#inspector baynes

[tiger-moran]

I do have some thoughts about the last part of The Norwood Builder but I'll put that in a separate post.

Before that, I was thinking about Wisteria Lodge again and the 'Moriarty is at the door' thing and you know I'm still not sure if Mariana did meet him or not. She went to answer the door eventually then came back and according to the transcript said, "He's gone" so it's not clear at all whether she meant 'I met him and asked him to come back another time' or 'he got annoyed with waiting about and being ignored and left before I got to the door'.

Because I've seen people speculating that Baynes is Moriarty and I agree there are certain elements that suggest it could be the case especially when I think one of the first things Baynes said was about him being an avid follower which could tie in with the 'Moriarty is listening intently' thing, so I wondered if this tended to rule that idea out or not - if Mariana had met both Moriarty and Baynes (unless Moriarty is Baynes but VERY good at physical disguises which... is something I think he is in general but here seems sort of needlessly complicated? But if she has met both of them surely Baynes can't really be Moriarty) - but it kind of... doesn't. It's still too vague about whether she saw Moriarty or not. So I don't know. It's just not an idea I actually like myself, I mean I like Baynes but not 'Baynes is Moriarty'.

Though it kind of does make sense too that Moriarty might 'play both sides' so to speak, sort of like Jonathan Wild (who Holmes references in the canon in relation to Moriarty) and yes I guess it does make sort of sense too that Baynes who is canonically one of the few police inspectors to be close to Holmes's level might actually turn out to be his 'nemesis'. And I do like the idea of Moriarty disguising himself and popping up as different people but I just don't really like this idea for Moriarty or for Baynes either - I really do not like the idea of Moriarty disguising himself as a police officer as practically a full time thing (which surely it would have to be). It also doesn't really make sense to me either how he'd have time to do that if he is an actual professor (which he does still seem to be in this). If anything I would lean more towards Baynes working for Moriarty but really I just liked Baynes purely as a police inspector.

I have said for a long time it makes sense for Moriarty (I mean, in general) to have members of the police force in his pay. Patterson makes the most sense perhaps. MacDonald would be one I'd be very interested in seeing as portrayed as working for him though especially since he does seem to be friends with Holmes. I'm just not that keen on this take on Baynes though being either Moriarty or one of his agents, I don't think that's a direction I'd want them to take it in.

[comicgeekery]

Sherlock & Co: Wisteria Lodge

Aaaaaaaw yeah! Here. We. Gooooo! Bringing in the big spider himself!

Ahem. Right. Ok, I’m normal again.

I swear there’s stuff to talk about in this adventure, but teasing us with actually bringing in Moriarty was always going to be a major distraction. God, I have never been so stressed out by the sound of doorbell in my life!

But aside from all of THAT, Wisteria Lodge was a pretty good story. There were a few bits that felt a little silly. When Sherlock said the victim fell out of the sky and John spent a few hours forgetting that aviation is a thing. It smacked of the classic stupid Watson to make Sherlock look smarter dynamic, which is a shame because I really liked the ways that John contributed intellectually in other episodes. It feels like an easy cheat to just have John unable to deduce even the most basic things while Sherlock spouts forensic poetry. C’mon team, you can do better!

There was a lot to enjoy in these episodes though. The intro where the civilians found the first body was engrossing and then horrifying. I liked the way Sherlock immediately got enamored with Inspector Baynes and it was interesting to see how jealous John got. Of course I enjoyed seeing it as a step towards John realizing he’s deeply in love with his best friend, but it also works as John being insecure more generally. He’s gotten better over the past few years, but John still struggles to see his work on the cases and the podcast as anything special. He struggles to see himself as anything special. It makes sense that he would feel threatened by the possibility that Sherlock has found a new detecting friend.

(He’s never been this jealous of Mariana though. Just saying...)

Also, Sherlock was naked in this one, which was contrived but extremely funny.

[quill-of-thoth]

Letters from Watson: Wisteria Lodge

Part 2: the Fun Bits

Rents being due at quarter day was a longstanding arrangement in Britain and Ireland, though it seems to have applied to renting land or large properties, not to people renting rooms like Holmes and Watson. The Quarter days are Lady Day (25 march, annunciation: previously discussed in this series), Midsummer (June 24), Michaelmas (29 September) and Christmas (25 December).

