Chapter 10

There is another murder, and this time there is an even more unusual twist.

“Now, as it is quite late,” continued Sherlock, seeing that it was past 2 AM, “I should venture to say that we had best take a few hours to sleep.  There is no point in going to the scene of the death of that man, as I made a point to stop by on my way here.  I will think this case through in detail, and tomorrow morning we shall begin our search for the killer promptly at 9 o’clock, after morning tea. Good night Watson.”  

And with that, Sherlock rose from his chair, stretched for a moment, and made his way to his bedroom, grabbing his pipe as he passed the fireplace mantle. Watson glanced at the journal one last before turning towards the hall and heading for his own room.  Within only a few minutes, he was fast asleep.

The next morning, Watson was awakened to the sound of Sherlock pacing back and forth down the hall, calling for him. 

“Watson! Here we are at half past 8 and you are still not out!  This case cannot solve itself, nor are the perpetrators going to turn themselves in!  I have had Mrs. Hudson bring up breakfast and it is out on the table as I speak!”  

“I’ll be ok in a moment!” replied Watson, as he hurried to untangle himself from the covers and get dressed for the day.

As Watson walked out of his room a few minutes later, he was greeted by Sherlock sitting in his favorite chair with a newspaper spread out before him.  

“Take a look at this Watson, that strange murder case I mentioned last night has taken a very unusual turn. It has been announced that a man has come forth claiming that he was the one who killed the man, and decided to turn himself in. There is another problem of course, but I will explain after you read it.”  

As he said this, he thrust the paper towards Watson, who took it and read as he sipped his tea and ate a scone.

“Last night, a man named Sherman Weston came to the London Police Station claiming that he was responsible for a murder that occurred yesterday morning.  The victim was Phillip Chesterton, and he was found dead in his apartment flat yesterday morning by a maintenance worker sent to repair a leaking water pipe.  Mr. Chesterton was discovered lying in the middle of the living room, with a gun in his left hand and in a pool of his own blood. The doors and windows were are secured, and there was no evidence of a break in.  Initially ruled as a suicide, the police have changed their analysis of the scene to a murder.  At first the London Police had no idea where to start, and were in the midst of organizing a manhunt, when Sherman Weston appeared at the station admitting his guilt.  He is currently being held in the station, where he will be interrogated.  More information will be released as it is revealed.”

Watson sat the paper down, “Well that certainly is a strange twist, I suppose that means that the case is closed then.” he said.  “But what was the other problem you found with it?”  

“It isn’t clear to you?” remarked Sherlock, “Well, the police took credit for my explanation of what happened.  When I arrived, they were all settled that it was a suicide. However, I set them on the right track by clearly showing and proving that there was no way it was a suicide because the wound was on the opposite side of his head, and the fact that the man was right handed alone should have been a giveaway that something was amiss.  And then they have the audacity to claim my deduction as their own.  Ahh well, it has been done.  At any rate, the most interesting point of this is that this Sherman Weston is not the murderer.”  

“What!?” exclaimed Watson, “And how can that be?”  

“Simple,” answered Sherlock, “Sherman Weston is not guilty of the crime, rather, he is being forced into taking the blame for it.  No one would admit guilt of a crime like this unless he was forced.  I did a search into his background.  He has a family; a wife and 2 children, ages 7 and 4.  In a case in which the police are clueless, he would have no reason to turn himself in; rather he is being forced to.  And the price for that admission is the safety of his family.”  

“It is amazing that you came to that conclusion Sherlock!” said Watson.  

“It was nothing really,” replied Sherlock, “when you take the facts first, and craft a theory to fit the facts, rather than twist the facts to fit the theory, chances are that you will be right from the beginning.  Now, we need to go to the station and have a chat with Mr. Weston and the police.” 

At this, Sherlock rose from his chair, and grabbed his coat as he headed swiftly out the door.  

“Wait up Holmes!” Cried Watson, as he hurried to grab his coat on the way out.

Sherlock had already managed to hail a cab and was waiting for Watson inside.  As Watson climbed in and closed the door he turned to ask Sherlock what his thoughts were, but he was halted by Sherlock’s typical demeanor when he was in thought.  He sat with his head slumped to his chest, eyes closed, with the occasional murmur, as he thought through the facts he had found over and over, making sure there was nothing left out in his theories.  After several minutes of silence, Sherlock suddenly bolted upright.  

“Aha!” he exclaimed, “This could be played very nicely!  If we can play our hand right, we may just catch the man who is actually responsible for the murder by nightfall!”  

Just then, the cab stopped, and the driver announced that they had arrived at the police station.  Sherlock jumped out and rushed for the door, while Watson paid the driver and thanked him for the service. 

Upon entering the building, Sherlock went straight towards the office of Detective Inspector Lestrade.  He knocked twice and entered.  Lestrade spun his chair around and seemed surprised.  

“What on earth are you doing here, Holmes?  Aren’t you supposed to be on a case?” he asked.  

“Oh but I am,” answered Sherlock, “and I decided to jump on this one too since you are about to condemn an innocent man for a murder which he did not commit.”  

“What are you talking about?” asked Lestrade.  

“The man who came in this morning, Sherman Weston, the one who claimed he was the one who murdered Phillip Chesterton!” exclaimed Sherlock.  

“Oh yes, we have him locked up here now.  We were able to close that case without your help.” Declared Lestrade.  

“Except that you didn’t.”  

“What do you mean by that?  We have a man here who says he killed Chesterton, it doesn’t get any more clear cut and dried than that!” exclaimed Lestrade.  

Sherlock sighed, “Look, the man has a family; his wife and 2 children live in North London.  Tell me why a man would commit a crime that the police are puzzled over, and then turn himself in the very next day!  The facts don’t add up!  He is being threatened to admit to a crime he has not committed in order to cover up the tracks of the real criminal, and the reason he has to go along with it is that the safety of his family depends on it!  Now, I want to speak with him and see what he can tell me. I will be able to tell if what he says is true or not, and will judge from there what steps to take to capture the real perpetrator.”  

“Fine,” answered Lestrade, “but a fat lot of good it’ll do you, he hasn’t said a word other than admitting his guilt and asking for water.”  

He rose from his seat, grabbed a set of keys, and pushed past Sherlock and Watson, motioning for them to follow.

Reviews

[Kimberly Miller]

Ah more twists and turns for you to taunt with! :) Very good write this time around! Can't help feeling bad for John though, always trailing behind Sherlock. Auppse that's why they make such a good team! Anyway, well done as usual and looking forward to more!!

[Jeremy Hiles]

Haha! Yes, that is the idea! :) Thank you very much! Yes, John is always tagging along behind, but that is most definitely why they are such a good team! Thank you very much!