A Case of Missing Identity
It was the eve of our good queen's Diamond Jubilee, and upon my arrival at Baker Street after fetching the evening paper, I discovered that Sherlock Holmes had seized the opportunity to regale me with the enchanting music of his violin. I never demurred hearing him play when he concentrated on producing melodious tunes, for he was indeed quite skilled; however, I found my patience sorely tried when he caused the violin to moan unearthly laments in an effort to assist his cognitive process.
Throughout the past several months, various museum guards and women of significant wealth had begged Holmes to accept cases concerning the disappearance of priceless gems. Very few delinquents had ever managed to outwit him; however, his success rate in locating missing items had diminished greatly. Holmes was perplexed, unable to deduce the motive for such theft or the identity of the robber.
The preceding week, he had located a suspect. However, when Holmes questioned the man, he had insisted that he had no gems or precious stones.
"Search my home, Detective," the gentleman had replied evenly. "I've no such things anywhere!"
Holmes had made a thorough search of every cranny in the house, yet he had been unable to discover anything of value.
"Have you observed an unusual quantity of rodents?" he had queried. "I perceived claw marks at the base of nearly every wall within your home."
The man shrugged. "Nothing too unusual, just a pack rat. It steals whatever it pleases, but unlike most pack rats, it doesn't leave anything in return."
Frowning, Holmes inspected the scratches with his magnifying glass. "Although I hardly claim to be an expert concerning rodents, I would judge the culprit to be of a different species than the one you describe. Furthermore, unless I'm very much in error, such rats are native only to North America." He continued to examine the marks on the wall. "Whatever species of rat may have invaded your home, I would advise you to eradicate the creatures at once. Judging from the size of the claws, at least one individual is nearly the size of a small cat. I would not care to speculate on the vast number of diseases you risk with an infestation of such vermin!"
"I've tried to get rid of them." Carefully reaching underneath his chair, the man produced a trap. "You see, Mr. Holmes, I've been setting traps for the rats, but I've never caught one. This particular trap contains nothing but a severed mouse head. I can't even find the rest of the body! I imagine the mouse got caught and one of the rats ate everything but the head, or else the rat saw the trap and placed a mouse head in it just to spite me!"
"Hardly," Holmes responded. "Certain species of rodents are known to be rather clever, yet none have the capabilities of scientific reasoning and logic. Have you considered purchasing a cat?"
"Not after the last one I took in! I found a stray cat and let her stay in my home, and I was a good owner. I gave her soft pillows, plenty of warm milk, some yarn to bat around, and everything else cats like, but after a few weeks of living with me, she had kittens. Taking care of one cat is no problem, but I wasn't about to raise a whole family of the creatures! When they were old enough, I managed to give the kittens to people who wanted them, but there was one runt that I was sure would starve, so I threw her out. When my wife left, she took the first cat with her. I haven't owned a pet since, but there is one stray that vexes me. When I first started seeing it, I was sure it was none other than the kitten I had abandoned, but surely such a coincidence was impossible! The kitten's ribs showed from hunger, and it always limped, as if something wounded its paws repeatedly. Now I still see the stray at times, but it's different now, blatantly well fed and pampered."
"You ought not to have turned out such a small creature into a vicinity occupied by large rats," answered Holmes. "Surely if you had given the manner considerable thought, you might have arrived at a more humane solution."
"Thanks for the lesson in ethics," the man scoffed. "Mr. Holmes, if you'll forgive my impertinence, isn't it about time you retired? Moriarty is dead, and you've been reduced to trying to arrest me on the charge that I stole gems, which I no longer have because a large rat took them from me. I'm sure that evidence will be enough to convict me in court! Why not be honest with yourself? You're losing your skill as an investigator!"
Memories of such cases passed through my mind until a knock at the door interrupted my thoughts.
Holmes paused his violin. "You may enter."
A portly gentleman in a dapper suit stepped into the room, politely removing his hat. He appeared to be slightly past thirty years of age, and although he managed to keep his composure rather well, he was clearly overwrought.
"Good evening, Professor," Holmes greeted.
