Sherlock Holmes Stories of Edward D. Hoch by Edward D. Hoch Read Free Book Online

placed her body in there without being seen?”
    “The cage may have been in full view, but it was covered with canvas. I would guess that Milly lured Vittoria there to see the new tiger. Once under the canvas for a better look, Milly stabbed her in the throat before she could scream, then opened the cage and pushed her in. You told us, Philip, that you had an extra key to the cage in your tent.”
    “Why would she do it? What was her motive?”
    “The Everage woman told me you were fond of both of them. Jealousy has led to more than one murder. Of course, Milly planned to pin the crime on Everage, which is why she came to us impersonating Vittoria.”
    I asked a question now. “How did you know, Holmes? After all, you deduced our client was Vittoria and then canceled out your own deduction.”
    “I was deceived, Watson, until we pulled Vittoria’s body from the tiger cage and I noticed her tiny feet. The woman who called on us in London had feet as big as yours, as you must have noticed. Foot sizes don’t change overnight, so I knew it was a different woman. When Philip and Charles and others assured us the body was Vittoria’s, that meant it was an imposter who’d visited us. I asked myself who it could have been, and the answer was obvious. The imposter had to be Vittoria’s killer, or a close accomplice. We learned that the extra key to the tiger cage was kept in Philip’s tent, where Milly Hogan also stayed. And we learned that Philip and Milly were playing with the new tiger yesterday morning. Milly had been an actress, performing at the Lyceum Theatre in London. And Milly had reason to be jealous of Vittoria. Such a motive made it unlikely that you were involved, Philip. If the two of you were close enough to plot a murder, she would have had no reason for jealousy in the first place. I also felt certain that if you had wanted to kill Vittoria, you would have done it away from the circus grounds so as not to harm business. And surely you would not have insisted Diaz’s death was accidental if you were party to a plot to link the two deaths as a double murder.”
    It was later, on the train back to London, after Milly Hogan had confessed, that I remarked to Holmes, “We never did meet Vittoria, the Circus Belle.”
    “No,” he agreed. “But we met Milly Hogan twice and, in my profession, I find a murderess more fascinating than a circus belle.”

THE MANOR HOUSE CASE
    A S I LOOK OVER my notes for the summer of 1888, I come upon a singular adventure that is quite unlike the usual problems that came to the attention of Mr. Sherlock Holmes during this period. My inclination was to title this investigation “The English Manor Mystery,” but, since virtually all of Holmes’ cases took place in his homeland, the name might have seemed redundant.
    The manor itself was the home of Sir Patrick Stacy White, the well-known African explorer just recently returned from a perilous journey retracing the route of Stanley in his search for Livingston. He’d sent an urgent message to Holmes inviting him to spend a weekend at the manor house, located about an hour west of London, near Reading.
    “Are you going?” I asked, when he told me about it on Friday morning.
    “His message says there has been a mysterious death and he fears others will follow. He suggests a stay of at least two nights in order to fully investigate the matter. If we catch the evening train, we could be there tonight. Are you game, Watson?”
    I had no plans for the weekend and the bright August days seemed to beckon us to the countryside.
    “Is it all right for you to bring a guest?”
    “Sir Patrick suggested it in his message. I gather several other guests are already in attendance.”
    It was still daylight when we left the train at the Reading station and found Sir Patrick’s carriage and driver awaiting us.
    “Pleasant weather,” Holmes told the fairly young man.
    “The best, sir,” he said with a slight accent I couldn’t