The shrill sound of a bobby's whistle broke the spell. Martha and Ellie turned and saw the two boys previously dispatched running towards them with a constable in tow. They arrived on scene thirty seconds later, with the heavy-set policeman red-faced and out of breath.
"Well done boys!" said Ellie, as she handed each of them another ha 'penny.
The bobby took a deep breath, placed his hands on his hips, looked at the dead gentleman, then at the two women and said: "right, what's all this then?"
The two ladies explained the entire situation to the constable, who examined the dead gentleman, then stepped away and summoned additional officers via his whistle. Within the hour, Inspector Whitmore arrived, and the ladies had to recount the entire episode again, pointing out the evidence they had discovered.
The Inspector grunted his acknowledgment at the detail of their recount, however he was dismissive of their "observations" and started to examine the scene himself. Since no one told them to leave, they just decided to stay and watch.
It turns out that the gentleman bird-feeder was strangled with a narrow-gauge cord, and that the suspect stood directly behind him as Mrs. Hudson had deduced. After a time, Martha asked the Inspector if they could leave, which he granted with a casual wave of his hand. They quietly walked back towards Marylebone Street, each contemplating the strange events of their afternoon.
"Martha, do you think that we should go to the bakery?" tentatively asked Ellie.
"Whatever for?" was the surprising response from her friend.
"Well, to find out who "L" is and see if we can save her from some distress," stated Ellie.
Martha stopped walking and looked at Ellie.
"Ellie Buckley, this was a murder, and the police are now on the job, and I doubt very much if that Inspector Whitmore would want busy-body widows sniffing about in his investigation."
Ellie looked liked she had been reprimanded by her mother, but then she looked at Martha and her countenance changed to one who has concocted a plan to attain something prohibited.
"Martha dear, I should have thought that your frequent contact with Mr. Holmes would have girded up your loins for adventure!" She looked at her timepiece that was pinned to her coat lapel.
Martha started to object, however, Ellie quickly held up a hand to silence her, and then she continued, "now, let's examine the facts as they say. The gentleman, Mr. Solabrini was murdered, but he had a wallet with over 50 pounds left untouched."
Martha looked at her friend and admitted to herself that she was curious, and it was not as if they were going to solve this heinous crime, but were merely attempting to satisfy their curiosity.
"Well Mrs. Buckley, it appears that Mr. Solabrini was not murdered for his money, in other words, it was not a robbery," stated Martha confidently now that she had decided to play along.
"Exactly! He has a great amount of money on his person, and he has two train tickets for an outbound train today!"
"Yes, he is fleeing with someone..." started Martha.
"His love!" exclaimed Ellie.
"Yes, whoever "L" is - perhaps she works at the bakery?" quickly replied Martha.
"She meant for the note to be a surprise, I am sure of it. No doubt, if Mr. Solabrini had found it, he would have placed it in his pocket and not back into a bag that he was going to discard."
The two ladies continued to walk down Marylebone, each momentarily lost in their own thoughts.
"It's going on three O'Clock now," stated Ellie with the finality of a train conductor announcing the next stop.
"Ellie, I feel a craving for a tart," said Martha with a sly smile.
At that, Ellie turned toward the busy street and began to wave for a cab. In short order, a Hansom answered their call, and a cabbie who looked just a boy was asking "where to ladies?"
"Do you know Parklane Bakery?"
Uncertainties
Outside the bakery, Martha asked the cabbie to please wait for them, they would not be a minute. He tipped his cap and put his whip down across the roof of the cab. The two curious ladies walked into the bakery.
In less than fifteen minutes they walked back outside with two small packages of rolled paper and a bit of new information. Their loyal cab driver was patiently waiting where they left him, so Ellie reached up and handed him one of their packages: "that is a strawberry tart for you my good man, and we need you to take us to St. Pancras Station at the quick."
The cabbie was making good time and the ride was bumpy. Martha listened to the horse's steel shoes thump the pavement, and she matched the noise to the pounding of her heart.
"Martha... I say, Martha, are you listening to me?"
Mrs. Hudson snapped back to the present, as she was called back into focus by the sound of insistence in Ellie's voice.
"Yes, El... I am sorry, what did you say?"
"I said, here we have a man murdered but money does not seem to be the motive, so in my mind, only love or revenge could crowd out the Queen's coin as motivation... what do you think?"
Mrs. Hudson paused and thought about Ellie's statement. It was true what she proposed, about motive, except that revenge and love could be intertwined, or two sides of the same coin. She hesitantly started thinking out loud as she tried to collect and organize what they knew about the killing.
"Mr. Holmes is always saying that you have to 'reason backward' if you are to solve a crime. So, we must follow what we know in reverse. We know the poor bird-feeder was leaving today with his love Laura. We know it was a sudden decision, as her workmates said that Laura unexpectedly gave notice this morning. We know Mr. Solabrini was murdered in daylight, in the middle of the park, and was not robbed of his valuables. It would seem that the murderer acted to prevent Mr. Solabrini and Laura's departure."
"Unless it's an awful coincidence'" replied Ellie.
Martha looked at Ellie and nodded her acknowledgment. They best not try and be too clever, they were not detectives and certainly were not Mr. Holmes.
The sights and smells of London either flew past the cab or else struck them dead on: horses, manure, sulfur, smoke, and humanity.
"Still, we don't know how the murderer found out about the lover's plan to flee," said Ellie with appropriate gravitas.
"No, but if this is about love, then perhaps he will show himself here at the train station" replied Martha as the Hansom pulled to a stop outside St. Pancras.
***
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Not Strictly Sherlock
Fanfiction"She reached up and ran her fingertips down his jaw and across his lips. They were close, very close, and she found his warm breath exciting. He smelled of tobacco and danger." Excerpt from "Twice on the Divan" Do you love Sherlock Holmes? Well, th...