A dog-grate fireplace is one where the metal holder for logs resembles a basket: plenty of room behind and below the fire for the note to have escaped the actual flames.

Whenever Holmes or anyone else makes personality deductions of someone's handwriting, there's not much science behind it, however it is possible that handwriting of the victorian era had some correlation to gender, whether from separate schooling for men and women, or trends in what was considered good or pleasing handwriting for a man versus for a woman.

Inspector Baynes, who will be our primary policeman for this case, seems to like Holmes immediately. Though this could be that Holmes' approval of his thoroughness is obvious, it could also point to a post-return case, when Holmes would be famous from Watson's short stories as well as the two novels

Once again, the telegram in victorian london is exceptionally quick: within the space of maybe a few hours Holmes can have a real estate agent send him a list of all the large houses in a specific town, which has to have taken at least a little while to look up.

[chriscalledmesweetie]

Chapter 17 is now on AO3

The Murder of Sir Emory J. Amat  by ChrisCalledMeSweetie

A Sherlock Holmes mystery, as recounted by Dr. John H. Watson.

Can you follow the clues to deduce whodunnit?

Chapter 17: Frank Kent

“A deduction of mine, that was all,” said Holmes mildly. “I am famous for my deductions.”

“Are you really?” asked Anderson, studying him with a befuddled expression. 

Superintendent Baynes went into a roar of laughter. 

“Many’s the time I’ve heard Inspector Lestrade say that. Mr. Holmes and his deductions! Too fanciful for me, he’d say, but always something in them.” 

Nodding his head in a sage manner, Holmes walked out into the street. 

He and I lunched together at an hotel. I know now that the whole thing lay clearly unravelled before him. He had got the last thread he needed to lead him to the truth. 

But at the time I had no suspicion of the fact. I overestimated his general self-confidence, and I took it for granted that the things which puzzled me must be equally puzzling to him.

Tags under the cut.

Please let me know if you’d like me to tag or untag you.

@mydogwatson @totallysilvergirl @bluebellofbakerstreet @sarahthecoat @helloliriels @daisyfairy1 @imnova @kittenmadnessandtea @missdeliadilisblog @marta-bee @whodwantmeasaflatmate @iwantthatbelstaffanditsoccupant @jobooksncoffee @peanitbear @bakingsherlycakes @kettykika78 @stellacartography @shelleysprometheus @iamjustreading @chinike @sgam76 @loves-to-read-fanfic @inevitably-johnlocked @johnlockismyreligion @riversong912 @calaisreno @7-percent @lijahlover @thegildedbee @naefelldaurk

[faithful-grigori]

“#Holmes flexing deductions JUST BECAUSE, #the inspector had done a good job, #but our one and only consultive detective HAD to show off, #john watson, #aka the person Holmes wanted to impress”

Holmes… my dear man. Watson already loves you. You don’t need to flex those deductions extra hard just to impress him (and also Gregson, i believe?). Let poor inspector Baynes have his moment of glory 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[holmesillustrations]

Vote for your favourite, the top 9 will proceed in the bracket. Since theyre all different shapes and sizes, make sure to click into the full views!

Paget Eliminations

Other Artist Eliminations

Full captions and details for each illustration below the cut:

"Two men came down the garden path." W.H. Hyde, Reigate Squires (Harper’s Weekly) Characters: Cunningham Sr, Alec Cunningham

"Colonel Moran sprang forward with a snarl of rage." FD Steele, Empty House (Collier’s) Characters: Police, Sebastian Moran, Holmes

"He picked up his hunting-crop and struck Napoleon." FD Steele, Six Napoleons (Collier’s) Characters: Holmes

"The queer thing in the kitchen." FD Steele, Wisteria Lodge (Collier’s) Characters: PC Walters, Sgt Baynes, Holmes, Watson

"We ascended the stairs and viewed the body." Gilbert Holiday, Devil's Foot (The Strand) Characters: Holmes, Watson, Brenda Tregennis

