The Secret Notebooks of Sherlock Holmes Read Online Free PDF Page B

they were shockingly lacking in imagination, a quality of mind which, allied to the power of deduction, is essential if any successful detective is to make a success of his career.
    ‘The particular investigation for which Lestrade needed my assistance involved a pair of jewel thieves,a man and a woman, both well spoken and respectably dressed, whose modus operandi never varied. Together they would go into a jeweller’s shop, one of the smaller, less fashionable premises in a busy shopping neighbourhood, where there was only one assistant serving behind the counter, usually the owner himself. They would also take care to choose a time when the shop was likely to be empty and made sure there was nothing about their manner or their appearance to draw attention to themselves. In fact, the woman always wore a hat with the veil drawn down over her face, while her male companion was variously described as having a moustache, a beard, eye-glasses, and hair that was fair, dark or red, so one could safely assume that he wore different disguises.
    ‘They gave the impression of being a married couple who were well-to-do and who were about to celebrate some special occasion, their wedding anniversary perhaps, or the lady’s birthday, in consequence of which the husband had decided to buy his wife a ring. The shopkeeper was delighted to serve them and laid out for their inspection a selection of his very finest rings for the lady to try on.
    ‘It was while the lady was making her choice that the theft took place. Without any warning, the man would suddenly snatch up a handful of the rings and run out into the street while at the same moment the lady would faint, collapsing across the counter in a swoon.
    ‘You may imagine the shopkeeper’s shock andbewilderment. In the confusion of the moment, he was not sure what to do. Should he go to the assistance of the lady? Or should he pursue the thief who had made off with his property? In all four cases which Lestrade had investigated, the sense of ownership overrode any notions of chivalry and the victim set off in pursuit of the robber. But those few seconds’ hesitation were vital. By the time he had run out into the road, the thief had disappeared amongst the passersby. It was only then that it occurred to him that the woman was the man’s accomplice and that he had moreover left her alone in his shop surrounded by cabinets full of jewellery. It was small consolation that the cases were locked; the glass could easily be smashed. He could only comfort himself with the thought that the more valuable pieces were locked away in the safe. Immediately, he ran back to his shop but, of course, the lady had vanished.’
    Holmes broke off at this point to look across at me quizzically.
    ‘I can tell by your expression, Watson, that some aspect of my account is troubling you. Which is it, my dear fellow?’
    Although I had known Holmes for several years, he still had the capacity to astonish me by his perspicacity and the acuteness of his observation.
    ‘I do not understand the part Whitey Johnson played in the robberies, Holmes,’ I confessed. ‘You said nothing about the male thief being a cripple. Surely a man with a crutch would be easily identifiable, no matter how manyforms of disguise he may have used to alter his appearance. Or was he perfectly able-bodied and the crutch was merely another ploy to throw his pursuers off the scent?’
    ‘Excellent, Watson!’ Holmes exclaimed. ‘Your powers of deduction improve by the hour! I can see I shall soon have to look to my own laurels. For you are quite right, my dear fellow. Whitey Johnson, who was incidentally a genuine cripple, took no part in the actual robbery. His role was more of a diversionary nature, as I discovered when I interviewed the victims. In other words, to use the language of the criminal underworld, he acted as the “stall”. Two out of the four shopkeepers had been impeded in their pursuit of the thief by a man with