A Study in Terror Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Ellery Begins

  Chapter I

  Ellery Continues

  Chapter II

  Ellery Tries

  Chapter III

  Chapter IV

  Ellery Succeeds

  Chapter V

  Ellery’s Nemesis Investigates

  Chapter VI

  Chapter VII

  Ellery’s Legman Reports

  Chapter VIII

  Ellery’s Legman Legs It Again

  Chapter IX

  Ellery Hears from the Past

  Chapter X

  Ellery’s Legman’s Last Bow

  Chapter XI

  Chapter XII

  Ellery Visits the Past

  The Ripper Case Journal

  Ellery Explains

  A Study in Terror

  Ellery Queen

  Ellery Begins

  Ellery brooded.

  For a reasonable time.

  After which he got up from his typewriter, seized ten pages of doomed copy, and tore them into four ragged sections.

  He scowled at the silent typewriter. The machine leered back.

  The phone rang, and he jumped for it as if it were a life-preserver.

  “Don’t snarl at me” said a hurt voice with undertones of anguish. “I’m having fun, per orders.”

  “Dad! Did I snap at you? I’m in a plot bind. How’s Bermuda?”

  “Sunshine, blue water, and more damn sand than you can shake a billy at. I want to come home.”

  “No,” Ellery said firmly. “The trip cost me a bundle, and I’m going to get my money’s worth.”

  Inspector Queen’s sigh was eloquent. “You always were a dictator where I’m concerned. What am I, a basket case?”

  “You’re overworked.”

  “Maybe I could arrange a rebate?” Inspector Queen suggested hopefully.

  “Your orders are to rest and relax—forget everything.”

  “Okay, okay. There’s a hot horseshoe game going on across from my cabana. Maybe I can horn in.”

  “Do that, dad. I’ll phone tomorrow for the score.”

  Ellery hung up and glared at the typewriter. The problem remained. He circled the table warily and began to pace.

  Providentially, the doorbell rang.

  “Leave them on the table,” Ellery called. “Take the money.”

  The visitor disobeyed. Feet crossed the foyer and entered the scene of the great man’s agony. Ellery grunted. “You? I thought it was the boy with the delicatessen.”

  Grant Ames, III, with the aplomb of the privileged bore—a bore with millions—aimed his perfect Brooks Brothers toward the bar. There he exchanged the large manila envelope he was carrying for a bottle of scotch and a glass. “I came to make a delivery, too,” Ames announced. “Something a hell of a lot more important than pastrami,” and sat down on the sofa. “You stock pretty good scotch, Ellery.”

  “I’m glad you like it. Take the bottle with you. I’m working.”

  “But I claim the prerogative of a fan. I devour every one of your stories.”

  “Borrowed from unscrupulous friends,” Ellery growled.

  “That,” Grant said, pouring, “is unkind. You’ll apologize when you know my mission.”

  “What mission?”

  “A delivery. Weren’t you listening?”

  “Of what?”

  “That envelope. By the gin.”

  Ellery turned in that direction. Grant waved him back. “I insist on filling you in first. Maestro.”

  The doorbell rang again. This time it was the sandwiches. Ellery stamped into the foyer and returned with his mouth full.

  “Why don’t you go to work, Grant? Get a job in one of your father’s frozen-food plants. Or become a pea-picker. Anything, but get out of my hair. I’ve got work to do, I tell you.”

  “Don’t change the subject,” Grant III, said. “You wouldn’t have a kosher pickle there, would you? I’m crazy about kosher pickles.”

  Ellery offered him a slice of pickle and collapsed in his chair. “All right, damn it. Let’s get it over with. Fill me in on what?”

  “The background. Yesterday afternoon there was a do up in Westchester. I attended.”

  “A do,” Ellery said, looking envious.

  “Swimming. A little tennis. That sort of thing. Not many on the scene.”

  “Most people have the bad habit of working on weekday afternoons.”

