Laurie King Mary Russel 08 Locked Rooms

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the will, no cheques made out to them in the account registers after that
time, no official link whatsoever that I have been able to uncover.
"Taken separately, none of the three pieces of information leads to much in
the way of a conclusion. Taken together, the indications would be that the
thing Charles Russell wished to conceal was not in his house, but in the
garden. And how could he hope to keep a buried object hidden from a gardener
as skilled and conscientious as your father? He was forced to take your father
into his confidentiality, but to protect him, he cut all evidentiary ties
between himself and the Long family. He paid their salaries in cash, he made
no provisions in his will for them, and he and his wife refused a signed
document when she lent your parents money to buy the bookstore. So yes, I
believe there is something buried in the garden, something your father knew
about. Something too sensitive to be locked into a bank's safe-deposit vault,
where it would come to light on Charles Russell's death. "
"You may be correct, Mr Holmes, but I assure you, he did not tell me about it.
"
"I should be very surprised if he did. However, I should also be surprised if
you could not find it. "
"How? What would I be looking for?"
"I have no idea. "
"Then how do you know that it is there?"
"This threatens to become a circular argument, " Holmes said. "I know it's
there because it's all that explains the facts. My wife tells me that
astronomers posit the existence of an invisible planet by the effects it has
on the orbit of other celestial bodies. Thus do I posit the existence of this
object. "
"I see. Mr Holmes, I have been in the garden a few times, yes, when I was very
young, but I doubt that now I could even find where my father had his
vegetables growing the place is a jungle, I saw that much the other evening. "
Holmes hunched forward over the table, and spoke in a low voice. "Mrs Russell
kept a detailed record of the work done in her garden, including a yearly
sketch or map of the arrangement of flower-beds and paths, the addition of
major plantings, and so on. There is a volume for every year, beginning with
the spring of 1903. The years she spent in England, 1907 to 1911, are missing,
but there is one made dated March 1906, and one made in the autumn of 1912
after her return. "
"None of them, I would assume, have a spot marked 'X' with the Stevensonian
suggestion to 'dig here'?" Long asked it with a smile.
"Alas, no. However, I believe your father may have acknowledged the presence
of some object of supreme importance in the arrangement of the garden itself,
whether he was instrumental in its concealment or simply told of its presence
after the deed was done. "
"How do ah. " Long sighed. "You are thinking of my father's commitment to the
principles of feng shui."
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"Precisely, " said Holmes. "I am suggesting that, were one to analyse the
adjustments that were made, the replacement of the fish pond, for example, and
the shift of the rock-garden, one might work backward to find the source of
the perceived problem. That, to a knowledgeable eye, the re-channelling of the
earth's energies that was done some years ago might point to a specific
source. " He watched closely until he was satisfied that Long understood, then
sat back to let Long think.
After a while, the bookseller shook his head. "I could look at the garden
drawings and see if anything catches my eye, but I am a neophyte, and if my
father did the thing correctly, the changes would be quite subtle. After all,
there is little purpose in hiding a thing if you then place a large arrow over
its location. He would have consulted a practitioner of the arts. "
"Did he know such a man?"
"He did. He used him to arrange the fittings in the bookstore, in fact. But
the man was very old, and died years ago. "
"That is unfortunate, " Holmes said. "However, perhaps if we were to give
those maps to another with that knowledge, might he be able to perceive the
place that your father would have been... protecting?"
"It is possible. The classical principles of feng shui are laid down in
history, and although each practitioner has his or her own style, the formulae
should be the same. Would you like me to find out?"
"Very much. " As the alternative would be to reduce the entire garden to
something resembling the trenches of northern France, any guidance, however
idiosyncratic, could be of value. "I know a man who can do what you need, if
anyone can. Would you care to wait here while I go and see if he would
consider taking the consultation?"
The phrasing and the way in which Long nervously adjusted his tie and cuffs
indicated that the person he intended to ask was of an exalted rank, not at
all the sort of person a casual Westerner could drop in on. Holmes told Long
that he was happy to wait, and he settled in with his tea, tossing down
countless tiny cups of the scalding beverage while the citizens of this
town-within-a-town scurried back and forth across the window. He was
impatient: The clock was ticking, and it was beginning to look less and less
likely that he would get this thing settled before Russell returned.
When Long came back, he wore the face of unsuccess.
"He is out of town, " he reported. "A new restaurant in San Jose has a
complicated set of problems. He is not expected to return until tomorrow. I
asked to be notified as soon as he comes back, but if you prefer, I can find
another practitioner. "
"Would the other be as good?"
"No, " Long said simply.
Holmes rapped his tiny cup rapidly on the table a number of times, then pushed
it away from him, sitting back in his chair. "Very well, then; tomorrow. "
"Will you call?"
"I shall either call by your shop or telephone to you, after noon. "
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"I shall be there. "
Holmes left the tea shop and walked down the street, but there he stopped, a
large barrier of indecision on the bustling pavements. In the end, he turned
abruptly back and walked in the direction of his telegraphist. Not that he
expected a response from Mycroft, who would have received the second telegram
less than twenty-four hours before, but only the careless leave a possibility
unattended due to assumptions.
To his surprise, the busy man responded to his arrival in the door by slapping
an envelope onto the counter-top. To his greater surprise, once he had
redeemed the thing and gone out to the street to open it, it was not second
thoughts from Watson, but from Mycroft:
DEAR BOY FAR EASIER TO GIVE ALL DETAILS AT BEGINNING AND DON'T MAKE ME GUESS
BUT BASED ON GUESSWORK AND WORKING BACKWARD FROM RUMOURS SENT ME FROM OUR
FRIEND IN ADEN I BEGAN ENQUIRIES REGARDING FURTHER ACTIVITIES OF ANY PERSON OR
PERSONS UNKNOWN WHO MADE HASTE TO INTERCEPT YOUR BOAT IN MARSEILLES OR PORT
SAID OR CAIRO. ONLY ONE
SUCH LOOKED PROMISING NAMELY WOMAN IN PARIS BEGAN SEARCHING FIFTH JANUARY FOR
FLIGHTS TO EGYPT FOUND PILOT AND ACCEPTABLE WEATHER MONDAY SEVENTH ARRIVING
PORT SAID EARLY HOURS OF TUESDAY EIGHTH. COST UNKNOWN BUT CONSIDERABLE.
DESCRIPTION QUOTE TALL BUT WOMANLY UNQUOTE LATE THIRTIES BROWN HAIR AND EYES
SPOKE FLUENT FRENCH AND ENGLISH WITH QUOTE SOUTHERN AMERICAN UNQUOTE ACCENT
NOT CERTAIN IF MEANS SOUTHERN USA OR SOUTH AMERICA SORRY O THE PROBLEMS OF [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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