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Miss Holmes

Of Mudless Shoes and Murder

"Don&039;t e instantly I&039;un that shone in her hand

"Step away," she said "Place the knife on the floor, then raise your hands" She stood so the us or the statue of Ramesses II that loo to help," said the ht in shadow "I think she&039;s dead" I couldn&039;t place his accent

"Evaline," Miss Adler said without taking her eyes from him "On the wall next to the fist of Ptah Find the lever We need light" As she spoke, shethe gun trained on thehim away frolow illu seven-ton statue of Ralyphs were no longer casting long, dark shadows that hahts now shone on the intruder He was hardly any older than I and wore a style of clothing I&039;d never seen before

"Is she dead?" asked Miss Adler, glancing at Miss Stoker, who had refrained fro the body The question was clearly meant to spur my counterpart into action

"Er" Miss Stoker began She moved forith reluctant, robotic movements She looked ill

Iure and crouched next to the rumpled mass of skirts and limbs I&039;d never come across a body, or a fresh crime scene like this before I had certainly seen corpses, even studied thee But not like this Not soraw

I forced myself to actually look at her, then to touch the pulse point on the girl&039;s throat Even before I did that, I knew she was dead But her chill skin and lack of pulse confirmed it "There&039;s no hope for her"

"I&039;ll ring for the authorities They estured for my companion to take her place with the pistol

I returnedcould have been no older than seventeen or eighteen, a peer of e The fact that a short ti about the disappearances and death of other young women was not lost on ht happen here, tonight? Had she meant for us to prevent it?

I drew in a deep breath, smelled the sharp iron of blood and other bodily excretions, and pushed away ed my loyalty and self to the Crown The moment of truth had come sooner than we could have realized

Who was she? How had she come here? Why would someone do this to her and how? I forced myself to observe Coldly Objectively

She lay on her side, curled up, eyes open-fallen or dumped here

Her hair still pinned in place-she hadn&039;t struggled

Not enough blood on the floor-she hadn&039;t been killed here

Which meantI looked at the intruder, who, still under the control of Miss Stoker, had nevertheless edged closer to the sarcophagus at the side of the gallery

No bloodstains on his odd clothing-he had not moved the body He wasn&039;t the e away fro e her position?"

"No, I didn&039;t move her" His accent sounded American, but not like any other A to see if she was alive when you showed up I just touched herfor a pulse" His voice was tense, and his eyes darted froain

I believe even the ree he was a handso blue eyes His jaas square, and his chin firm He looked as if he were not even twenty, and as he stood there, his hands raised in surrender, I ad dark blond hair plastered around the ears and neck

He wore a red shirt with no opening down the front Itsto his chest as if it et, even though it wasn&039;t Strangely, there were large letters painted or sewn on the front of it I could see enough to make out AEROPOSTA-a French word, which added to ner If there were more letters, they were hidden by an unbuttoned plaid shirt I&039;d never seen a man wear a shirt like that, open and unbuttoned I found it scandalous

Over the unbuttoned shirt, the intruder wore a jacket of black leather that wasjust at his waist instead of halfway to the knees The he below it His trousers were just as unfamiliar-made of dark blue denim, like the Levi Strauss pants worn by American laborers They were frayed a little at the hems and worn in the knees

And his shoes! I wanted to crouch and examine them, for I couldn&039;t identify the material from which they were made They laced up the front like a woman&039;s shoe, but without the tiny little buttons that took forever to hook (My o) Gray with age, yet decorated with an odd swoop-like design on the sides, they looked as if they wereworn, his footas not blood- ortoday-as was usual for London It would have been impossible to avoid the muck outside, even on the upper streetwalk levels

He&039;d not been outside today

Curious

Had he been hiding in the un to rain at dawn? My eyes narrowed in thought and I exchanged glances with Miss Stoker I didn&039;t expect her to have followed ht-after all, one must be a trained observer, ent question in her gaze

"You clai to help her But what are you doing here in the ht?" I asked

"I&039;m-uh-I&039; to wax the floors" His smile was forced, yet I couldn&039;t help but appreciate the atteardless of how implausible it was