  “You can’t make me feel guilty with that kind of drivel,” said the playboy. “I’m doing you a service. I acquired the envelope mysteriously, and I bring it to your door as instructed.”

  “As instructed by whom?” Ellery had still not glanced at the envelope.

  “I haven’t any idea. When I made my escape, I found it lying on the seat of my Jag. Someone had written on the envelope, ‘Please deliver to Ellery Queen.’ The way I figure it, it’s someone who holds you in too much awe to make the personal approach. And who’s aware of our deathless friendship.”

  “Sounds dreary. Look, Grant, is this something you’ve made up? I’m damned if I’m going to play games with you at a time like this. I’ve got that demon deadline breathing down my neck. Go diddle around with one of your play-girls, will you?”

  “The envelope.” Grant came up like an athlete and went and got it and brought it back. “Here. Duly delivered. From hand to hand. Do with it what you will.”

  “What am I supposed to do with it?” asked Ellery sourly.

  “No idea. It’s a manuscript. Handwritten. Looks quite old. Read it, I suppose.”

  “Then you’ve examined it?”

  “I felt it my duty. It might have been poison-pen stuff. Even pornography. Your sensibilities, old buddy. I had to consider them.”

  Ellery was studying the inscription with grudging curiosity. “Written by a woman.”

  “I found the contents quite harmless, however,” Grant went on, nursing his glass. “Harmless, but remarkable.”

  “A standard envelope,” Ellery muttered. “Sized to accommodate eight-and-a-half by eleven sheets.”

  “I swear, Ellery, you have the soul of a bookkeeper. Aren’t you going to open it?”

  Ellery undid the clasp and pulled out a cardboard-backed notebook with the word Journal printed on it in a large, old-fashioned script.

  “Well,” he said. “It does look old.”

  Grant regarded him with a sly smile as Ellery opened the ledger, or notebook, studied the first page with widening eyes, turned over, read, turned over again, read again.

  “My God,” he said. “This purports to be an adventure of Sherlock Holmes in the original manuscript, handwritten by Dr. Watson!”

  “Would you say it’s authentic?”

  Ellery’s silvery eyes glittered. “You’ve read it, you say?”

  “I couldn’t resist.”

  “Are you familiar with Watson’s style?”

  “I,” Grant said, admiring the color of the scotch in his glass, “am an aficionado. Sherlock Holmes, Ellery Queen, Eddie Poe. Yes, I’d say it’s authentic.”

  “You authenticate easily, my friend.” Ellery glanced at his typewriter with a frown; it seemed far away.

  “I thought you’d be excited.”

  “I would if this were on the level. But an unknown Holmes story!” He riffled through the pages. “And, what’s more, from the look of it, a novel. A lost novel!” He shook his head.

  “You don’t believe it.”

  “I stopped believing in Santa Claus at the age of three, Grant. You, you were born with Santa Claus in your mouth.”

  “Then you think it’s a forgery.”

  “I don’t think anything yet. But the odds that it is are astronomical.”

  “Why would anyone go to all this trouble?”

  “For the same reason people climb mountains. For the hell of it.”

  “The least you can do is read the first chapter.”

  “Grant, I don’t have the time!”

  “For a new Sherlock Holmes novel?” Back at the bar Ames poured himself another scotch. “I’ll sit here quietly guzzling and wait.” He went back to the sofa and crossed his long legs comfortably.

  “Damn you.” For a long moment Ellery glared at the notebook. Then he sighed, sounding remarkably like his father, and settled back and began to read.

  From the Journal of

  John Watson, M.D.

  Chapter I

  THE SURGEON’S-KIT

  “You are quite right, Watson. The Ripper may well be a woman.”

  It was a crisp morning in the fall of the year 1888. I was no longer residing permanently at No. 22IB Baker Street. Having married, and thus become weighted with the responsibility of providing for a wife—a most delightful responsibility—I had gone into practice. Thus, the intimate relationship with my friend Mr. Sherlock Holmes had dwindled to occasional encounters.

