The Adventure of the Tired Captain A Sherlock Holmes Case by K. Michael Gaschnitz Page A

an expensive bauble in plain view. His life or at least his good health would not be worth a moment’s purchase.”
    “Come now , Mr. Holmes it is not as bad as that,” the Inspector replied.
    “Well perhaps. Tell me, Lestrade, did this fellow have wounds on his hands or forearms?”
    “Not that I noticed, Mr. Holmes. Why do you ask?”
    “Such wounds are quite common during attacks of this kind. It is instinctive in such a situation to raise your hands to defend yourself.”
    “Perhaps he was attacked from behind and did not have a chance to defend himself,” Lestrade remarked.
    Ignoring the little detective Holmes continued, “It is also instinctive in such situations to raise your hands to the wound in an effort to staunch the blood. In such a case you would, of necessity, drop anything you happened to be holding.”
    “Maybe he picked up the locket again while he was lying on the sidewalk,” I ventured.
    “I would think that if you lay bleeding to death on the pavement you would have more important things on your mind than protecting your valuables,” said Holmes.
    “Maybe, however I doubt you would be thinking rationally in such circumstances,” I replied.
    “What would this man be doing with Mrs. Watson’s locket?” asked Lestrade.
    “We may never know. Possibly he was looking to pawn it. There are a number of pawnshops in the area,” answered Holmes.
    “You said that there was a message, Lestrade?”
    “Yes, Mr. Holmes,” said the little detective producing a long strip of paper from the small box which he had earlier set upon the side table. He handed the paper to Holmes who studied it minutely.
    “Where was this found, Lestrade?”
    “It was found inside of the dead man’s vest pocket, Mr. Holmes.”
    “As I thought,” replied my friend.
    “What do you make of it, Holmes?” I asked peering over his shoulder. He handed the paper to me.
    “You are familiar with my methods Watson, what do you make of it?”
    I took the paper from him and examined it.
    “Other than the fact it is covered in a random and meaning less jumble of letters I can make nothing of it.”
    “On the contrary , Watson you can see as much as I but you deduce nothing.”
    “What can you infer from it then, Holmes?” I asked handing the item in question back to him.
    “The paper has been cut into strips with a small curve-bladed scissor as evidenced by the jagged edge along the bottom. The strips have been glued together with what appears to be a simple water and flour paste. The paper is of a quality which can be purchased at any stationers and is moderately priced. It is of English manufacture, the partial watermark,” he said holding it up to the window, “seems to indicate one of our paper mills located in Maidstone. The author of this note is a heavy smoker. The paper fairly reeks of tobacco. As you know Watson my sense of smell is a particularly acute one and I dare say that I can detect the lingering smell of an Egyptian tobacco. The writer was probably enjoying a smoke as he was composing the message. There is also a smudge of ash on one end. As Lestrade pointed out the paper was found in the dead man’s vest pocket however it appears that it was also kept safely in a pocket book for a time as you can still see creases in the paper where it was folded.”
    “And what of it’s meaning?” I asked.
    “I have written the message down, Watson. Please read it back to me so I can double check my own accuracy.” He passed the paper back to me.
    The message consisted of one long unbroken sentence, which I have reproduced below.
    HEAVENPOLO22WINEWILLEDWILLIAMCADMAWITHCOXCINCINNATITOWERCAB
    “It appears to be a simple transposition cipher or perhaps a substitution cipher,” remarked my friend. “You may not be aware of this Lestrade but I am familiar with over one hundred and fifty different codes and ciphers, this little puzzle should present nothing new.”
    “This is all very interesting Mr. Holmes,