Becoming Holmes Read Online Free PDF

reins jingling, wheels grinding on cobblestones, thousands of hoof beats clacking, pedestrians somehow finding their way through a flowing crowd of vehicles, while drivers shout at their steeds. Up the hill ahead sits St. Paul’s Cathedral, where he once secretly met Irene during the Whitechapel murder case. He dashes that memory from his mind, concentrating on making his way through the river of people. It is a weekday, and London is about to truly hum. Partway up Ludgate Hill, he passes the remnants of the London Wall and enters the Old City. This is where the Romans lived and England now operates its financial institutions. Sherlockstraightens his second-hand frock coat, runs his hand through his black hair to make sure it is in place, and swings north to Cheapside. From here he soon sees the Lord Mayor’s home at the intersection of three ancient City streets. These arteries are narrow and tight with wonderful old buildings towering along the little foot pavements, built during another time when people were smaller, transportation slower, and vehicles far fewer in number.
    And there on the north side near the Stock Exchange sits the building he is seeking, the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street. It is three stories high, interminably long and fronted with pillars, taking up an entire block. Inside these walls, in its elegant rooms and under its impressive domes, grinds the engine of the Empire’s finances. The Bank of England is the most important bank in the world, setting the standard for the nation and the pace for all other countries too. The value of the pound, it is said, is based upon the amount of gold in its vaults.
    Sherlock’s mission is not to speak to the Governor or even have someone do that for him. That is not remotely possible. He merely wants to see him. From that, other things can unfold.
One must start with something, anything, and build from there
. Observation, both his father and Sigerson Bell have taught him, is the alpha and the omega of confronting a problem. But one must do it thoroughly and correctly.
    He knows that he is in pursuit of a secret. The employment of Grimsby at Her Majesty’s Treasury has come from one, perhaps from a series. He is sure of it. It is a move begun in the shadows. Holmes has deduced that the insertion of anunqualified unknown into a position of some power, however elementary,
had
to have come through one of two men: the Chancellor of the Exchequer or the Governor of the Bank of England. The former, Mr. Robert Lowe, as Mycroft has informed him, is not the sort to be bribed or used, no matter the circumstances.
But what of the Governor?
    Holmes is here to use his already consummate powers of observation, born of his genetics and honed by his father and his brilliant (though decidedly eccentric) apothecary master, to find clues evolving from mere glances, seconds of observation. Over the past three years, he has been training his talents to a fine edge. He senses that the time has come, as Malefactor’s lieutenant stands just a man or two away from influence in police and financial affairs, to use all of the skills and the knowledge he now has at his command. He hopes that they are enough because, almost overnight, a pivotal moment has arrived.
    But secrets must be cleverly approached: by cover of crowds, distance, or disguise.
    Big Ben had chimed eight just as he reached Fleet Street, so he is guessing it is nearing half past the hour. He walks to the front of the majestic building and up to the oval opening within which are set the mammoth front doors. It is guarded by liveried men. A crowd has formed. It is too early for customers to be queuing. These people are waiting for something else, for someone else. Sherlock surveys them. They are all men. He concentrates: they are all businessmen too. He observes their clothing, the expressions on their faces. They are dressed to impress, manyuncomfortable in Sunday clothes they seldom wear, hair over-groomed, top hats too