Free Sherlock Holmes and The Scarlet Thread of Murder by Luke Benjamen Kuhns

my outburst. I allowed myself to calm before I said: “There are no other options. With the tall man, Jacob, dead, and the anarchists vanished, there is little we can now follow.”
    â€œDon’t suppose there’s more the bartender isn’t telling you?” White asked.
    â€œHe’s a buffoon. We’ll keep him within arm’s reach for the time, but I cannot say with conviction that he is of aid to us,” I returned.
    â€œI’m sorry I can’t be of more help myself,” admitted White. “The compounds in the explosive and the poison - I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for them in this city, or any city for that matter.”
    â€œThere must be another thread to this mystery... There must be,” I whispered. “Gentlemen, let’s follow the rail tracks.”
    ***
    It was with great disappointment that we returned empty handed from our investigation. We learnt nothing from where the train had been kept overnight. Not a single person had seen anything or was willing to tell us if they had. The whole thing became one of many open investigations that would remain dead in the water.
    Over the next few months, Jeffry was locked away in Pentonville. Before his hanging, we attempted to get more information out of him regarding Jacob, but it proved useless. His public house was searched over and over and it, too, yielded no results. We looked far and wide for any sign of the anarchists, but Lamech’s entire tribe had all vanished. Whoever killed Lamech had got away with it. Whoever planted the explosive had also escaped our grasp. DCI Johnstone’s temper burned red when he came to see me on the matter. He showed no mercy on my department and threatened my job on several occasions. I looked for hope, for an answer to the solution that would aid us in solving this problem, but I had nowhere to turn.
    Chapter 11
    Doctor Watson.
    Discovery At Nine Elms
    Autumn 1890
    â€œWatson!” echoed Holmes’ voice. I heard the sound of his feet racing up the stairs. I rose from my seat as he burst into the study. “Come, Watson. We’re off to Putney.”
    â€œAre you going to tell me why or where in Putney we are going?”
    â€œDavenport House! Now come, Watson.”
    Once we were in a cab, I demanded Holmes tell me what he had learnt.
    â€œFirst, I know how Daniels was being poisoned.” My interest was piqued. “The mud found in Daniels’ house was telling. We know he hadn’t been anywhere suspicious since we met him. We also know the state of his house upon our visit. There was no mud. Yet, I found some there. Daniels was certainly not alone. He was yelling at someone. I could tell from the mud that it came from a factory by the river; I have narrowed down the mixture of mud and sand to somewhere near Nine Elms. As it happens, Daniels has a small factory just there. So someone from around his factory had come into his house, and mud had fallen from their shoes.”
    â€œThat doesn’t explain how he was being poisoned.”
    â€œI ventured into the factory where I was stopped by a warden.
    â€œâ€˜What are you doing sniffing around here?’ he yelled.
    â€œâ€˜I am looking into the death of Mr. Daniels, your employer.’
    â€œThe man froze stiff. ‘Dead, you say? What happened?’
    â€œâ€˜Hanged himself,’ I returned. ‘It is most important that I have a look through his offices.’
    â€œâ€˜Now sir, I can’t let you do that.’
    â€œâ€˜I assure you, you can.’ I introduced myself to him, but he was not impressed.
    â€œâ€˜I don’t care who you are, private detective or not. This here is my factory and I can’t let people go sniffing around.’
    â€œâ€˜Every man has his price.’
    â€œHe paused a moment and I handed what would have been to him a considerable amount of money. His eyes lit up, and I knew I had him. ‘What can you