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

tell of your employer Mr. Daniels?’
    â€œHe slipped the money into his dirty charcoal jacket and said, ‘He was a decent bloke, as far as I could tell. He was always careful about who he put his trust in, and if you ever broke it you’d be gone.’
    â€œâ€˜What do you mean by ‘be gone’?’
    â€œâ€˜Well, if you ever got on his bad side or were just inept he’d cut you loose. Send you packing. That sort of thing.’
    â€œâ€˜When did you see him last?’
    â€œâ€˜I haven’t seen him in some months. He’s only telegrammed. After Thomas was killed in the explosion at Whitechapel Station, he stopped coming into the factory.’
    â€œâ€˜How long have you held this position?’
    â€œâ€˜Oh, only a few months.’
    â€œâ€˜Who was in the role before you?’
    â€œâ€˜A man named Phillias Jackson. Of course he wasn’t here very long.’
    â€œâ€˜Why was that?’
    â€œâ€˜Not quite sure. I remember him coming in with Mr. Daniels and Mr. Thomas and being shown around, then about two weeks later he was made Warden and we were informed of some new business that we’d be doing.’
    â€œâ€˜What kind of business?’
    â€œâ€˜Thomas opened up some trade with India and Afghanistan.’
    â€œâ€˜What kind of trade?’
    â€œâ€˜Nothing important. Some of it was animals, some was fabrics, spices. That sort.’
    â€œâ€˜Back on point, then. Why did Mr. Jackson step down from being Warden?’
    â€œâ€˜Well, not sure. I remember hearing them, Thomas and Daniels, that is, arguing about Jackson. It seemed like Thomas didn’t trust him all that much. Think he wanted too much money for his job. Least that’s the way Daniels put it to me when he gave me the job. See, Jackson was let go but no one really knew why, and all I was told that financially he didn’t agree with them.’
    â€œâ€˜And how long did Jackson work here?’
    â€œâ€˜Probably six months or so.’
    â€œâ€˜You’ve been quite helpful. Now, if you can give me access to the offices, I shouldn’t be long.’
    â€œHe quickly showed me to them. I asked for some privacy, which he reluctantly gave. I went through papers and shipment logs. There was nothing much of note. In the office was a safe. I enquired with the warden as to the whereabouts of the key. He said only Daniels had it. I had no time to travel back to Daniels’ and find it, so I managed to pick the lock. Inside, I came across some very telling things. A contract drafted by Phillias Jackson that made him an equal partner in the company. Deep lines of ink were scratched through it. When the Warden thought money was the issue, he was wrong. It wasn’t Jackson’s wage at the factory, it was the fact he wanted to be a partner.” Holmes reached into his jacket pocket. “I also found these, letters between Goodtree and Daniels.
    David,
    We must remove Jackson.
    Goodtree
    Thomas,
    I agree, but he’s put us in a peculiar situation. This will take a lot of legal action, and probably a hefty sum of money to get rid of him.
    Daniels.
    David,
    Whatever the cost, he needs to be removed from our employ and our lives. We need to rid ourselves of his cunning.
    Goodtree.
    Thomas,
    Meet with me tomorrow, at the club. We can discuss things there.
    Daniels.
    Thomas,
    It’s been done. At what cost, I cannot say. But he has been removed. We can only hope he leaves us in peace.
    Daniels.
    â€œThese men sounded suspicious of Jackson, as if he had something on them.” Holmes looked at me inquisitively but uttered no response as he trailed off into his thoughts.
    â€œSo you think Phillias is behind the poisoning?” I asked.
    â€œDuring my search there were unmarked shipments labelled private. Some of the shipments were from Burkum and Lynn.”
    â€œThe weapons manufacturer?”
    â€œThe very one. It was mostly