"You'll only get yourself hurt," said the inspector. "Stand still, will you?" Walter Paget, Dying Detective (The Strand) Characters: Holmes,Watson, Culverton Smith, Lestrade

"Give it up, Jack! For my sake - for God's sake,  give it up!" Frank Wiles, Valley of Fear (The Strand) Characters: Douglas/McMurdo, Ettie Shafter

"The wife was found in the grounds, late at night, with a revolver bullet through her brain." Alfred Gilbert, Thor Bridge (The Strand) Characters: Maria Gibson

"The woman turned her flushed and handsome face towards me." HK Elcock, Sussex Vampire (The Strand) Characters: Dolores, Robert and Mrs Ferguson

"The Adventure of the Three Gables" FD Steele, Three Gables (Liberty) Characters: Holmes

"I turned over the paper. This never came by post, where did you get it?" HK Elcock, Lion's Mane (The Strand) Characters: Maud Bellamy, Holmes, Ian Murdoch

"Holmes had lit his lantern." Frank Wiles, Shoscombe Old Place (The Strand) Characters: Watson, Holmes, John Mason

[tiger-moran]

Wisteria Lodge part 3 spoilers

Sherlock taking forever to actually explain why he was naked and then the explanation still not really making that much sense (did he really have to take off all of his clothes?) was really funny.

(I feel him about the clothing tags)

Not sure I liked that they kind of forgot Mariana also just witnessed someone (someone who'd been treated horrifically much of her life at that) violently commit suicide. I like that it hit Sherlock pretty hard, it's good to see him be affected like that sometimes but... would it not hit Mariana pretty hard too just for slightly different reasons?

A lot of nod backs to previous episodes like the Sign of Four snippet and Sherlock clicking again as he was when Moriarty was first mentioned and random other details like the spiderweb John ran into and 'M' and all of them seem to relate to Moriarty one way or another. And of course Incy Wincy Spider.

So when it glitched at the end, that song (heavily distorted) was also in the glitchy audio. I like the idea that Moriarty has been effectively spying on them, eavesdropping on them (not only listening to the podcasts), for a long time, and him toying with them by actually interfering in the podcast recordings even. I'm actually loving the way they're setting it all up so far so I'm hoping hoping hoping when it comes down to it they're not just gonna... screw him up. They've got me more invested in this Moriarty thing now than I really wanted to be because I'm still kind of scared in the end they're still going to do something with him (and Moran) I'm going to hate and I'm going to be really gutted about that if that does happen. (Please do not try to make Moriarty an actual "evil overlord" or try to tie almost every crime to him somehow, please.)

I don't know what to think about Baynes and especially John's continued jealousy about him. Canonically Baynes is about the only police inspector to be really brilliant, if I remember rightly, so is that the only reason why he's so smart in this and John's jealousy is just his own insecurities or whatever? It's just, they seemed to make SUCH a big thing about Sherlock's admiration for Baynes and John's jealousy and him calling him the "Bayne of my life" even. So... is that a suggestion that there's a lot more to Baynes than it appears? (I have mixed feelings about such an idea. On the one hand it ties in sort of with an idea that I do really think needs way more exploration but nobody really has explored that idea before but on the other hand... I don't really want Baynes to be anything like that.)

(Eccles's death too. Was there more to that too than just stress and a brain aneurysm? Sherlock did seem to think there was more to it, the way he said 'unwell', I think? I sort of hope there is more to it than that, that could be interesting.)

[totally-awake]

