil Rathbone is extremely good as Sherlock Holmes and Mr Nigel Bruce is perfect as Dr Watson.
The modern setting was a daring experiment which has succeeded admirably. Truly, genius has no age.
Yours sincerely,
Denis P. S. Conan Doyle
Those who have seen the films will be aware that Dr Watson was sometimes made a figure of fun for the sake of comic relief. I have not followed that course in the novel, though Watson remains suitably baffled by Holmes’s brilliance.
Many thanks must go, as ever, to my wife Debby, who is my in-house (and most demanding) editor. Her contribution to this novel is beyond measure. Kirsty Nicol provided invaluable research, while her daughter Elspeth contributed the initial cover design. Dr Toby Lipman acted as my own personal Watson in matters both medical and musical. Thanks also to all those at Birlinn/Polygon who have been so supportive of this project.
On a historical note, Henry Carvel, whom Holmes names as Jack the Ripper, is a fictional character, but many details of his life are based on those of one of the real suspects in the Whitechapel murders, Montague Druitt. This does not mean that I have any personal favourite among the ever-increasing number of Ripper candidates.
The character of Gail Preston was inspired in part by Helen Hiett, the American NBC reporter who broadcast from Europe in the early years of the war and recorded her experiences in her memoir No Matter Where.
For more on my novels and other projects, please go to my website at www.harris-authors.com.
R.J.H.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert J. Harris was born in Scotland and studied at the University of St. Andrews where he graduated with first class honors. He is the designer of the bestselling fantasy board game Talisman. His first novel, The Thirty-One Kings—inspired by the classic John Buchan thriller The Thirty-Nine Steps—was acclaimed by critics and readers alike. Robert lives in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Also by Robert J. Harris
The Thirty-One Kings
Castle Macnab
A STUDY IN CRIMSON
Pegasus Crime is an imprint of
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Copyright © 2021 by Robert J. Harris
First Pegasus Books cloth edition June 2021
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Robert J. Harris, A Study in Crimson
