Secret Archives of Sherlock Holmes, The, The by June Thomson Read Free Book Online Page A

been bettered.
    ‘Another stray chicken almost ready for the pot,’ Holmes murmured in my ear as Holy Peters, having concluded conversation with the old lady, which involved more sycophantic attention, took his leave with apparent reluctance, once more kissing her hand and standing almost to attention as she was wheeled away and her chair disappeared among the crowds, her daily intake of ozone evidently over for the day. It was only then that he turned away and set off briskly for the far end of the pier.
    ‘Well, gentlemen, shall we strike now?’ Holmes inquired.
    Lestrade and I nodded our agreement and the three of us fell in behind Holy Peters, gradually converging in on him until we were so close on his heels that he could not fail to be aware not only of our presence but also that of several of the anglers, who, realising that events were beginning to reach a climax, had abandoned their rods and keepnets and had joined our posse.
    Whether Lestrade had tutored his men in the more subtle arts of arrest or whether, like hunting dogs, they knew by instinct the skills of the chase, I do not know. I was only aware that, little by little, Holy Peters was being edged towards the railings at the point where a set of wooden steps led down to a small landing stage.
    It was only then that he realised he was being forced into a trap. The expression on his face as he glanced back over his shoulder made this obvious. The remnants of the unctuous smile which still lingered on his lips from his parting with the elderly lady, no doubt already chosen as his next victim, had vanished completely to be replaced by a look of fearful apprehension. In that moment, the very flesh of his face seemed to shrink and his full, well-fed jowls shrivelled to loose bags of trembling skin.
    He could have jumped or attempted to escape downthe steps but the tide was now lapping over them and inching its way up to the top.
    Perhaps it was this insidious creeping of the water, silent and inexorable, that made Holy Peters hesitate.
    It was at that moment that Lestrade, with impeccable timing for a man of whom Holmes had once remarked dismissively that he lacked imagination, acted. 10 A double blast on his whistle, shrill and urgent, brought the scene to even more vivid life. Several of the erstwhile anglers moved forward as if galvanised by the sound and one of their number, a tall young man with the build of an athlete, threw himself at Holy Peters and brought him to the ground with a flying tackle, the skill of which I had not seen so superbly executed since my old student days at Blackheath Rugby Club. 11 The next instant the young plain-clothes policeman had, with the help of two of his colleagues, turned Holy Peters briskly over on to his face, his arms doubled up behind his back, and a pair of handcuffs was snapped into place. To the spontaneous applause of a small crowd of spectators, who were uncertain as to who were the heroes and who the villains in this unexpected drama until this final moment, HolyPeters was hoisted to his feet and hustled away to the exit.
    Head high and chest out, Lestrade strode proudly at the front of this procession and even Holmes was impressed enough to declare, ‘Well done, Inspector!’ – a rare accolade on his part.
    We fell in behind them, Holmes pausing for a moment to gather up some small object from the decking of the pier which he slipped into his pocket and which he only revealed when we had arrived at the police station, where we learned that not only had Holy Peters been charged, but his erstwhile sister had also been arrested at the Regal Hotel and that the pair of them were in custody in the cells downstairs, accused of the abduction and attempted murder of Lady Frances Carfax.
    Once these formalities were over, Lestrade drew us to one side to thank us, Holmes in particular for the part he had played in bringing these two criminals to justice.
    ‘The most infernal pair of villains I’ve ever clapped eyes