  On Holmes’s side, these consisted of what he mistakenly termed “impositions upon your hospitality,” when he required my services as an assistant or a confidant. “You have such a patient ear, my dear fellow,” he would say, a preamble which always brought me pleasure, because it meant that I might again be privileged to share in the danger and excitement of another chase. Thus, the thread of my friendship with the great detective remained intact.

  My wife, the most understanding of women, accepted this situation like Griselda. Those who have been so constant to my inadequate accounts of Mr. Sherlock Holmes’s cases of detection will re
member her as Mary Morstan, whom I providentially met while I was involved, with Holmes, in the case I have entitled The Sign of Four. As devoted a wife as any man could boast, she had patiently left me to my own devices on too many long evenings, whilst I perused my notes on Holmes’s old cases.

  One morning at breakfast, Mary said, “This letter is from Aunt Agatha.”

  I laid down my newspaper. “From Cornwall?”

  “Yes, the poor dear. Spinsterhood has made her life a lonely one. Now her doctor has ordered her to bed.”

  “Nothing serious, I trust.”

  “She gave no such indication. But she is in her late seventies, and one never knows.”

  “Is she completely alone?”

  “No. She has Beth, my old nanny, with her, and a man to tend the premises.”

  “A visit from her favourite niece would certainly do her more good than all the medicine in the world.”

  “The letter does include an invitation—a plea, really—but I hesitated . . . ”

  “I think you should go, Mary. A fortnight in Cornwall would benefit you also. You have been a little pale lately.”

  This statement of mine was entirely sincere; but another thought, a far darker one, coloured it. I venture to say that, upon that morning in 1888, every responsible man in London would have sent his wife or sister, or sweetheart, away, had the opportunity presented itself. This, for a single, all-encompassing reason. Jack the Ripper prowled the night-streets and dark alleys of the city.

  Although our quiet home in Paddington was distant in many ways from the Whitechapel haunts of the maniac, who could be certain? Logic went by the boards where the dreadful monster was concerned.

  Mary was thoughtfully folding the envelope. “I don’t like to leave you here alone, John.”

  “I assure you I’ll be quite all right.”

  “But a change would do you good, too, and there seems to be a lull in your practise.”

  “Are you suggesting that I accompany you?”

  Mary laughed. “Good heavens, no! Cornwall would bore you to tears. Rather that you pack a bag and visit your friend Sherlock Holmes. You have a standing invitation at Baker Street, as well I know.”

  I am afraid my objections were feeble. Her suggestion was a most alluring one. So, with Mary off to Cornwall and arrangements relative to my practise quickly made, the transition was achieved; to Holmes’s satisfaction, I flatter myself in saying, as well as to my own.

  It was surprising how easily we fell into the well-remembered routine. Even though I knew I could never again be satisfied with the old life, my renewed proximity to Holmes was delightful. Which brings me, in somewhat circuitous fashion, back to Holmes’s remark out of the blue. He went on, “The possibility of a female monster cannot by any means be ignored.”

  It was the same old cryptic business, and I must confess that I was slightly annoyed. “Holmes! In the name of all that’s holy, I gave no indication whatever that such a thought was passing through my mind.”

  Holmes smiled, enjoying the game. “Ah, but confess, Watson. It was.”

  “Very well. But—”

  “And you are quite wrong in saying that you gave no indication of your trend of thought.”

  “But I was sitting here quietly—motionless, in fact!—reading my Times”

  “Your eyes and your head were far from motionless, Watson. As you read, your eyes were trained on the extreme left-hand column of the newspaper, that which contains an account of Jack the Ripper’s latest atrocity. After a time, you turned your gaze away from the story, frowning in anger. The thought that such a monster should be able to roam London’s streets with impunity was clearly evident.”

  “That is quite true.”

