Whitechapel: The Final Stand of Sherlock Holmes Read Online Free PDF Page B

possession was his father’s worn “Grays Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical” and he set it down carefully, then snuffed out his candle. A knock at the window startled him. He saw Clifton grinning stupidly at him through the window, clinging to the upper portion of its frame. “Monty! Open it quickly, I’m about to fall!”
    Monty stormed to the window and heaved it open, clutching Clifton and yanking him into the bedroom. “What are you doing here? Spying on me? I ought to thrash you.”
    “I was not spying!” Clifton said. “No one answers the door when I knock.”
    “People in polite society call that a clue,” Monty said. “Mother said she’d kill us both if we ever saw one another again.”
    “Well, she doesn’t have to know now, does she?”
    “If she catches you here, she’ll have your testes for earrings.”
    “My what?”
    “Your nutmegs!” Monty said.
    “Then best we hope that she is a sound sleeper.”
    Monty paused, listening for the sound of anyone coming. His house was quiet, and the hallway dark save for the moonlight cutting through the shutters. “Come on,” Monty said, waving toward the door. “I’ll get in less trouble for being outside the house than I will for having you in it.” He took off his nightshirt, aware that Clifton was watching. “Hand me those clothes on the floor, but try and walk lightly.”
    Together, they crept down the hallway, past Ann’s room. The door was shut. Monty’s heart beat so rapidly that he thought the pounding would wake his mother, and he clearly envisioned her throwing the door open, pale face shining in horror. William’s door was open, but he was snoring loudly, his stockinged feet hanging over the sides of the bed. They made their way down the stairs, seeing Will standing at the foot of the steps.
    “Christ!” Clifton gasped, nearly turning and running back up the steps.
    “Stop!” hissed Monty, grabbing the boy and holding him tight with one hand clamped over his mouth. “It’s my brother.”
    “What the bloody hell are you two doing skulking around the house in the dark?” Will grinned.
    “What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” Monty whispered. “Keep your voice down. If mother wakes up we’ll be in for it.”
    Will shrugged, walking away from the steps and into the kitchen. “I came to give you that adventure I promised, but it seems as if you’re already about to go on one.”
    They followed him. “What sort of adventure?” Monty called out.
    Will turned, eyes cast low so that his face was covered in shadows. “There is a beast loose in the woods. Some say it is a wolf.”
    “What? Ridiculous,” Clifton said.
    “You think,” Will said, smiling. He reached into a dirty military knapsack and removed a bottle from within, setting it on the counter. “I’ll have you know there have been reports of a wolf nearby, terrorizing the farm animals. I intend to go out and find it tonight.”
    “You’re joking, Will. Father said wolves have been extinct in England for over two hundred years.”
    “Maybe it is high time they returned then?” he said, uncorking the bottle. He lifted it to his nose and inhaled deeply, moaning as it entered his nostrils. “You boys are not afraid, are you?”
    Clifton sniffed, “Of course not. But I live on the farm next door and I’ve heard no such reports. All of our animals are accounted for.”
    “Perhaps they did not think the news fit for such young, delicate ears.”
    “We’re nearly thirteen,” Monty said.
    “Is that right? Hmm. Well, that seems far too young to go off into the woods at night. I think I’ll just drink this all by myself and have a look then.”
    Just as Will lifted the bottle to his mouth and was about to drink, Monty asked, “Is that wine?”
    “No, no, no, silly boy,” Will said. “It is something much different. Here, smell it.” Will held it under both their noses. “There is an ancient text in India called the Vedas, written before