Free The Detective and the Woman by Amy Thomas Page B

After a while, she brought it to the counter and asked me its price. In order to loosen her tongue, I quoted her an amount much lower than its value.
    ‘You’re new in town,’ she said, with a slight air of distrust. ‘I saw you in Morgan’s just now.’
    ‘That’s right,’ I said. ‘My husband and I just came here from Iowa.’
    ‘Well, you’re lucky not to be in the groves.’
    ‘Why is that?’ I asked as nonchalantly as possible.
    ‘Things are getting worse these days. My husband Jim went to work for a new boss because the pay is better, but it looks like he’s going to force us all out in the end. It’s the deadlines—most of the bosses’ll need pickers for at least another four weeks, but he wants it all by the end of the month—only two weeks—and that means the foremen drive the men like slaves.’
    ‘I’m terribly sorry,’ I said sympathetically.
    ‘Well, it’s the way of this life,’ she said, giving me a few coins and leaving.
    * * *
    I was vastly relieved when Holmes finally stepped through the door of the shop, looking pleased. ‘I can see that your day has proved more successful than mine,’ I said by way of a greeting.
    ‘Indeed,’ he answered, locking the door and leading the way up the narrow, rickety stairs to the tiny upstairs flat. As we cleaned our faces, he began his story.
    ‘My first object was Sanchez’s citrus grove outside of town. I was admitted after a wheedling promise that my shop might be able to stock necessaries like tobacco and liquor at lower-than-market prices. Almost as soon as I stepped onto the premises, I learned a vital piece of information.’
    ‘Sanchez is forcing the men to work much more quickly than the other growers’ men,’ I inserted.
    ‘Exactly so,’ said Holmes, looking gratifyingly surprised.
    ‘I was introduced to an unpleasant character called Bill, who brought me into his office.’
    ‘The foreman,’ I put in, but Holmes ignored me this time.
    ‘I was given to understand that a company office exists somewhere in town, but the field office is in a shed on the edge of the grove itself. I did not expect to be treated well enough to be introduced to the head foreman, and when I was, I began to be concerned that Sanchez himself might be in evidence, a possibility I would like to avoid for the moment. Thankfully, Bill mentioned offhand that his employer would be conducting business in town all day.’
    ‘But here’s the rub, Irene,’ he said, stopping dramatically as he finished wiping off the remnants of his altered nose. ‘ The photograph was on his desk . There I was, having a normal conversation, if somewhat dishonest in the common way, about cost and supply, with a picture of myself and my brother staring up at me. The man did not appear to recognise me, but I confess I was not entirely comfortable with the situation. The other odd thing is—’ and he fixed his eyes on my now-clean face with intensity, ‘the photo wasn’t the one I predicted. I was wrong. It was one from several years ago, a picture of my brother and me on the day of my graduation from Cambridge. I was not aware a copy existed, other than the ones Mycroft and I possess.’
    ‘How long has it been since you looked at that photograph, Holmes?’ I asked quickly, feeling myself start to blush.
    He shook his head. ‘Not since the day I received it in a letter from my brother three months after the occasion. Since then, it has resided among my personal papers.’ I stood with my back to him, trying to will my face back to its usual colour.’
    ‘Do you remember when Mrs Hudson tried out a new maid, a girl named Sally Hawkins, while you were away?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Holmes, ‘but I don’t see—’ and then the detective fell silent. I winced. He grasped my shoulders and spun me around to face him. ‘But that was before the King of Bohemia approached me for the first time. What could you possibly have meant by it?’
    ‘I knew that he was planning to come