JFK's No Nuclear Proliferation Plan & CIA

In April of 1963 President Kennedy wrote a letter to our ally Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion wanting US inspectors to have access to Israel's Dimona nuclear facilities to ascertain if the Israelis were refining material for a nuclear weapon. On November 22, 1963 Kennedy was assassinated. I am not saying the Israelis did the job but JFK's no proliferation agenda and his plan to make peace, and coexsist with the Soviet Union was the impetus for US Intel/military to kill him. This because JFK did not want to fight the Cold War & Communism. Leaders in what President Eisenhower called, "The Military Industrial Complex" made up of Intell & Pentagon officials & Defense contractors went rougue and assassinated him. I believe CIA Director Allen Dulles (Dulles was fired from CIA by Kennedy) was the lead organizer and Vice President Lyndon Baynes Johnson was in on the plot. You wouldn't kill the President and allow the new President to control the investigation. LBJ was a co-conspirator who appointed ALLEN DULLES to the Warren Commision investigation of the murder of JFK to cover up the coup d'etat and make the public believe Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin. It appears President Trump is going down the same path as Kennedy meaning Trump would be declaring US policy not CIA & Pentagon. That is why we have seen two attempts on Trump's life. The CIA can't kill the President without people figuring out exactly who did it than CIA will condition the public not to vote for this type of politician again. If you are wondering why we are seeing crazed opposition to Trump and organized domestic terrorism against Elon Musk this is the reason. Musk through his DOGE comittee is attempting to cut CIA's secret funding. Secret Service better be on high alert to keep Trump & Musk alive to do the people's business. When this is over CIA should be shutdown for good. State & Defense can collect intel and Defense can take care of bad operaters planning harm to US assets overseas.

[bakerstreetbabble]

Granada TV Series Review: "Wisteria Lodge"

"The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge" was a rather lengthy, two=part story that was published as part of the collection of Sherlock Holmes stories collected under the title His Last Bow. The Granada TV adaptation is fairly faithful to its source material, despite having been simplified and shortened, in order to provide a bit more action and to fit into the 52-minute framework of a single episode. Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke are both in good form as Holmes and Watson. (Unlike a couple other episodes during this season of the series, Brett doesn't seem to display much of the effect of the medication he was taking for his bipolar disorder.)

As the plot displays very little of Holmes's usual deductive prowess, most of the value of the episode for the viewer is the interplay between Holmes and the unusually competent Inspector Baynes, portrayed with excellent comic timing by British character actor, Freddie Jones. Holmes often seems both entertained and impressed by Baynes, and Baynes appears to respect Holmes, while also competing with him in a rather congenial fashion. So although I found the plot to be just a bit confusing (much like the original story), the banter between Holmes and Baynes is pretty entertaining.

A great improvement on the original material is the removal of much of the material from the story that tends to reflect the racism of Doyle's time: all of the "voodoo" plot line is removed, and other than a couple uses of the term "mulatto," most of the racist element is considerably toned town. Those elements, while reflecting Doyle's rather typical point of view for England in the Victorian age, add little to the plot, so I found the changes to be quite appropriate for our modern sensibilities.

Overall, while it was hardly one of my favorite episodes, it was enjoyable enough to watch, and for this viewer, at least, was a bit of an improvement on its source material. A decent, if somewhat inconsequential, installment in the Granada series. You may watch the episode below...

[no-side-us]

Letters From Watson Liveblog - June 1

Wisteria Lodge, Part 3 of 4

"Then there was the size of it—it was twice yours, sir. And the look of it—the great staring goggle eyes, and the line of white teeth like a hungry beast."

Well that's certainly interesting, I didn't expect there to be some kind of monster (or what this constable thought was a monster) to be a part of this story. I'm guessing it's going to turn out to be a foreign animal of some kind cause Doyle uses that trope pretty frequently. Probably something from Spain if it's related to Garcia's situation.

"If I didn't know you were a good man, Walters, I should put a black mark against you for this. If it were the devil himself a constable on duty should never thank God that he could not lay his hands upon him"

The idea of a constable seeing the literal devil and deciding the best course of action is to arrest him is so funny to me. And the fact Baynes says the constable is "on duty" implies that if he were off duty he just wouldn't do anything is even funnier.

"At first, as I examined it, I thought that it was a mummified negro baby, and then it seemed a very twisted and ancient monkey."

I had some real whiplash when I got to this line, as I was having such a fun time with this mystery. Just goes to show I shouldn't forget what period these stories are from, cause then I get surprised with something extremely racist when I should really be expecting it.

"And I'll work it myself, Mr. Holmes. It's only due to my own credit to do so. Your name is made, but I have still to make mine. I should be glad to be able to say afterwards that I had solved it without your help."

Baynes ought to be in it for the sake of solving the murder instead of making a name for himself, but we'll see how well he goes about things. If he really wants to make it as a detective though, what he actually needs is his own Watson. Maybe that constable from earlier who thought he saw the devil, since they seem to have pretty contrasting personalities.