  “Then, my dear fellow, your eyes, seeking a resting-place, fell upon that copy of the Strand Magazine lying beside your chair. It happens to be open to an advertisement in which Beldell’s is offering ladies’ evening gowns at what they purport to be a bargain-price. One of the gowns in the advertisement is displayed upon a model. Instantly, your expression changed; it became reflective. An idea had dawned upon you. The expression persisted as you raised your head and re-directed your gaze towards the portrait of her Majesty which hangs beside the fireplace. After a moment, your expression cleared, and you nodded to yourself. You had become satisfied with the idea that had come to you. At which point, I agreed. The Ripper could well be a female.”

  “But, Holmes—”

  “Come, now, Watson. Your retirement from the lists has dulled your perceptions.”

  “But when I glanced at the Strand advertisement, I could have had any of a dozen thoughts!”

  “I disagree. Your mind was totally occupied with the story of the Ripper, and surely the advertisement concerning ladies’ evening gowns was too far afield from your ordinary interests to divert your thoughts. Therefore, the idea that came to you had to be adjunct to your ponderings upon the monster. You verified this by raising your eyes to the Queen’s portrait upon the wall.”

  “May I ask how that indicated my thought?” asked I, tartly.

  “Watson! You certainly saw neither the model nor our gracious Queen as suspects. Therefore, you were scrutinising them as women.”

  “Granted,” I retorted, “but would I not have been more likely to regard them as victims?”

  “In that case, your expression would have reflected compassion, rather than that of a bloodhound come suddenly upon the scent.”

  I was forced to confess defeat. “Holmes, again you destroy yourself by your own volubility.”

  Holmes’s heavy brows drew together. “I do not follow.”

  “Imagine what an image you would create were you to refuse all explanation of your amazing deductions!”

  “But at what expense,” said he, drily, “to your melodramatic accounts of my trifling adventures.”

  I threw up my hands in surrender; and Holmes, who rarely indulged in more than a smile, on this occasion echoed my hearty laughter.

  “So long as the subject of Jack the Ripper has arisen,” said I, “allow me a further question. Why have you not interested yourself in the grisly affair, Holmes? If for no other reason, it would be a signal service to the people of London.”

  Holmes’s long, thin fingers made an impatient gesture. “I have been busy. As you know, I returned from the Continent only recently, where the mayor of a certain city retained me to solve a most curious riddle. Knowing your turn of mind, I presume you would call it The Case of the Legless Cyclist. One day I shall give you the details for your files.”

  “I shall be delighted to get them! But you are back in London, Holmes, and this monster is terrorising the city. I should think you would feel obligated—” Holmes scowled. “I am obligated to no one.”

  “Pray do not misunderstand me—”

  “I’m sorry, my dear Watson, but you should know me well enough to assume my total indifference towards such a case.”

  “At the risk of appearing more dense than most of my neighbours—”

  “Consider! When given a choice, have I not always sought out problems of an intellectual character? Have I not always been drawn to adversaries of stature? Jack the Ripper, indeed! What possible challenge could this demented oaf present? A slavering cretin roaming the streets after dark, striking at random.”

  “He has baffled the London Police.”

  “I venture to suggest that that may reflect the short-comings of Scotland Yard rather than any particular cleverness on the part of the Ripper.”

  “But still—”

  “The thing will end soon enough. I daresay that one of these nights Lestrade will trip over the Ripper while the maniac is in the process of committing a murder, and thus bring him triumphantly to book.”

  Holmes was chronically annoyed with Scotland Yard for not measuring up to his own stern efficiency; for all his genius, he could be childishly obstinate on such occasions. But further comment from me was cut off by the ringing of the downstairs bell. There was a slight delay; then we heard Mrs. Hudson ascending, and it was with astonishment that I observed her entrance. She was carrying a brown parcel and a pail of water, and she wore an expression of sheer fright.

  Holmes burst out laughing for the second time that morning. “It’s quite all right, Mrs. Hudson. The package appears harmless enough. I’m sure we shall not need the water.”

  Mrs. Hudson breathed a sigh of relief. “If you say so, Mr. Holmes. But since that last experience, I was taking no chances.”