Young Sherlock Holmes: Knife Edge Read Online Free PDF

be?’
    ‘You are an intelligent boy, and a keen observer of details. I would value your opinions as a backup to my own. In addition, there may be occasions when you see things that I am notin a
position to see.’
    ‘We are staying at the castle?’
    ‘Indeed. I am assured that Sir Shadrach’s hospitality is unrivalled – at least, in the West of Ireland.’
    Sherlock stared for a moment at his brother. ‘What do you want to get out of this, Mycroft? Do you want it to be true, or not, that this medium can communicate with specific and named dead
people?’
    ‘Whether or not I
want
it to be true is immaterial. I am here to establish whether or not it
is
true. Personal preferences must be ruthlessly filtered out of the
consideration; otherwise they may affect the final decision.’ He sighed. ‘But for myself, I hope that it is not true. I am aware that a number of my agents suffered quite substantially
before their deaths. There are, sadly, many regimes around the worldless considerate than Britain. I would prefer to think that death was an escape from suffering, rather than just a bump in a
longer road.’
    ‘And,’ Sherlock ventured gently, ‘you wouldn’t want to talk to them if you thought they might blame you for what happened to them.’
    ‘Indeed. And they would. I feel sure that they would.’
    That thought stopped them both from speaking for a while.There was a dessert of some kind of cream flavoured with alcohol, but Sherlock hardly tasted it. He was still thinking through the
implications of what Mycroft had told him. If it was true that the spirits of the dead could be made to speak then the world would be revolutionized. The implications were immense!
    After finishing their desserts, Mycroft took Sherlock up to his room. His luggagewas already neatly packed. A few moments after they entered there was a knock at the door. A man entered,
well-dressed but deferential, with several shirts and suits. He handed them to Sherlock, who stared in bemusement. He hadn’t worn anything so formal since Shanghai, and that had been a long
time ago.
    ‘Try them on in the bathroom,’ Mycroft suggested. ‘I have already taken delivery ofvarious sets of undergarments for you. I left them on a shelf in there. Please try them as
well.’
    When Sherlock finally emerged from the bathroom, feeling uncharacteristically constrained by the unfamiliar clothes, another man had arrived. He had a large box in his hands.
    Mycroft looked Sherlock up and down. ‘Yes,’ he said critically, ‘that will do.’ Indicating the new arrival, he added:‘This gentleman has brought several pairs of
shoes in different sizes. Please select the ones that fit you best while I settle up.’
    A few minutes later Sherlock was fully outfitted. Or at least he thought he was. Mycroft gazed at him and said, ‘A cravat, I think, will set the whole
ensemble
off. I have taken
the liberty of selecting one for you.’
    Back in the bathroom, Sherlock staredat himself in the mirror. It was like looking at a painting – he hardly recognized himself any more. The image in the mirror bore no relationship to
the image of himself that he had in his mind.
    At five to four Mycroft called for a valet to carry his bags down to the carriage. He had bought a carpet bag for Sherlock to carry his meagre possessions. Just as they were about to leave theroom he suddenly raised his hand and slapped his forehead. ‘Idiot! I almost forgot.’ Bending down on the other side of the bed, not without some difficulty, he retrieved a strangely
curved case and held it out to Sherlock. ‘I thought you might find a use for this.’
    Sherlock took it in wonder. It was a violin case! With unsteady fingers he opened it. Inside lay, as he knew it would, his oldviolin – the one he had bought from a trader in Tottenham
Court Road.
    ‘Something to connect you to your previous life,’ Mycroft said. ‘I retrieved it from Holmes Manor on my last visit.’
    ‘That was