"...the window, was a man of most remarkable appearance—being a huge and hideous mulatto, with yellowish features of a pronounced negroid type."

Another very extremely racist description. This story seems to have taken a very discriminatory turn. Looking back at the first two letters, Scott-Eccles does call Garcia's cook a "half-breed" at one point, so I suppose there were hints along the way of all this.

"I have looked into this case with some care, and I am not convinced that you are on the right lines. I don't want you to commit yourself too far unless you are sure."

At the very least, it seems Baynes is in the wrong for arresting this large man based on what Holmes says here. So perhaps that person will get a happy ending in the last letter, but I doubt it. Here's hoping though.

"We can imagine that in the confusion of flight something precious, something which he could not bear to part with, had been left behind. That would explain his persistence, would it not?"

Oh man, is Doyle gonna make him related to that small corpse they found in the kitchen? Boy, I hope not. They also found a guitar in the house so hopefully it's that instead.

"I may add that Miss Burnet's age and character make it certain that my first idea that there might be a love interest in our story is out of the question."

Just because Miss Burnet is forty and a governess doesn't mean she can't either fall in love or have someone fall in love with her. It's unlikely for that to be the case due to the time period and how it might possibly make the plot too complex, but it's not impossible.

"I know which is her room. It is accessible from the top of an outhouse. My suggestion is that you and I go to-night and see if we can strike at the very heart of the mystery."

Breaking and entering, a Holmes and Watson classic.

I don't really know how this all fits together. Based on what Holmes said, I think Miss Burnet, Garcia, and his servants planned on killing Mr. Henderson. He found out and killed Garcia and Miss Burnet. This explains Mr. Henderson's fearful behavior as stated by the servants, but of course I don't see the why behind any of it. I guess I'll find out in the last letter.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

[cosmoglaut]

Elementary is throwing up canon references in spades! I knew Inspector Baynes must have been canon reference especially combined with Camberwell poisoning case, but I did have to look up. Appears in The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge. Slipped that one from my memory!

[faithful-grigori]

penig said: “#It's not as racist but it also doesn't know much about horse racing. Warners/Mrs. Durando slow burn 50K M? I'll ship it, myself”

Letters From Watson Liveblog - June 2

Wisteria Lodge, Part 4 of 4

Holmes is either paying him a lot of money, or Warner here just really hates his old boss. Either way, he's a real hero for jumping in and saving Miss Burnet, especially since he knows how violent Mr. Henderson can be.

The image of Baynes and Holmes hiding in different forms of foliage at the same time is very funny to imagine. Holmes has really found someone as dedicated as he is to solving a mystery.

A vague Central American dictator! That's certainly an interesting reveal, and it is in line with Doyle's tendency to include what I presume to be international hot topics in his stories.

It also means I was right the first time about this whole case being connected to politics! From Central America of course and not Spain, so I was wrong there, but still.

I'm surprised a dictator cared enough about his children to hire a governess for them. And now those poor kids are probably going to have a terrible life for the foreseeable future, or at least as worse as their life has been so far.

And that explains what happened to Garcia. A terrible, gruesome death at the hands of a terrible, gruesome man.

As a side note, I do wonder what Scott-Eccles thinks of all this, cause there's a lot going on here involving dictators, revolutionaries, subterfuge, etc. that he was dragged into one night.

Also kudos to Miss Durando for fighting back, while drugged, against her captors. This story is full of great people, that I feel like Holmes and Watson were almost inconsequential to the whole thing. Even Warners, whom Holmes asked for help, could easily have been hired by Baynes instead.

Well, it may have taken six months but at least they finally got their comeuppance. No mention of the kids though, which is worrying. A somewhat satisfying conclusion then.

The story did not need this. It could have happily ended with the murder of a dictator and without this extra display of racism at the end. This story has pretty consistently painted people from Central America with such discriminatory descriptions, and it's just awful to see.

This sounds familiar but I forget what it's referring to. Hopefully it's not as racist as Wisteria Lodge was.

