MORIARTY PICKS A MURDERER (PART TWO)

Written by Robbie Cutler, Published on 4/24/2009

Professor Moriarty was pleased with the criminal he had selected to rid London, once and for all, of Sherlock Holmes. Fastidious Fred Fielder was, as his nickname implied, a man who could dress the part, any part. He could be at home in a drawing room in London’s elite West End, or he could disguise himself in a number of costumes to fit into any locale. Furthermore, he was not known in London, having committed his larcenies and occasional murders in Liverpool. Yes, Fastidious Fred was the man for the job. And he’d won the right to do the job, and earn a large amount of money, in a contest carefully arranged by Moriarty.

Now, Fastidious Fred’s preparations had been made: He’d sent tickets for a violin concert to Sherlock Holmes. The show was scheduled for the following night. The bait should be irresistible—Holmes loved music if indeed he loved anything or anyone, and the featured soloist, Sarasate, was his special favorite. Sarasate played the violin like that wizard Paganini had done, captivating audiences.

And so the trap was set. Fastidious Fred’s plan was in action. Soon, Moriarty would never again have to worry about Holmes spoiling his criminal plans.

*****

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. James Watson were looking forward to enjoying the evening of fine violin playing by the virtuoso Sarasate. The tickets had been delivered the previous day by messenger. If asked, the messenger reported as he handed over the envelope, he was only to say they were from an admirer of the great consulting detective. For his trouble, the messenger had been given the generous sum of one shilling.

Dr. Watson had advised strongly against accepting the tickets. “Just think, Holmes,” he said, “this may compromise your reputation. If word got about that you were accepting expensive tickets like this from anonymous admirers …”

“I hardly think so, Watson,” Holmes replied. “And in fact, I was looking forward to this concert. Sarasate is quite the finest violinist playing in the concert halls today. It is a privilege to hear him, and you know, when I sent over to buy tickets a few days ago, they were all sold out.”

“Were they?”

“They were. This unexpected gift suggests several possibilities, Watson. One of which is what they purport to be at face value.”

Watson snorted. “It seems to me that someone had the tickets, and then just decided not to use them. It was one of your admirers, surely. A nice gesture, I call it.”

“Well, you are partly right. Someone had the seats, and then sent them to us just yesterday. It could have been simply a generous gesture. But since the concert has been sold out for several days, my anonymous admirer has had these tickets for a while—long enough to formulate a plan, I should think. So we cannot exclude the possibility of a more sinister purpose.”

“Good heavens, Holmes. Do you mean that this may actually be a trap of some sort?”

“I do hope so, Watson. Things have been tedious of late. The music will be entertaining, and it could just sharpen our wits for what may happen later in the evening.”

*****

To Watson’s amazement, as the two men had descended from their quarters to Baker Street, a hansom cab awaited them. “It’s all arranged, gentlemen,” said the smartly dressed cab driver. He shifted the reins into his left hand to lift his hat to Holmes and Watson. “You’ll be at the concert hall in a jiffy.”

“And will you be taking us back after the concert?” Holmes asked.

“I know nothing about that, sir,” the cabbie replied, “so you should probably hire your own cab for the return.”

“More and more interesting,” Holmes muttered, as he and Dr. Watson entered the cab.

Upon arriving at the concert hall, Holmes stopped at the ticket office.

“Why do that, old man? We’ve got our tickets already,” said Watson.

Holmes had a quick conversation with the ticket seller, then returned to where Watson stood. “She remembers it perfectly well, Watson, even though the sale was five days ago. She notices details; all the more so since she is not allowed to leave her ticket booth during performances, in case a latecomer arrives. We have special box seats, it appears. Right next to the Royal Box, in fact, and this very box was specifically requested by the purchaser. And the curious thing is that there are three seats in our box, and all three were sold at the same time.”

“Who bought them?”

“A man in his mid-forties, tall and well dressed.” Holmes spun his mental file of suspects, his brain a computer before computers were invented. “Yes, the problem is more and more interesting. I wonder, now...”

They were shown to their box by the theater usher. Holmes noticed a plainclothes policeman whom he recognized standing on duty just outside the Royal Box. “I hope you will enjoy the concert, gentlemen,” the usher said, pocketing the tip that Watson gave him. Closing the door behind them, he added, “I’ll see you at intermission, if you would like to order drinks.”

Holmes waited a moment, got up from his seat, left the box, and approached the policeman outside the Royal Box. Yes, he learned, the Queen was expected to be in attendance. No, it had not been announced. She would arrive during the intermission. “Then there is just enough time,” Holmes said. He scribbled a note to Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard, and gave it to the policeman to deliver. Holmes then he settled down next to Dr. Watson to enjoy the concert.

Loud applause followed the final notes of the first half of the concert. The concertgoers gradually stood and stretched. Several began to make their way to the bar, others headed outside for a breath of fresh air.

“So you got my note, Inspector Lestrade?” Holmes asked as the inspector approached through the crowd with several of his men.

“Yes, indeed,” the Scotland Yard detective answered. “The policeman on duty has been with us for years, and is one of our most reliable men. I hope we are in good time.” He joined Watson and Holmes in the third seat of their box. Their usher peered in to see that everything was all right. Then, a few minutes later, he returned with a tray holding three drinks, proclaiming, “Compliments of the house.”

“I could prolong the puzzle, gentlemen,” said Holmes, “but that would not be right, with Her Majesty expected. You should perhaps make an arrest, Lestrade. Then we will surely all enjoy the rest of the concert.” He whispered something to Lestrade.

As the policemen went to make the arrest, Holmes leaned over the rail of the box, searching the audience below. As expected he saw Professor Moriarty in the audience, regaining his seat. Holmes smiled, Moriarty frowned, and each man knew that another Moriarty plot had been foiled by the great detective, Sherlock Holmes. Raising his drink, Dr. Watson asked Holmes what had happened.