A/N: I've been having a hard time with this chapter, but I do hope that I've fixed all the issues I was having with it. Virtual cookies to anyone who can correctly guess who's getting a cameo in the next chapter. I'll give you a hint--it's not someone from Sherlock Holmes....
Chapter Five: Why Cardiff?
Watson
After Evin sang me to sleep, I did not wake until late the following morning, to find myself the focus of an intense emerald gaze.
"Evin?" I asked, confused by the lad's presence and by the notable lack of my friend's presence. "What are you doing here? And where is Mister Holmes?"
"Mister 'Olmes 'as gone back ta town ta speak wif th' Llanfair coroner 'bout Ian Argall's death," Evin replied. "Did my singin' 'elp yew any, Doctor?"
I smiled at him.
"Yes, it did, Evin," I informed him.
"Mister 'Olmes says Oi should sing more often," Evin informed me with not a little pride. "But 'e also told me tha' Oi need ta make sure tha' yew eat properly while 'e's away."
I chuckled at that.
"Did he really?" I asked.
Evin nodded.
"An' 'e also said tha' if yew don't eat properly, Oi won't get any supper tonight either," he added.
"Well then, I'll have to make sure to get something to eat then," I remarked, getting up out of the bed to dress.
Holmes
When I returned to the Argall family farmstead that evening, I was in a foul mood. The coroner had been unable to help me, and ransacking the morgue's files only landed me a couple hours in a rat-infested jail cell before the local representatives of law and (dis)order would believe that I was who I said I was. And after that, the day still did not improve one whit.
The constable who'd arrested me was clearly afraid I was in town to reveal that he'd killed his own wife and was promptly trying to do his best to interfere with my investigation by "helping" me until I informed him that accidental deaths are not criminal unless the circumstances surrounding the death are concealed from the police. I also explained that I was not in town to look into his wife's death--a clear-cut case of what is sometimes referred to as an act of God(1)--but to investigate the death of Ian Argall.
Upon which I was informed that Ian Argall had died of strychnine poisoning.
"Probably killed himself, Mister Holmes," the constable declared. "Everyone in Llanfair knows that his sister would never let him marry. She'd be a right penniless witch if he did."
Unfortunately, I was unable to verify the constable's claim, as the Argalls trusted all matters of a legal nature to a legal firm in Cardiff.
Why Cardiff? The constable couldn't say, though he thought it might have been because one of the partners of the firm was Ian's mother's eldest brother.
Before leaving Llanfair, I sent a wire to Inspector Argall in London with a request to inform the family's legal firm in Cardiff of my investigation and to make sure that I was allowed access to any sensitive family document I required to see. I also sent a wire to the legal firm myself to inform them that I would be there the day after tomorrow.
Evin
When Mister 'Olmes returned from town, 'e was in a terrible mood. Oi didn't need ta ask 'im ta know tha' 'e'd made very little progress on th' case. Nor was Oi foolish enough ta dare ta ask 'im 'bout 'is day, but th' doctor risk 'is life by askin' Mister 'Olmes 'ow th' case was goin'.
Oi'm still not sure if 'e's suicidal or something else entirely.
Holmes
"Well, I did solve one murder today, Watson," I growled in reply to his well-meaning question. "Unfortunately, it wasn't Ian Argall's murder."
Despite my foul mood, I couldn't help a small smirk at the mixture of confusion, concern, amusement, and annoyance that my answer sparked in my friend's face.
"Tha' gossiping constable's wife?" Evin guessed to my surprise, completely erasing my smirk.
"Yes, but how did you figure that out?" I demanded.
"People talk an awful lot when they don't know they're bein' spied on."
"So that's where you disappeared to," Watson declared with wide-eyed amazement.
"Yep, Oi figured tha' yew could dress an' feed yerself wif out any o' my 'elp," Evin declared. "An' yew shouldn't be so un'appy, Mister 'Olmes, yew did make some progress today."
I glared at the Irregular-in-training(2) as Watson demanded that I tell him what Evin was talking about.
"Ask Evin, he seems to know everything I know," I grumbled as I lit my pipe.
Only to have him snatch my lit pipe right out of my mouth!
1. Insurance term that may have been in use during the Victorian Era. An act of God is when something happens that can't be blamed on a human entity--like when a car is totaled by a tree falling on top of it, for example.
2. Holmes' handwriting is quite difficult to read, even at the best of times, but his description of Evin here may not be what he actually said, for his handwriting was especially illegible (most likely as a result of his foul mood) here, forcing me to guess what exactly he wrote.~JHW