[mariana-oconnor]

Wisteria Lodge pt 2

Right, so thinking about it since last time I came up with some other reasons, like maybe Mr Garcia was scared of something coming for him and that was why he asked Mr Scott Eccles over for a few nights. Or alternatively, it was a pure coincidence that he asked him over and then someone from his past turned up and threatened him. But why did the whole household disappear overnight. They must have some connection.

Anyway, now I am free for the evening, onto the actual reading. When last we left off, Mr Scott Eccles had woken up after utterly missing his chance at a booty call to find himself abandoned and needing to do the walk of shame.

"I called at Allan Brothers', the chief land agents in the village, and found that it was from this firm that the villa had been rented."

This seems pretty extreme, although I guess what has happened is quite extreme. And if it had happened to me, I'd be all over the internet trying to work out what had happened to everyone. I'd probably at least think of asking the next door neighbours if they knew what was going on. It's different in a time with servants and stuff, though. You'd expect the servants to still be there, even if the owner has gone out or to work or whatever. Still 'no one was in when I woke up so I went to the estate agent...

He does then go to the mutual friend who introduced them - and also the Spanish embassy - which again, seems a bit like overkill. I don't think I'd go to the Spanish embassy, not if I still had all my stuff. If it seemed weird and suspicious enough I might report them to the police as missing, but then maybe they have a good reason. idk.

"My only desire is to help the law in every possible way.” “I am sure of it, Mr. Scott Eccles—I am sure of it,” said Inspector Gregson in a very amiable tone.

Is that amiable as in appeasing, or amiable as in believing? I'm not sure I'd believe all of that, although it does fall into the realm of too weird and unhelpful a story to be faked. If you're going to invent a story about how you're not a murderer when you really are, you want it to sound more plausible.

“What do you say to that, Mr. Baynes?” The country detective was a stout, puffy, red man, whose face was only redeemed from grossness by two extraordinarily bright eyes, almost hidden behind the heavy creases of cheek and brow. With a slow smile he drew a folded and discoloured scrap of paper from his pocket.

Ah, Watson, you're back in fine form with your descriptions of police officers, no animal imagery here, but at least you managed to convey your utter disgust at his appearance. Bravo.

"The note is written upon ordinary cream-laid paper without watermark. It is a quarter-sheet. The paper is cut off in two snips with a short-bladed scissors. It has been folded over three times and sealed with purple wax, put on hurriedly and pressed down with some flat oval object. It is addressed to Mr. Garcia, Wisteria Lodge. It says: “Our own colours, green and white. Green open, white shut. Main stair, first corridor, seventh right, green baize. Godspeed. — D.

What a very specific and detailed description of the note. Purple wax is particularly extra of them, I have to say. And not in keeping with the colour scheme.

I have a feeling that the green and white are going to be associated with something I have no knowledge of, a badge or flag of some Spanish political movement or other. I also feel like the mixed race cook is going to be important in some way, but I don't know enough about the politics of Spain and its colonial empire at the end of the 19th century to make any guesses.

Green baize is a snooker/billiards table, though, usually. The open and shut might be shutters painted in different colours as some sort of signal to people outside (or an indication of the house Garcia is supposed to go to, but there would have to have been previous instructions in that case, because otherwise it could be any house in the country.)

These are clearly directions and instructions. I kind of want Aloysius Garcia to be an assassin now, and these are indications of where he can find his next hit. But why they would specify a snooker table, I don't know. Although there were probably card tables lined with green baize as well. It is the fabric, rather than the table itself.

But clearly he was killed either because of following these instructions or before he could follow them.

“I'm bound to say that I make nothing of the note except that there was something on hand, and that a woman, as usual, was at the bottom of it.”

Once again, we have feminine handwriting. And, as a woman, I don't know whether to be amused, proud, or insulted that apparently we're at the bottom of everything. All three, I suppose.

“As to Garcia,” said Gregson, “that is easily answered. He was found dead this morning upon Oxshott Common, nearly a mile from his home. His head had been smashed to pulp by heavy blows of a sandbag or some such instrument, which had crushed rather than wounded."

If his head has been bashed in that badly, how sure are you that it's Mr Garcia at all? Who identified the body? I mean, if you were an assassin bumping people off, it would be terribly convenient if people just happened to mistake the body of your victim for you. Terribly convenient.

