“One would hope so.” Holmes waved a hand.“However, let us not get too far ahead. The newspaper account saida neighbor called the police due to hearing a gunshot. If the deadman had been shot, surely there would have been a great deal ofblood on the carpet, not the small amount you noticed.” He rubbed ahand over his chin. “Tell me from the beginning what you learnedtonight.”
“Very well.” I took a deep breath andreported all that had happened at the house where the dead body wasfound. Tessa interrupted me from time to time and said things like,“Don’t forget to tell him about...”
When I reached the point where I talked tothe neighbor and acquired the backpack, Holmes leaned forward andrubbed his hands together. “Ah, the plot thickens.”
“I took the backpack into the kitchen...“
Holmes interrupted me. “A backpack, you say.Could you describe it for me, please?”
“It’s a soft-sided bag, made of some kind ofsturdy material, but lightweight. It has straps on each side whichone can slip over the arms and carry it on his back. Backpack,” Irepeated.
“From your description, I assume it’s what Iwould have called a knapsack.”
I smiled. “Possibly.”
“Do go on.”
“I opened the backpack, er, knapsack, andlooked inside. I had already searched the smaller zippered pocketwhen the landlord interrupted me. He insisted it belonged to thedead man and must be given to the police.”
Holmes rose and paced the floor. “What adolt. Of course it did not belong to the dead man.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“You said he owned a suitcase which theyfound in the room. Why would he not take the backpack in with himas well? Or leave both items in that hall? No, the backpack belongsto the murderer.”
I had already considered that possibilitybecause I knew what else it contained, whereas Holmes did not, butI didn’t tell him that.
“What a pity you had to give it up.” Hestopped pacing. “However, you said you looked inside. Tell meeverything you remember about it.”
“I can do better than that. I can show you.”I confess I felt a little smug. As I returned to the vestibule toget my purse, I continued my report. “First I found a photograph ofa young woman.”
Holmes snorted. “Aha. I suspected a woman laybehind this crime. They usually do. Love of a woman or love ofmoney are the chief motives for most crimes.”
“I had already thought of that,” I told himand returned to the sitting room. I repeated his words for Tessa’ssake, especially as she hadn’t been with me when I opened thebackpack in the kitchen. “It was dark gray and had two zipperedpockets, the smaller one on the outside. The larger part held achange of men’s clothes and a toiletries kit. You know, toothpaste,toothbrush, razor.”
I looked meaningfully at Holmes. “In thesmaller pocket I found a newspaper clipping describing the findingof a woman’s body in an abandoned well.” Before Holmes couldcomment, I added, “It occurred to me that the body is that of thewoman in the photograph.”
He cocked his head and stroked his chin.“Perhaps. Perhaps not. It’s possible. However, it is a capitalmistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases thejudgement. Describe the items in more detail, if you please.”
“Of course. I took pictures of everythingwith my cell phone.” I took the phone from my purse and held it outto Holmes.
Back in the nineteenth century, I doubtanyone saw a puzzled look on Holmes’s face very often, but now hiseyebrows shot up, his eyes widened and his mouth opened. He staredat the phone for several seconds before taking it.
“You say this is a telephone? Surely it’ssome sort of miniature photographic device.”
“No, it’s a phone that can be used as acamera.”
“We had telephones in my day, young lady.They had mouthpieces and ear pieces, and wires connecting them to awall outlet where...”
I interrupted him. “We still have somethingsimilar, called a ‘land line.’” I went to the desk and showed him aportable telephone in its holder. “It works on a battery which getsrecharged in the holder it sits in. The holder, as you see, has awire leading to an electrical outlet.”
Holmes approached and stared at it. “And youcan both listen and speak into this little thing?”
“Yes. As for the wireless one you’re holding,frankly, I’m not a tech nerd...”
“A what?”
“...so I can’t explain how it works. I onlyknow that it does. Something to do with...”
“No, no.” He interrupted me again. “Don’ttell me. I will take your word this is a telephone which also takespictures, and that is enough.”
He stared at the cell phone and turned itaround in his hands. “As I told Watson when we first shared roomstogether, I cannot fill my head with useless information.”
“What useless information? What did Watsontell you about?”
“The solar system.”
I’m sure my voice rose. “The solar system?” Itook a breath and repeated it in a softer tone.
“He thought I ought to know the earth goesaround the sun.”
“Surely you knew that.”
“Probably. Nevertheless, I said to Watson,‘Now that I know it, I shall do my best to forget it.’”
“Really?”
Holmes resumed his pacing while he spoke.“You see, I believe that at birth a person’s brain is like an emptyattic, and you have to stock it with what furniture you need. Ifyou put in too much, it will become jumbled up or something vitalmay be crowded out.”
He stopped pacing and gave me a stern look.“Depend upon it, for every addition of knowledge you acquire, youwill forget something that you knew before.”
He paused and glanced at the phone in hishand again. “I am not interested at the moment in why this deviceworks as you say it does. Simply show me the pictures you havetaken.” He returned it to me.
I led him back to the sofa and we sat next toeach other. However, when I attempted to show him the pictures Ihad taken, I found I couldn’t access them. I stared at the phoneuntil the realization dawned on me.
“Omigod. It’s the same model, but this isn’tmy phone.”
Chapter
