Danger in the Shadows
Chapter 4:
An hour later, Dawson and Basil met Inspector Thomas Grayson of Scotland Yard at the scene of the crime while Miss Abby awaited downstairs. The doctor and the inspector looked on as Basil examined the room in his systematic way. Grayson still thought the detectives ways to be quite eccentric, and although they had butted heads with each other in the past, the inspector welcomed any help the amateur detective could give to the Yard.
Whipping out his magnifying glass from his pocket, the detective got down on his hands and knees to examine the floor, which was horribly splattered with blood. He went over every inch of the room, paying special attention to the window. They also followed as he examined the grounds below outside. The staff of the house was also questioned thoroughly, and they all gave basically the same story as Miss Abby; they had heard screaming in the middle of the night, rushed upstairs to see what was the matter, and found poor Mr. Kingston lying in a pool of blood in his office.
After some time, Miss Abby asked hopefully, "Have you found anything, Mr. Basil?"
"Not much, I'm afraid," he replied. "Judging from the length of his stride, the culprit is very tall. The window is obviously the point of entry, which also means he is very agile, as there is only a rusty pipe along the wall. Robbery wasn't the motive, since they didn't take anything. Does Mr. Kingston have an enemies?"
"Not that I know of."
"Then I'm afraid I won't know any more until I've had a chance to speak with him myself. You said he gained consciousness just before you left. Did he say anything about what happened?"
"No. He was just very frightened; I've never seen him in such a state. And he hasn't spoken since."
"Well, I'm sure you'd rather be by his side right now. Rest assured I will do all in my power to find who did this."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Basil, Dr. Dawson," she said, the recovered emerald ring sparkling on her finger as she shook their hands. "We'll sleep all the better knowing you're on the case."
After the lady had gone, Basil turned to the Inspector. "Did you happen to get a look at Kingston's wounds? I didn't mention it while the lady was here for fear that it would frighten her more."
"I only got a glimpse," Grayson replied. "But that was enough. Deep, bloody gashes covered his whole body, as if someone had tried to rip him to shreds. It's a wonder the poor mouse survived."
"What of the weapon?"
"That's the thing, Mr. Basil," Grayson answered nervously. "The doctor that had arrived said that the wounds weren't made by a knife, or any other such weapon...they were claw marks."
Dawson gasped at this information, but Basil remained as impassive as ever.
Grayson shook his head as he continued. "When the newspapers get wind of this, the public will be in a frenzy, knowing that there's a wild, murderous criminal on the streets."
"Then we must get him off the streets as soon as possible," Basil replied.
As Basil and Dawson left the Inspector to finish his investigation, Basil said, "You go on to Baker Street, Doctor. I have a few inquiries of my own to make." As the two friends parted ways, Dawson noticed that Basil was absently rubbing his scarred arm.
…...
Later that evening, Dawson looked up as his friend entered. "This is a dark business, my dear Dawson," Basil remarked as he grabbed his pipe from the mantle. "It appears that Kingston has no apparent enemies; everyone I've spoken with has only good to say about him."
"So since robbery wasn't the intent," Dawson said, "it appears we have a deranged killer on our hands."
"It appears so," Basil replied. "I only hope we can stop him before he strikes again."
Author's Note: Wow, 3 chapters in 4 days...I'm on a roll. ^^ This chapter seems a lot shorter too...oh well. I'm ready to move on to the good stuff.
So, do we have a deranged killer in the midst here? Or is there something even more sinister?
You'll just have to wait and see =)
