The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures

He rose from his seat. 'Will you accept the case, Mr Holmes?' he asked.

'I will gladly do all I can to assist in this matter,' replied my friend, 'but I will need an address at which I may contact you.'

'The Turkish Embassy in Belgrave Square will find me,' replied the Pasha and, after donning his hat and cloak, he departed. When the horses' hooves had died away in the street outside, I asked Holmes what he intended to do.

'I will have an early night, Watson,' he said, 'there will be much to do tomorrow.'

The dawn of the new day saw us having an early breakfast, after which we took a cab for Victoria station, where we boarded the first train to the village of Stoke Morden. As the train rattled towards its destination, Holmes, after watching the scenery fly past for a time, suddenly turned to me and said; 'What do you make of the dying man's last words, Watson?'

'He referred to a salon and pointed at the Turkish Military Attache,' I said, 'On the face of it, it would suggest that he was accusing him of the murder, but I confess I cannot see the significance of his reference to a salon. Could it be that he and the Turk had agreed to meet in a particular salon to discuss some dispute, but that the Turk decided to take matters into his own hands and shoot Simeonov without taking the trouble to discuss the matter first? It seems far-fetched, but I can think of no more plausible explanation.'

'And yet, Watson, other plausible explanations may be offered,' replied Holmes, 'It may be, for example, that he was directing those present to some incriminating evidence to be found in a salon that may be known to one of them. I will admit, however, that I do not find such an explanation compelling.'

'There is also the most singular altercation that immediately followed the man's death, when the Count and the Military Attache accused one another of murder,' I said.

'Is that how you interpreted it?'

'Yes, what other interpretation could possibly be made?'

'Consider what was actually said,' replied Holmes, 'The Count shouted 'This is your doing, you murderer' at the Military Attache, but the Military Attache did not, in fact, make a counter-accusation, but said, 'I am not a murderer, you know the truth, ask yourself who is the murderer.' He did not say 'I am not a murderer, you are the murderer'; his actual reply would suggest that he did not believe that the Count was the murderer, for if he did he would, presumably, have said so quite openly, since there seems to be little love lost between the two of them.'

'In that case his reply seems further to suggest that both he and the Count know the identity of the murderer,' I said.

'That is, of course possible,' said Holmes, cryptically, and was silent for the rest of the journey.

When we arrived at Stoke Morden, Holmes hailed a cab and asked our driver to take us to Royston Manor, the home of Lord Eversden. After a frosty drive beneath an iron-grey sky, we arrived at the ivy-covered Manor that was the scene of the terrible murder, the commission of which seemed to threaten the peace of the world. We rang the ancient bell and an aged, somewhat lugubrious butler opened the door. Holmes presented his card and asked to see Lord Eversden. We were shown into a large drawing room, where we awaited the arrival of his lordship. Holmes and I stood looking out of window at the bleak winter scene and at the rooks circling and cawing above the trees. Suddenly, the drawing room door was flung open and two men, apparently in the middle of an involved argument, entered together. One was a man of above average height, with a fine, domed bald head and a silver moustache, while the other was a large and corpulent man, whom I instantly recognized.

'Sherlock,' cried the large man as soon as he saw my friend, 'we were expecting you.' It was Holmes's brother Mycroft, the wizard of Whitehall. Holmes was clearly delighted, if not surprised, to see his brother, who introduced us to the tall man, who was Lord Eversden, the distinguished Foreign Secretary.

When we had all sat down, Lord Eversden looked at Holmes and said: 'Your brother has told me that Orman Pasha has been to consult you regarding the tragedy that has taken place in my house. It is no exaggeration to say that this matter is fraught with danger, as I believe Orman Pasha, who is highly regarded in British Government circles, has informed you. We welcome your involvement and I wish to assure you that my house and staff are at your disposal.'

'Thank you, my lord,' replied Holmes, 'I should like to begin by making an examination of the house.'