"That&039;s absurd," said Miss Stoker The gun wavered in her hand

"What? The waxing? Hey, it needs to be done-" He ed his tack "Look, I swear I didn&039;t touch her I just found her lying here I know I shouldn&039;t be here at night, but it wasn&039;t exactlyodd circumstances"

"You can explain all of these-erm-odd circumstances to the authorities when they arrive," I said "But you needn&039;t worry about being arrested for murder I can attest to the fact that you&039;re innocent of that, at least"

"Well, thank goodness you figured that out," he said, his voice dripping with insincerity

With a little sniff, I returned to the victi Miss Stoker to deal with the intruder It was imperative that I finish my examination before the authorities arrived and disturbed everything

Face, jaw, and fingers beginning to stiffen-rigor es; dead at least three hours, possibly four or five

Steeling irl onto her back I couldn&039;t hold back a little shudder Her sightless eyes stared up into the high ceiling of the gallery With a catch of breath, I closed the she&039;d found peace without too much pain first

Blood stained the front of her shirtwaist and her left sleeve, but only a bit on her right Slender burn-like marks around her arms, as if a thin cord or wire had been wrapped around the her left wrist I sniffed her hair Opium Faint but unmistakable

Too little blood on the left sleeve-no splashes of blood on the arm that made the cut? Impossible to be self-inflicted

"Miss Stoker Do you recognize this young woman?"

Before she could respond, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps More than one pair, so it would see for the authorities, but fetched them as well "Hurry," I said as Miss Stoker un pointed at our intruder

She sed audibly "Yes, I believe that&039;s one of the Ho-"

Whatever she was about to say was cut off by a loud, strange sound It was perhaps a sort ofI&039;d ever heard before I spun onacross the floor A colorful light shone fro-see from it Miss Stoker jue stone statues at the edge of the gallery teetered and began to fall

"Look out!" I shouted as the bristly-haired stone satyr crashed to the floor

"Stop there!" ordered a co around the corner froone!" hissed Miss Stoker, who still held Miss Adler&039;s gun and was now next tothe shouts from the new arrivals, we dashed over to where the intruder had been standing Having either taken advantage of or manufactured the distraction, he had slipped into the dark shadows

"I&039;ll go after hi off, but a voice ordered, "You! Miss! Stop there!"

"Drat," Iup the silver object that had presued to the intruder Clever to use it as a distraction for us, and convenient that he&039;d left it behind

The sone silent and dark by now I shoved it init wouldn&039;t start screeching again I turned at last to greet Miss Adler and the two gentlemen: Scotland Yard inspectors They were out of breath froallery

"Ladies, this is Inspector Luckworth" Miss Adler gestured to the older of the two e height and a spare amount of hair, except for the neat beard and ave him a brief examination

Misbuttoned jacket, shirt half untucked, mismatched boots-dressed hurriedly in dark, likely to keep froht but re wife&039;s hoerprints just above the knee and a swipe of dried milk on the front of his trousers-toddler in the household

The faint shift of gears and quiet ru

"Miss Adler" Luckworth&039;s voice was less friendly than hers had been "Who are these girls? And what are they doing here at this ti here at this hour? And how did that happen?" He gestured to the rubble that had once been the stone satyr

Miss Stoker and I exchanged glances at his remark, which made it sound as if ere schoolchildren

"I&039;ve been engaged by the anized antiquities acquired over the last three decades, Inspector," Miss Adler replied "I&039;m certain you are aware of that"

"Yes, and I still find it inconceivable that the director selected you to do so"

"Unfortunately, that opinion is not relevant to our current tragedy," Miss Adler pointed out with a cool ser inspector, who couldn&039;t have been more than a few years older than I, rose froardless, madam, that doesn&039;t explain your presence here at"-he paused to flip open an elaborate pocket watch that had four s doors and, once open, rose into a complicated three-dimensional timepiece arrayed with buttons-"twelve forty-three in the " He pushed a button and the clock folded back into place with soft, pleasant clicks

Miss Adler&039;s sentle "But of course it does There is no liiven me access to the museum at any and all hours of the day You of all people, Inspector?"

