December 6: "Mysterious footprints" (from YoughaltheJust)
Continued from Dec 3! Lightning fast refresh: an shaken artist, his beautiful daughter, a butler without an alibi, a nervous maid, a doctor with secrets, and the locked room murder of the artist's wife. When we last left our heroes, they had gone to see if Dr. Wright would give his account of the previous evening and came away successful.
"Where to now, Holmes?" I asked as he hailed a cab.
"Scotland Yard!"
And the cab clattered off in that direction. It was only perhaps five or five thirty, but the sun had long since set below the horizon for the day and the evening chill had set in. For all that I enjoyed coming along with Holmes on his cases, I found myself musing over what sort of warm supper Mrs. Hudson would be preparing, interspersed with thoughts about the gruesome murder and Holmes' methods.
We found Lestrade at his desk, going over a report with a constable, his mouth set into a thin line of disappointment and more than a hint of exhaustion about his eyes. He turned to us as the constable departed.
"No further clues, I take it?" inquired Holmes.
"No, I have had no progress since we last spoke," Lestrade replied. "I hope that your time was not similarly wasted?"
"Fear not, Inspector," replied my friend. "Watson and I were privy to quite an interesting little development."
"Dr. Wright was communicative then?" Lestrade leaned forward with interest.
"One could say that," Holmes replied. "Tell me, did you happen to make anything of the footprints on the path outside the kitchen door?"
Lestrade stared back blankly, and then replied, rather sharply, "You need hardly ask me that, Holmes. I was rather occupied with investigating inside the locked room in which the unfortunate victim died."
Holmes waved away the retort. "No matter. Had you done so, you may have observed footmarks belonging to no one in the household. It was on this point that Dr. Wright's narrative was most elucidative." He recounted the details of our earlier conversation.
Lestrade nodded slowly. "I suppose that explains some of that maid's nervousness, then. She was concealing from us Dr. Wright's assistance to her. I am glad you were able to clear up that small point, but I fear the rest of the business is as dark as ever."