We all followed Holmes up the staircase and Lord Eversden showed us the spot in which the body had been found. Holmes knelt to the ground and examined the carpet minutely, then asked, 'Which way was the body lying? Were the feet pointing towards or away from the staircase?'

'They were pointing towards the staircase,' replied Lord Eversden, 'and his head was lying just next to the small side table by the entrance to the room.'

Holmes stood up. 'Now, my lord,' he said,' can you recollect where everyone was standing when you and Orman Pasha arrived here?'

Lord Eversden thought for a moment. 'Colonel Yusufoglu was kneeling beside Simeonov between him and the bedroom door. Mr Leonticles was standing some feet away beyond Simeonov's head.'

'In other words, he was standing where Simeonov could not see him?' asked Holmes.

'No, Simeonov would not have been able to see Leonticles from where he was lying,' replied Lord Eversden, 'Count Balinsky and Baron Nopchka arrived after the Pasha and I did, and they stood looking over our shoulders at the dreadful sight.'

'Thank you, Lord Eversden, your comments are most illuminating,' said Holmes, 'Now I would like to examine Mr Simeonov's bedroom.'

We entered the bedroom and Holmes made straight for the window. 'Was the window closed when you came upstairs?' he asked Lord Eversden.

'As far as I can recollect, although I did not enter the room, but I could see the window from the corridor. Only Nopchka and the Colonel went in, carrying Simeonov's body.'

Holmes opened the wardrobe, which proved to be empty, then dropped to the floor and looked under the bed. He reached with his arm under the bed and pulled out a small and very old Gladstone bag.

'Did this belong to Simeonov?' he asked.

'Yes, it was all the luggage he had,' replied Lord Eversden.

Holmes placed the bag on the bed and opened it. It appeared to contain nothing but clothes and the usual paraphernalia of a visiting guest. Suddenly Holmes looked up at the window and froze. The expression on his face was so startling, that we all followed his gaze, but I, for one, could see nothing out of the ordinary.

'What is it, Sherlock,' cried Mycroft, 'what was there outside the window?'

Holmes quickly recovered his composure. 'Nothing,' he said, 'Just a sudden movement, probably a bird.' He closed the bag and replaced it under the bed. We next went to the bedrooms of all the other guests, but there was nothing to be gleaned from those either.

After an examination of the outside of the house and of the grounds, where Holmes searched in vain for any signs of footprints, we returned to the drawing room, where we all sat down, except for Holmes, who remained standing beside the fireplace.

'Lord Eversden,' he began, 'it is my desire to meet the diplomats who were your guests two days ago, but, before I do so, I would like to have an assessment of their characters and backgrounds by yourself and my brother. To begin with, Orman Pasha. Of course, I have already made his acquaintance and he struck me as an able and honest man. You both know him better; do you accept my conclusion?'

Lord Eversden spoke first: 'Yes, he is a thoroughly decent and honourable man. I have known him for thirty- seven years.' Mycroft was nodding. 'He is without doubt one of the most distinguished of Turkish diplomats. HMG has always had excellent dealings with him; he is known to be incorruptible.'

'And Colonel Yusufoglu, the Military Attache?' asked Holmes.

'Ah, he is a hard man to know,' said Mycroft, 'a rather dark, brooding fellow, who strikes me as being quite capable of nursing a grudge.' He turned to Lord Eversden, who added: 'I do not know the man well, but I will confess that I took an instant dislike to him.'

'What is known of his background?'

'He was on the staff of the Turkish Governor of Thessaly,' replied Mycroft, the fount of political knowledge, 'which is effectively a part of Greece that is still under Turkish rule, or so the Greeks would claim. The Governor, Hassan Pasha, dealt with a firm, but fair hand with the riots that broke out there last year and earned the gratitude of the Greeks, which is something out of the ordinary in Gr?co-Turkish relations. Yusufoglu was his deputy and he,