Sherlock Holmes and the Discarded Cigarette (4 page)

Chapter 11

 

At this time I must shift the readers focus away from 221B Baker Street to 12 Fitzroy Road, Primrose Hill (also in London) being the residence of H.G. Wells and his former first wife Isabel Mary Wells.

The atmosphere during the last part of the marriage in the house time could be described as frosty each being cordial with each other but you could tell that there was a chasm between the two that would never be bridged again. Whenever Wells returned to his residence he must have thought “A man always finds it hard to realize that he may have finally lost a woman's love, however badly he may have treated her.”

When the same maid, via a messenger alerted the former Mrs. Wells of her ex husbands speaking tour she knew it was time to put her plan into action. When Isabel Mary Wells arrived the next day at 12 Fitzroy Road, Primrose Hill (also in London) again being the residence of H.G. Wells she asked the maid in person where the strong box was located and how long would her ex husband be away for.

Having some time ago made a wax impression of the key, and now being in possession of a duplicate key for the lock on the strong box she had ready access to the contents inside.

Knowing that Wells was now safely away from the city, her first act was to open up the strong box and see if the contents might have some immediate monetary value. Unlocking and opening up the strong box she took the large heavy roll out of the box and placed it on her ex husband's desk she unrolled it from right to left to see the title page of the large thick document read

“A Theoretical Machine to Travel Back and Forward Through Time”. Below the title read “These mechanical drawings have been commissioned under the direction of Mr. Herbert George Wells and have been drawn by James B. Francis Chief Engineer for the Proprietors of Locks and Kirk Boott agent of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company 1894”

As she stood looking at page after page of meticulous mechanical drawings each outlining how the individual parts of the time machine along with its various controls were to be manufactured, how all of it was to be assembled allowing the operator to go anywhere they wanted in time the first Mrs. Wells was in momentary awe of her ex husband's creativity.

But knowing that she had only a short time until her husband's return she would have to find a way to make copy of the mechanical drawings for her own use then return the originals to the strong box. Through her husband's publisher she located the firm of Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers which was located at 15 Holllybush Lane Penn Wolverhampton, London.

With a note that appeared to had been written and signed by her husband stating that he (Wells) required the firm to reproduce a second set of mechanical drawings of the time machine and the original drawings now momentarily in her procession the first Mrs. Wells put her plan into action.

Chapter 12

 

It is one thing to own (no matter by what means it was obtained) something that might be unique and possibly valuable it is another thing to find a ready market or a buyer to sell it to. This was the short term problem the first Mrs. Well faced when she returned to Bolliger & Mabillard to pick up the original mechanical drawings plus the copy.

The exact details as to how the first Mrs. Wells solved this problem may never be known but the solution to her sale of and how Montague John Druitt became involved in the purchase of the mechanical drawings came together in a place or a district named The Rookery.

The worst sink of iniquity was The Rookery, a place or rather district, so named, whose shape was triangular, bounded by Bainbridge Street, George Street and High Street, St Giles. The colony, called The Rookery, was like a honeycomb, perforated by a number of courts and blind alleys, cul de sac, without any outlet other than the entrance. Here was the lowest lodging houses in London, inhabited by the various classes of thieves common to large cities were banded together.

It was thought that the name of the district may have come from the slang expression
to rook
that is to cheat or steal, a verb well established in the 16th century and associated with the supposedly thieving nature of the rook bird.

Montague John Druitt's residence and where he conducted his criminal activities from was located at upstairs lodging rooms in the Old Mint, along the Ratcliffe Highway and Petticoat Lane in the Rookery.

It was here that the copy of the mechanical drawings of H.G. Well's time machine was exchanged for a large sum of money. Thinking that she had damaged her husband's reputation and had received a fair financial compensation for the shame she had to endure as a result of her husband's affair Isabel Mary Wells left Druitt's residence thinking nothing more about the transaction.

They say that sometimes the right elements can come together at the right time and produce great good or great evil. In the case of Druitt's purchase the latter would prove to be true and would test my friend's criminal deduction talents to their limit.

With his long sought after prize in hand Montague John Druitt was to take leave of his residence in the Rookery and the City of London shortly for trip abroad to the continent. While booking passage on the Cherbourg, a Cunard Steamship Company vessel that would take him across the English Channel to France he also booked railway passage to two cities in Europe.

His first stop would be
Baden Muehlburg, Germany to meet with Gotlieb Daimler and Karl Friedrich Benz who together at their machine works would manufacture the frame and the mechanical workings of the time machine, then onto Smiljan Lika, Croatia to meet with Nikola Tesla who at his laboratory would create the necessary intricate electrical dials and controls that would allow the time machines operator to go forwards and backwards in time.

After agreeing as to payment for services tendered from the three inventors, the completed components from Daimler, Benz and Tesla were to be disassembled then packed into large wooden shipping crates that would be transported from the continent to an address
located at the junction of Garrett Lane and Summers town Road in Camden town London. Of course at the time we were not in possession of this information but would learn of Druitt's itinerary later.

Chapter 13

 

I bring the reader's attention back again to 221 B Baker Street and a conversation Holmes and I had concerning an art forgery
“Due to the obvious quality of the painting” Holmes had said “the Metropolitan Police and myself agree we lack the necessary artistic skills to discern if it is a forgery or not. To this end it is to being taken to the Belgravia Gallery tomorrow morning where their experts in forgery will decide if it is or isn't.”

