It was one of those rare evenings in London that was as clear as day and the moon shone just as bright as the sun. Holmes was lounging on the settee. His long lean frame draped about it as blue smoke curled from his pipe. While Holmes stared at nothing in particular, I preferred to read one of my yellow backed novels. Mrs. Hudson had long since retired after supper and scolding Holmes about the state of his rooms.
Holmes spoke suddenly "Why must the criminals of this city enjoy these evenings enough not to commit the same injustices as they do on dreary nights?"
I thought for a moment "Well everyone needs a night off every now and again, at least the criminals know when to take a break." I mumbled the last part.
Holmes replied with a huff. Kicking his legs off the side the motion brought him to his feet in one fluid move. After two steps he collapsed into his armchair long fingers pressed to his forehead.
"I have said before, I must work. To work is to live, and as you have stated before Watson life is precious. This makes my work even more important."
I was prepared to rebuttal when the sound of , what I have long known as , a four wheeler clattering on the street below. Holmes flew from his chair to the window and popped his head out into the cool night air.
"It is the Yard! Perhaps for once Lestrade will bring something interesting." Holmes exclaimed over his shoulder.
I marked my page and placed my book down. I levered myself to my feet realizing I had been sitting for far to long. I crossed to the window when Holmes once again flew by me. Grabbing his churchwarden, he perched himself next to the hearth one hand on the mantel the other in his pocket. (1)
Looking down at the street I saw Lestrade leap from the wheeler and begin rapping on the door. I hurried downstairs to get the door before he woke Mrs. Hudson. My leg twinged on the last step as I opened the door.
"Evening Doctor"
"Evening Inspector"
Lestrade nimbly stepped through the foyer and headed up the stairs.
Once situated upstairs with the door closed so as not to wake our lady landlord, Lestrade began to enlighten Holmes.
"Mr. Holmes you know I only bring you cases when I myself am stuck. This particular case is…difficult."
"Lestrade your idea of a problem is rather simple."
"Mr. Holmes this is serious. Five people have died!"
Holmes turned then. "I believe the number is three as of the news this morning Lestrade." He gestured with his pipe stem.
"No…there are five now" Lestrade trailed off looking at the floor. "Two more have been discovered. Due to the identity of the victim's news has not yet been released."
Holmes lowered himself into his chair "Who are the victims?"
Lestrade swallowed "Dr. Burke , a well-liked Doctor with a practice on Queen Anne Street. The most recent…" he broke off before looking Holmes straight in the eye "Officer Clarke."
"What?!" I breathed.
"He was found at the Yard. Stabbed between twenty-five and thirty times. It was messy enough that Dr. St. Cloud had to give an approximation." Lestrade ran a hand through his hair " Doctor Burke was found in the alleyway next to Charing Cross Hospital stabbed six times"
Holmes bit his pipe stem "Both missing fingers like the other victims."
"Yes. was missing his right pointer finger and Clarkey his left ring finger."
Holmes steepled his fingers "Each victim appears to lose fingers and the pattern does not coincide with gender."
Holmes stood and roved around the room. "These murders appear to be sporadic. Each happening at different times and dates. Location however is correlative to the Charing Cross area.."
I almost immediately came to the conclusion of his thought "You couldn't possibly believe it to be a doctor Holmes!" I gasped.
"…The victims have nothing in common and the wounds so numerous that the attack appears to have been done in a frenzy." Holmes finished without answering. "I believe we have a serial killer on our hands."
"Appears so Mr. Holmes. The murders have happened both at night and day so issuing a curfew is out of the question. The public would panic if the news was released so we have done our best to contain it. We don't need them getting upset that the law hasn't caught such a monster yet."
"And so you come to me." Holmes drawled.
"Yes Mr. Holmes, I most certainly wouldn't have unless it was an emergency."
"Seems rather like something out of a story." I said under my breath so only Lestrade would hear.
Holmes stopped his roving in front of his chair and sat himself down elegantly. "Tell us the facts Inspector."
"Actually I assumed you would want a look at the victims yourself. The bodies are all at the Yard because we couldn't simply leave them where they were.
"Very well." Stated Holmes with that glimmer in his eye I knew so well.
He stood and grabbed Lestrade by his coat sleeve. Holmes basically dragged the Inspector into the hall with myself trailing behind. After practically shoving the smaller man down the stairs Holmes and I donned our hats, coats, and gloves. I checked my watch just as I was climbing into the four wheeler, midnight almost on the dot.
