Philip J. Carraher
Sherlock Holmes was often heard to lament the lack of
cleverness on the part of the criminal class of London. In Alias
Simon Hawkes that lament is vanquished. Here are presented
four of the most uniquely clever crimes of murder to ever cross
Holmes' path.
In "The Adventure of the Magic Alibi" a killer is sworn by many
witnesses to be in their presence at the time of a murder, and so
incapable of having killed at the same time, although none of the
witnesses actually saw him with them at the time. How is this
possible? And how can Holmes break the strength of the magic
alibi?
In "The Adventure of the Glass Room" Holmes is presented with
the first ever "locked room within a locked room" mystery, an
ingenious tale that is certain to become a mystery classic.
Also Alias Simon Hawkes offers us "The Adventure of the
Talking Ghost" and "The Adventure of the Captive Forger".
Here altogether are four astoundingly clever tales of mystery and
suspense that will amply display the great detective's renowned
powers of observation and deduction. Sit back, read and enjoy.
Philip Carraher was born in Manhattan and continues to live in
New York City, now residing in the borough of Brooklyn with
his wife, Ann. His philosophy regarding his books is threefold:
first, they should be entertaining, second, they should strive to
rise above simple entertainment, i.e., be thought provoking, and,
lastly, each new book should not merely be a practiced variation
of the previous one.
Sherlock Holmes, living in New York City under the alias of
Simon Hawkes while fleeing retribution from the surviving
remnants of the criminal organization of Professor Moriarty,
participated in the solving of many crimes that otherwise
flummoxed the New York City police. One such case is "The
Adventure of the Glass Room". An historical crime of sorts
as it is the first recorded "locked room within a locked room"
mystery. A "glass room" is erected in a man's parlor prior to a
séance, so as to forbid the psychic at the séance any opportunity
to introduce trickery into the event. The man, Pritchett and the
psychic enter this glass room and then are locked inside. Then all
leave the parlor in which the glass room stands and the parlor
doors are locked. Five minutes later, Pritchett and the psychic are
dead, an apparent murder/suicide. What else? For both bodies
are found inside the still-bolted-shut glass room inside the still
locked parlor. But, despite the apparent impossibility that this
could be a case of a double murder, that's what it is. The two
deceased people are the victims of an ingenious crime that
requires all the cleverness of Holmes to solve it. The following is
an excerpt:
"Ah, I see you getting that gleam in your eyes, Mr. Hawkes. Let
me tell you flat out there is no mystery here except as to why he
did what he did. It'll be clear when you know as much as we do.
All right, here are the facts." Cullen pulled out his notebook and
referred to it. "This... contraption of glass... was the brainchild
of Pritchett. We have your statement and others confirming that.
Charlotte Davreux arrived here at the Pritchett house around
eleven this morning. She and Pritchett had a small lunch
together—quite cordial, or so says the servant who gave them
their food—and then afterwards they came into this room to
begin the séance...
..."Here's what happened. Besides Pritchett and the medium,
four others were in the room prior to the door being locked. They
were: Parish, the butler, Mary the maid, and Pritchett's stepfather
and his mother. All four watched while the medium and Pritchett
entered the glass contraption here through that door. Once inside,
Pritchett himself closed the door shut and bolted it. The candle
was then lit and the other lights—this house is one that still has
gas lights—here in the room were extinguished. At that point
everyone left and Parish rolled the hideaway double doors
together and locked them, assuring no one else could enter the
parlor."
"So, if I understand correctly," broke in Hawkes, "Pritchett and
Charlotte Davreux are then both left alone, sitting within a sealed
room of glass that is itself standing within a locked room."
"Right," said Cullen. "What's more, after locking the door, while
the butler and maid and the stepfather went off, Mrs. Burgess,
Pritchett's mother, went directly across the hall into another
room to read a novel. From her chair she had a view of the
entrance to the parlor the entire time and she is prepared to swear
that no one entered the room the entire time, from the moment
the door was locked by Parish until the time the shots were heard
from inside... "
..."If all that is true, then it must follow that no one entered the
room after the doors were locked shut."
"Exactly. Five minutes or so after Parish locks up, two shots ring
out. Mrs. Burgess is so startled by the sound she drops the book
she's reading. She stands and runs straight to the doors, bangs on
them, calling to her son. That's all she can do since she doesn't
have a key. Parish arrives a minute or so later, the maid is right
behind him. He produces the key and opens the doors.
"The three all enter the room together. That's important. The
room is dark for the drapes are pulled across the window. The
only light comes from the candle on the table burning behind the
glass. Through the glass they see the gruesome sight of the... the
murder/suicide. The candlelight is strong enough for all to be
immediately clear. Parish said it was an eerie sight, 'ghostly', is
what he said. What with the candlelight and the glimmering
glass, it looked like something spectral, 'a ghostly scene in the
dark of the room' is what he said.
...The three, Parish, the maid and the mother, then stand
horrified for a few ticks of the clock, then Pritchett's mother
screams and she rushes to go to her son. As though her scream
was a shouted order to move, Parish and the maid go forward to
the glass as well. The mother tries to push the door open, but
cannot, for it remains bolted from the inside." Cullen's voice
emphasized the fact by stressing the last seven words. "It's
Parish who ends up breaking the glass of the door. He who then
reaches inside and removes the bolt. They all, Parish, the maid
and the mother agree on these facts—" Cullen's voice here
became deliberate again, once more emphasizing the words.
"—that the door was bolted from the inside when they entered the
parlor and that the glass had to be broken in order to get to
Pritchett and the medium."
In addition Alias Simon Hawkes offers us "The Adventure of the
Magic Alibi" in which a killer's alibi is dependent upon a group
of people all willing to swear that the man was with them at the
time of the murder, even though none of them saw him at the
time. Impossible? No, rather another ingenious crime.
Also, we are given "The Adventure of the Captive Forger" and
"The Adventure of the Talking Ghost". In total, four engrossing
adventures that may be among the cleverest mysteries ever
written.