"Grayling," the young "

"Inspector Grayling, you and your colleague should well understand that there are certain occupations which are not regiht" She esture with her hand "Perhaps we could quibble aboutScotland Yard because we have a criate, and I&039;et to work before more tiate?" said Luckworth He laughed "Miss Adler, there is no &039;we&039; about it You and your coation to us"

"But I beg to differ, Inspector-with all due respect," Miss Adler added in a sugar-coated voice, "we have already begun the investigation"

I took this as un a prelihten you with my conclusion-"

"Pardonin a flat voice that carried a bit of the Scottish It was no surprise, for ithair

I turned my full attention on hi man He had a freckled co to ave a pleasantly ruddy cast to his square jaw and prominent nose

Unevenly stubbled chin and tiny cut near left ear-needs to sharpen his razor and is impatient in character

Cuts and scrapes as well as a large blister adorned his left, pencil-holding digit-doesn&039;t wear gloves, works hard but not without haste and clu from jacket cuff-unmarried and lives in a household without feant wrists, two years out of style-handed down clothing, not of upper class

Ornate, cogin; ets and devices than personal appearance

Grayling was saying, "This is no concern for a civilian Now, if you-"

"Inspector Luckworth and Inspector Grayling," interrupted Miss Adler, "entle back in the spotlight, I ht have found their expressions comical Luckworth looked as if he&039;d sed a biscuit whole, and Grayling lifted his Scottish nose as if he sone bad (Incidentally, I ais is always bad)

"I daresay-" Luckworth began, but his younger colleague interrupted, "Holmes? You don&039;t expect us to believe-"

"I ahter of Sir Mycroft Ponderous appellations and high powers of deductive reasoning run as rampant in my family as the pox does in Hayed up such confidence, but the words tripped fro lady such as yourself would be faray-green look that threatened to bring a warardless of your name, Miss Holmes, which I will accept as proof of your relation to the esteemed Misters Holmes, your assistance is unnecessary Inspector Luckworth and I are well trained and able to do our jobs without interference by a fe-civilian"

"Very well," I said, lifting my nose "Carry on" At that moment, I wished I had a skirt hem to snatch up for a bit of feminine emphasis in my vexation His expression made me prickle: supercilious yet polite

But my new mentor wasn&039;t about to be cowed "We won&039;t be leaving until we&039;ve coavenod that meant I should continue with my work I sidled away froation?" Luckworth choked as I knelt next to the dead girl "This is not tea time, Miss Adler Nor is it a woette ators will reh the pockets in the victim&039;s voluminous skirts as Miss Adler responded to the inspector in her low, even tones It wasn&039;t that I expected to find so could be a clue She wore no jewelry except for a co

"Her Royal Highness has authorized you to-" Luckworth bit off his oords as if to keep froretful

As the discussion (I use that tered between the inspector and Miss Adler, I used irl&039;s ar made a sharp sound and stalked over to ht next to s, where I crouched in voluleaht except near the soles where they were speckled with ner and his mud-free shoes Was he still in the museum?

"Miss Hol said in a tone that indicated clear displeasure

"I&039; my observations and deductions Shall we coht from my small illuminator shone in his eyes They were still spots of exasperation, spoiling an otherwise pleasing countenance "If you feel it necessary to share your information with us, I cannot stop you, Miss Holmes But my partner and I are able to draw our own conclusions" He crouched next to me

I could smell the clean, lee, square, capable hands All at once I felt unco coat, and wished that I wasn&039;t dressed like a street urchin Perhaps if I wasn&039;t, he would take me seriously

Inspector Luckworth and Miss Adler approached "Well, whatta you found, Brose?" asked Luckworth He sounded disgruntled but resigned

"A variety of things," Grayling replied "Death occurred four hours ago-"

"Closer to three," I interjected, "based on the rayish eyes on h that I could see a I took fro a slender silver implement froan to lose heat at least four hours ago"

Drat I closednot to look at the instrument with too much fascination I&039;d never seen one so sleek and efficient And even though mine was ain It was a orcontinued in a sue, "death occurred at approxi from an apparent self-inflicted wound on the left wrist"

"Suicide?" Luckworth said, his face going sharp and serious

"It wasn&039;t suicide," I said, just as Grayling interjected, "I said apparent"