"...but his assailant had gone on beating him long after he was dead. It was a most furious assault."

Either a crime committed with absolute rage and no forethought or the complete opposite where the beating continued specifically until the body was unrecognisable.

“This is very painful—very painful and terrible,” said Mr. Scott Eccles in a querulous voice, “but it is really uncommonly hard on me. I had nothing to do with my host going off upon a nocturnal excursion and meeting so sad an end. How do I come to be mixed up with the case?”

Sir? Sir? Excuse me. A man is dead, sir.

Wow... Yeah, this is very hard for you. So very hard for you. I'm glad you didn't get laid last night, Mr Scott Eccles. You did not deserve it. Even if Mr Garcia is secretly an assassin for a group of Spanish revolutionaries, you did not deserve the hot assassin sex. Nope. 'How do you come to be mixed up in the case?' Maybe because you were sleeping in his house and were one of the last people to see him alive? (If he's dead. Not convinced on that point.

“The only document found in the pocket of the deceased was a letter from you saying that you would be with him on the night of his death. It was the envelope of this letter which gave us the dead man's name and address."

Yep, they got his ID from a letter in his pocket. Got to love policing before the days of DNA and fingerprinting. A+ identification methodology right there. No way that could be anyone but Aloysius Garcia.

Also, I am amused by the idea that someone deliberately set up Mr Scott Eccles for this. It's not nice, no, but eh the guy's a bit of a pompous racist asshole, and I doubt he's actually going to be charged with anything. They identified a man from a letter in his pocket after all, clearly they will believe anything.

“He had been there since one o'clock. There was rain about that time, and his death had certainly been before the rain.” “But that is perfectly impossible, Mr. Baynes,” cried our client. “His voice is unmistakable. I could swear to it that it was he who addressed me in my bedroom at that very hour.”

And there's the random one am booty call coming into play. Of course we have no evidence it was one am other than the reported word of the possibly late Mr Aloysius Garcia himself. Making Mr Scott Eccles' role in all of this that of impossible alibi to a dead man.

And is his voice really unmistakeable, or does he just have a Spanish accent? If three men with Spanish accents spoke to you in the dark would you be able to pick out Mr Garcia? I don't trust you to be able to do that.

“There were,” said he, “one or two very remarkable things. Perhaps when I have finished at the police-station you would care to come out and give me your opinion of them.”

I am irritated now because I want to know what these things are, but at the same time I am very impressed with Mr Baynes for not doing the thing I always yell at fictional detectives for doing and revealing key evidence in front of suspects. So... Fine. You win this one. I will be patient.

“I can make nothing of this mystification of Scott Eccles.”

Mystification is an excellent word. If this were a modern novel that would be the title: The Mystification of Scott Eccles.

"There is, on the face of it, something unnatural about this strange and sudden friendship between the young Spaniard and Scott Eccles."

Homophobic!

I know Mr Scott Eccles is kind of a dud, but everyone is someone's type. You can't just assume that because Mr Garcia was hot and young he wouldn't be into that.

Although, yeah, it probably was Victorian Catfish. Which leaves me in two minds. On one hand - hot Spanish assassin... undeniably cool. On the other hand - preying on the closeted gays... not cool. Even if Mr Scott Eccles is a Tory. You can't just have different rules for Tories, as much as you may want them.

"He called upon Eccles at the other end of London on the very day after he first met him, and he kept in close touch with him until he got him down to Esher. Now, what did he want with Eccles? What could Eccles supply?"

"I see no charm in the man. He is not particulary intelligent—not a man likely to be congenial to a quick-witted Latin."

So stereotypical. I've said it before - you can't know what a person's type is just by looking at them. And let's not kinkshame Mr Garcia for what he was into.

"He is the very type of conventional British respectability, and the very man as a witness to impress another Briton. You saw yourself how neither of the inspectors dreamed of questioning his statement, extraordinary as it was.”

Honestly, I wasn't going to question it either, but mostly because of narrative reasons and because the guy just seems too boring to be able to come up with anything halfway as interesting on his own. But I don't think I'd take anything that came out of his mouth as true. Honest, maybe, but factually accurate? Definitely seems the kind of guy to quote opinion as fact.

