The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures

'Of course not! We checked this possibility at the shipping office in Trincomalee.'

`Which company did the brothers use for their voyages to India?' '

'The Modras Line. They have offices in town.'

'I might call upon them myself in the course of my investigation,' said I.

'The house-boy was summoned from the kitchen, and I questioned him upon the verandah. The 'house-boy' proved to be no boy at all, but a tiny, wizened Tamil in his fifties at least. He was polite and informative, but could shed no light on the mysterious vanishing of his employers. I ran the gamut of usual questions, from whether he noticed anything amiss on the night in question – he had not – to whether the brothers were liked and respected, which they were. Finally I asked: 'What, in your opinion, has become of Master Bruce and William?' '

'At this his eyes filled with tears, and he murmured, 'I fear for their lives, Mr Holmes.' '

'You do, and why is this?'

'The little Tamil shook his head. 'Their spirits are abroad at night,' said he.'

'I exchanged a glance with Trevor. 'They are? And what makes you so certain?' '

' 'Myself, I have not heard or seen them – but my kitchen boys report hearing their wails in the night from the hills around. Their spirits haunt the estate and will do so until their enemies are brought to justice.' '

'I considered his words for some minutes, my thoughts entertaining dark possibilities in the bright sunlight of that equatorial country, whereupon I dismissed the house-boy and turned to Trevor.'

'And what, my friend do you make of that?'

'Poppycock, Holmes! Superstition of the first water. There are no people on Earth more given to such flights of fancy than the natives of this island. They probably heard the trumpeting of an elephant and drew conclusions.'

'Perhaps I might have a word with the house-keeper?'

'Trevor informed me that the girl employed by the brothers at the time of their disappearance was no longer in service here. 'She is pregnant, and shortly after the brothers' disappearance

took ill. For the past three months she has been bed-ridden in a bungalow on the edge of the estate – the brothers hired a doctor in the early stages of her pregnancy, when she first showed signs of weakness. The doctor has attended her ever since. Later, if you wish, we might visit her and see what she can add to your investigations. Now, perhaps I could show you around the estate before the sun is at its height? I have my morning rounds to do anyway. If you would care to join me…' '

'We took a trap along the rutted tracks excavated through the red soil of the estate. From time to time Trevor reigned the horse to a holt, climbed down and engaged native workers in long minutes' conversation. One hour before noon, with the sun beating down like some heavenly furnace, Trevor pulled up on the very perimeter of the estate, jumped down and strode through the knee-high bushes to address a worker bent over in inspection of the soil. While Trevor was thus occupied, and despite the fierce attention of the sun, I elected to leave the canopied shade of the trap and take a stroll.'

'I inspected a number of tea plants, about which, over the course of my botanical investigations, I have come to know a little. At length I repaired to Trevor's side, interested in the involved conversation he was conducting with the worker. They were discussing the state and composition of the soil. At one point I interrupted. 'Might this account for the state of the plants in this area?' I enquired.'

' 'I didn't know you were a botanist too, Holmes,' said Trevor.'

'I've gleaned a passing knowledge of the science in my reading over the years,' said I. 'And these plants seem, if I am not mistaken, to be suffering from Elsinoe thaea – or mottle scab.'

'The manager nodded. 'And not only in this area, Mr Holmes. Fully half the estate is blighted.' '

Trevor swung his arm to indicate a broad swathe of land on the periphery of the plantation. 'The entire eastern sector will not produce this season,' said he. 'I closed down the whole area when I took charge in February, locked the outbuildings where the tea was stored for drying, and ensured that no-one approached these terraces, for fear of spreading the scab.' '

' 'Do you think that the Atkinsons were aware of the disease before they vanished?' I asked.'

'Trevor considered the question before replying. 'It is possible, Holmes; indeed probable.' He was silent awhile. 'Why?' he asked at length. 'Do you think that this might have some bearing on the case?' '

'It is too early to say,' I opined. 'But certainly it is a factor to be taken into consideration.'

'We had been joined, there upon the hillside, by a knot of curious native workers. They spoke rapidly in their own tongue, Sinhalese, upon which Trevor seemed to lose his temper and snap at them in their language. They fell immediately silent and appeared shame-faced.'

'What were they saying?' I asked.

'Yet more superstitious claptrap,' Trevor said. 'They claim that six months ago, just after Bruce and William vanished, they heard the waiting of their spirits in this benighted sector. Complete rubbish, of course.'

'In due course we took our leave and drove east, towards the town of Trincomalee. 'The estate spreads over some five square miles,' Trevor informed me. 'The easternmost area, bordering the town, is where the locals have their abodes. The Atkinson's housekeeper is interned in the hospital bungalow.' '

'Presently we came upon the hospital, but to grace the rude timber construct with such a title was optimistic in the extreme. It was little more than a shed occupied by four beds, only one of them taken. The doctor, an Indian in his eighties, showed us across to the girl, one Anya Amala. 'Two minutes only, sirs,' he said. 'The girl is most seriously weakened.' '

'She was a small thing barely out of her teens, with a sheen of perspiration laid across her dusky brow. She eyed our approach with something like apprehension, and as I took a seat beside the bed I was at pains to put her at ease.'

`I wish only to ask a few simple questions,' I began. 'I will not detain you for long.' '

'She glanced like a frightened animal from the doctor, to Trevor, and finally back to myself. She nodded, licking her lips nervously.'

' 'How long have you worked for the brothers?' I enquired. 'In a whisper so soft it was almost inaudible, she said, 'I have

worked for William and Bruce almost two years, sir. They have been good and kind employers. I am most very upset when they disappear.' '

' 'Workers on the estate are of the opinion that the brothers are dead, Anya. What do you think on this matter?' '

'She shook her head, and the movement dislodged tears which fell from her massive eyes and rolled down her brown cheeks. 'I… I – oh, I cannot imagine this terrible thing!' '

'I patted her hand. 'There, there. We are doing all we can to resolve the situation.' '

`The doctor gestured that the girl had had enough, and after thanking her for her time we took our leave.'

'We returned to the house and had lunch in the shade of the verandah, after which I retired to my room and slept in the heat of the day. Dinner that night was a formal occasion attended by a few local planters and their wives. The case, of course, was the main topic of conversation, and a dozen wild and extravagant theories were proposed to explain the state of affairs.'

' 'It is quite obvious to me,' said one dowager, the wife of a retired planter, 'that the Atkinsons were facing a financial crisis and decided to abscond. They left like thieves in the night, and might at this very moment be enjoying the high life in Kuala Lumpur.'

' 'Stuff and nonsense,' someone responded. 'All the boats from the island have been investigated. The brothers were upon none of them' '

'But you do concede, do you not, that the brothers were capable of such duplicity?'

'An uneasy silence descended upon the gathered company. It is always unsettling to have suspicion pointed at erstwhile friends of hitherto impeccable reputation.'

'Presently the conversation turned to matters colonial, and I excused myself and retired to my room.'

'The following morning after breakfast I told Trevor that I wished to visit Trincomalee, and he arranged a trap and driver to transport me there.'

'Trincomalee is a small town with stone-built, colonial buildings dominating the main street, and ruder constructions comprising the outskirts. I stepped down from the trap on the main street, which follows the length of the ridge for some hundred yards. I decided that my first port of call should be the Colonial Police headquarters, an imposing building difficult to miss. After negotiating the interminable bureaucracy that maintains in such