"I was hoping you wouldn't know me," the man confessed. "I know that until recent years, you've had a great deal of trouble from another professor, and I wasn't sure you'd be willing to take my case if you knew my occupation."
"Don't be absurd! The detectives of Scotland Yard bear no resemblance to myself; thus I'm fully aware that not every professor behaves as the late Moriarty. I've read of you in the headlines of various newspapers, and unless I mistake your identity, you're an instructor at Oxford. Many of your students have made significant discoveries that advance the fields of science and medicine."
"You are correct, Mr. Holmes," our guest replied, "but I expected nothing less from one of your outstanding reputation."
Holmes motioned to the bottle on the table. "Perhaps you would care to have a drink as you present your case. It may ease your distress and clear your mind."
"That dirty rat stole my champagne!" He immediately looked ashamed of himself for his outburst. "I apologize, gentlemen. I fear I have had such peculiar events occur that I risk losing my wits."
"Do have a seat and expound on your quandary. I would typically dismiss a case involving the disappearance of liquor, but I observe you are no mere inebriate concerned with missing alcohol."
The professor nodded and sat down. "Mr. Holmes, were I not an educated man of science, I would believe my home to be haunted. During my days as a bachelor, I contented myself to reside in a small flat, yet when I found myself affianced to a young lady, I realized I would need a larger home in order to have enough room to raise any future children we may have. We found a charming residence, spacious yet elegant, and very reasonably priced, and we moved there the very day we were wed. The neighbors were quite amiable, and none of them behaved in any manner of suspicious nature."
Holmes gave a terse nod as he lit his pipe.
"On my wife's birthday last year, I bought her a gold ring encrusted with small rubies. It was a rather attractive piece of jewelry, sirs, and she was ever so careful not to lose it. Every night, she placed it on the nightstand that it might easily be within her reach the next morning. However, when she woke up one day, she discovered it was missing. We searched for weeks to no avail. I understand that unfortunate accidents sometimes occur despite our efforts to prevent them, gentlemen, so I believed the ring had been knocked onto the floor, but no matter how I searched for it, I was never able to locate the missing item."
"Were there other disappearances?"
"For Christmas, I was given a generous sum of gold coins as a holiday bonus. You may rest assured I intended to deposit the money into the bank at once, but I received the gift rather late in the afternoon, and the bank was closed the following day. I guarded the coins carefully, always carrying them with me by day and placing them under my pillow at night. When I finally arrived at the bank and opened the bag in which I had kept the coins, I found not a single piece of gold! Every last coin had been replaced by a small stone! That very day, my wife informed me that her pearl necklace, a wedding present from her grandmother, had also vanished."
"Am I to assume you heard no one at your windows or door?"
"Not a soul, Mr. Holmes. The police found no signs of forced entry, and my housekeeper never saw any visitors. She burst into tears when she was informed that she was a suspect. She kept begging the investigators to inspect her room or anywhere else in the house to prove her innocence, and I truly have no reason to doubt her claim that she had nothing to do with the robberies."
"Do continue."
"Yesterday morning one of my students informed me that he had made a discovery of invaluable significance that could improve the lives of citizens throughout the empire. I applaud those who find ways to advance science, medicine, or any other aspect that could prove beneficial to society, so I thought to reward him. I'm fully aware that alcohol is forbidden at universities, but I thought to present him with a gift of fine champagne that he and his friends might toast his success after they had returned home from classes."
"And now someone has taken the liberty of removing the bottle of champagne you intended to offer him?"
"I bought it yesterday evening and placed it next to a candlestick that had belonged to my mother, and when I returned home from work this afternoon, it was missing, along with the candlestick and the candle it had been holding. Both were on my dining room table."
Holmes nodded sagely. "Unless I err greatly, the culprit responsible for the missing items is the same fiend who removed various items from the Tower of London, the villain who has stolen numerous gems from affluent ladies and museums containing luxurious items of jewelry."
"Can you stop him before he steals half the valuables in my home?!"
"I shall do my utmost to assist you, Professor."