“Well, my dear fellow, we have already arrived at the conclusion that the massage received by Garcia at dinner was an appointment or an assignation."

I know 'massage' is a typo, but it fits in so well with everything else, that I must point it out.

"As the number of large houses close to Oxshott must be limited, I adopted the obvious method of sending to the agents mentioned by Scott Eccles and obtaining a list of them."

I was so distracted by the illicit romance of it all, that I didn't even think about the size of the house. Seven doors along a corridor is a big house, and if it does have a billiards table, then that's a sign of a big house as well.

Of course, Garcia would still have needed to know where he was going. There are six people in Holmes' list.

I kind of hope it's Ffolliott, just because of the three double letters in his name. But The Dingle and Purdley Place are excellent names, too. As is Nether Walsling. And I didn't even notice that Mr Hynes Hynes is called Mr Hynes Hynes... is that another typo or is he just so good they named him twice? And a Justice of the Peace (or at least I assume that's what JP stands for). Yeah, I take it back. I want it to be Mr Hynes Hynes. And is he the body that was found or is it actually Mr Garcia?

None of the names seems Spanish in origin, but we've already established that the writer of the note was English. Do any of the titles seem like they might be involved in some sort of Spanish political intrigue? The Lord perhaps? He'd be in the House of Lords, so politically involved in the UK. The Justice of the Peace could definitely be involved in something, but probably not internationally. I doubt the reverend is involved in politics, but there's always a chance of someone having turned to the church for redemption after a life of crime. Though Spain is a Catholic country in the main part, especially at this time, afaik, so it would be unusual for someone of that background to turn CofE. Not impossible, but unusual.

Maybe Spain has nothing to do with any of it, though. The colours definitely seemed like a hint towards something, though and political affiliation was the only thing my mind could come up with. If it's just the colours of the shutters in the house then why 'our own colours'? Also, if someone can open and close the shutters of a house, that means an inside person.

"...a fit setting for the wild common over which our road passed and the tragic goal to which it led us."

Is that the tragedy that has already occurred, or is there more tragedy yet to come? Watson?

Also, what was that extra evidence, Mr Baynes? Very rude leaving us hanging like that.

Holmes is of course, right. I am theorising without enough data. I need to put the Spanish thing and any ideas of political motivation aside. While I doubt it's going to be as simple as a clandestine affair, it probably won't be a secret revolutionary group enacting assassinations on foreign ground in order to foment rebellion. Although such things aren't entirely without precedence in the Holmes canon.

And it's entirely possible that we're supposed to accept at face value that the dead guy actually is Aloysius Garcia even if his face was beaten to a pulp and their only evidence of his identity is a letter in his pocket. I know that's been used as a form of identification before and been accurate, and it annoyed me then, too.

Getting away with murder would have been so easy in Victorian times. Just make sure the body is unrecognisable and leave a note on it with your own name and address before disappearing into the night. No one would even think to look for you again.

[dnickels]

“I was sure Henderson, as he calls himself, felt that he was suspected, and that he would lie low and make no move so long as he thought he was in any danger. I arrested the wrong man to make him believe that our eyes were off him. I knew he would be likely to clear off then and give us a chance of getting at Miss Burnet.”

Holmes laid his hand upon the inspector's shoulder.

“You will rise high in your profession. You have instinct and intuition,” said he.

Baynes flushed with pleasure.

1. Pretty sure that's explicitly illegal, and certainly ethically proscribed

2. People rip on BBC Sherlock for making Holmes and unlikable dick that no one can stand, but when you watch it and consider that choice as a deliberate counter to scenes like this it's actually a great choice/commentary on the state of things (class war, professionalization/the end of the gentleman amateur, police-public relations) between 1895 and now. Sally Donovon never missing a chance to ask "who is this asshole?" blows up the old paradigm of Holmes and forces something new. Regrettably, nothing came of it. Not every baby bird flies!

[faithful-grigori]

“#Better than that stupid Moriarty fellow anyway (I'm joking!), #But I do like him a lot”

Hehe, I love Baynes. It's such a shame he's a country detective, he'd work so well as a reoccurring character. A real foil for Holmes.