The Warning,Chapter the Seventh.
Holmes' POV
The Inspector arrived earlier than I thought he would. Happily, I
was already up and dressed. He held the door for Mrs. Hudson, who
was bringing up the breakfast tray. I do not know how she knew that
the Inspector would join us, but the tray was set for three. [The
woman was simply uncanny sometimes.]
After exchanging pleasantries, we both sat down to give the tray
our attention.
"Where are we headed to first? Hand me some toast, please. Ah,
thank you."
"Hand me the cream, will you? Right outside Sussex there is a
charming hamlet by the name of Kirkdale. We will start there.
That".....here he checked his notes "would be the Hightowers. They
are the family that did not pay the ransom, and they found a pile of
ashes on their sofa in the parlour."
"Ah, yes. I solved a small problem for them a few years back. It
concerned a stolen ring, if I remember correctly. Which Hightower
was the deceased?"
"Oh, that would be Sir Charles. After we see the Hightowers, we
will head over to Berkshire Heights to talk to the Robinsons. Then
we will ho over to take the statements of the Anderworths. These
two families paid the ransom, and the dear departed was left in a
crypt for them to collect. Of all the ghastly operations I have run
into....." He shook his head. "They say that there is nothing new
under the sun, and that everything has been done before, but this is
the first that I have heard of this particular scheme. Are you ready,
then?"
Holmes nodded, and they were off. They left quietly, however,
so as not to wake Watson.
After a seemingly endless drive through the countryside, Holmes
was glad to leave the confines of the growler to stretch his long legs.
"This way", said Lestrade, heading toward the main house. Our
arrival was anticipated, for the staff, as well as the esteemed couple
themselves, were waiting for us in the parlour.
Lestrade spoke up. "Holmes, you remember Mr. and Mrs.
Hightower."
"Ah, yes" said Mr. Hightower "Mr Holmes cleverly unmasked a
thief after a fancy dress party about three years ago. Perhaps you
can make sense of this."
Mrs. Hightower had burst into sobs as soon as her husband had
started to speak. She punctuated her tears with quite loud bouts of
nose-blowing. [which brought to mind a Mallard being stepped on ]
A servant, maybe the maid, came over and led Mrs. Hightower over
to an out of the way chair and began to speak soothingly and rub her
back. She handed her clean handkerchiefs at appropriate intervals.
Mr. Hightower launched into his tale. "Well, what happened is
this: Charles, Emma's brother died of a heart attack. The day after
the funeral, a note was discovered on the front steps." He dug in his
pocket and handed Holmes the note. "You will see it is quite
straightforward."
Holmes looked at the note. It was written in a forceful hand in
block letters. It read as follows: If you want the remains of Sir
Charles Hightower back, leave the sum of 25,000 pounds on the
sundial by the Rossburn Mausoleum at midnight. If you do not, you
might not like what you find tomorrow. Choose wisely, for you will
not get a second chance.
"What was your reaction to this letter ?"
"Well,we stood on principle, so we did not let sentimentality
sway us We did not give in to these demands."
The fresh sobs that came from Mrs. Hightower led Holmes and
the inspector to believe that she did not share her husband's opinion.
" And what was the result of this?" Incredibly, the sobs grew
even louder.
"Yesterday morning we came downstairs as usual and found a
heap of ashes on the sofa. We also found his watch, wedding ring,
and a few buttons. They were scooped up and are in this urn here."
He paused and spoke in a whisper. "Perhaps you could take this urn
as evidence or something. Just glancing at this is enough to make
the Missus nearly hysterical. I know she is grieving, but this just
seems to make things worse. Women are such mysteries, don't you
agree?"
A/N- Thanks a lot, Cat.