And it was only a short time after Wells had returned from his lecture tour in the East Midlands that Holmes and I would be making the first of several visits to the Belgravia Gallery located at 45 Albemarle Street, Mayfair London in connection to forged paintings.

Holmes had of course known of the Gallery through its reputation of over 30 years of European trained expertise to all paintings that are in need of cleaning, repair, conservation, or major restoration. Their philosophy was to alter the artwork as little as possible with respect to the original intention of the artist. To that end, they examined each work of art closely and tailored their methodologies to its' precise needs.

Paintings were very rarely lined; rather were re-woven or in some cases inlay canvas and use a bridge technique to affix it to the original canvas. They used only the finest materials and techniques, which are found in major museums around the world. In accordance with their belief that restoration should be noninvasive, all of the work they did is fully reversible.

The Belgravia Gallery worked with and is especially proud of its ongoing relationship with national museums, universities, art galleries, art dealers, and private clients.

As we were getting out of the hansom cab in front in front of the gallery I was impressed by its architectural design. The building was covered in polished gray marble stone on the left was a large display window trimmed in brass displaying some contemporary paintings, in the middle was the entrance and to the right was a display window of the same size as the one on the left it too was trimmed in brass and was also displaying contemporary paintings

As Holmes and I made our way through the brass trimmed entrance of the gallery I asked “What is the name of the painting we have come to examine?” “The Long Engagement by Arthur Hughes and I believe it was painted in 1859” was his answer. Once inside the foyer just as the gallery manager was approaching us Holmes finished his description with “and it was on loan from the Birmingham Art Gallery when this incident took place.” Mr. Holmes, Dr. Watson I presume” queried the distinguished looking gallery manager as he extended his right hand in Holmes direction. “Yes” was Holmes reply to the query…”My name is Charles Henry Stephenson and I am the managing director of the Belgravia Gallery” “and you have obviously come about the Hughes painting.”

If you would both come with me to the restoration work shop area I think what we may have accidently uncovered something that might be of some interest to you both.” As Holmes and I walked through the gallery I was impressed by the decor of the gallery and its range and scope of paintings that were mounted on the walls waiting to be viewed by and bought by potential collectors.

Passing through a set of plain wooden double hinged doors that divided the gallery from upper class to working class we first noticed the mixed smells of oil paint and turpentine. Holmes and I now saw a scene all around us of various sizes of paintings some on easels covered with a cloth to protect them while they dried, some being worked on by what I took to be expert craftsmen in their trade. Other uncovered paintings of various sizes were leaning with their backs against the walls of the large work space each waiting their turn for repair or restoration.

There was one covered painting that had been set aside from the others which I took to be that painting we had come to see. “Excuse me Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson while I get the young man who started working on the Hughes and I can have him better explain to you what he has discovered” the director said as he went further into the restoration area seeking one particular person.

He returned shortly with a young man of medium build, probably in his mid twenties who looked like and dressed some what that he might have been an old master himself in another life time. “Mr. Holmes Dr. Watson this is Jeffery Daniels one of our art restorers.” Before the introductions could be properly completed and the painting properly reveled Holmes started.

“Mr. Daniels before you begin, I must ask have you started or completed any restoration work on any other paintings by Arthur Hughes.” “Why would you ask that?” I queried “To be certain that Mr. Daniels is familiar with the style the artist employs, his choice of oil colors, the manufacturer of the paint the artist prefers, his particular brush strokes and even Hughes choice of canvas “ Holmes replied knowledgeably.

Chapter 14

 

Jeffery Daniels taking this line of questioning in stride proceeded to display his knowledge of the painter by stating that Hughes was a pre-Raphaelite painter and book illustrator then went on to list Orlando, Home From the Sea and April Love among the particular artists paintings he had worked on.

With that the young art restorer lifted the cloth covering the “The Long Engagement” the true nature of the painting sitting on the wooden easel was about to be revealed. For the reader not familiar with this particular work of Arthur Hughes I will briefly describe the painting that was resting on the easel before us.

It was a work of modest size and painted in the portrait style, to the left of the viewer there was the large trunk of poplar tree in a meadow setting, leaning against the tree was a red headed young man dressed in what is called the country style.

To his right standing beside him, limply holding his hand was a red headed young lady also dressed in the country style. I had always assumed that the title of the painting had been drawn from the forlorn looks on each of the young lover's faces.

Young Daniels gave us all a couple of minutes to observe the painting then proceeded to tell us why he felt it might be a forgery. He started “When I started the restoration work, meaning to clean the accumulated dust away that any painting acquires when it has hung for some time I started to think that cobalt violet in the young ladies cloak didn't seem quite right.”

The same went for the c
admium red light in her hair lastly the chromium oxide green used in the moss at the base of tree wasn't right. I have it on good authority that the artist used Gamblin Oils when painting The Long Engagement and the ones used for this particular painting are not.

“Of course the further along I got I thought that the whole Hughes looked some how different I then consulted our copy of the Brice Art Museum Exhibition Catalog 1890 edition (which was sitting on a work table near to Holmes) right away to check, the color plate of the particular Hughes painting you are looking for Mr. Holmes is on page 52. “

As Holmes picked up and thumbed through the catalog that he had been made aware of he located the particular color plate young Daniels had pointed out. “As you can see, even to the untrained eye there are obvious differences between what is shown in the catalog and what you see before you.”

“What you are looking at Mr. Holmes is indeed at best a very clever forgery, when viewed from the distance the public is made to stand back from any painting in any art gallery it could easily appear to be and be passed off as an original, however when you are able to examine it from the distance you are at now at then you can tell that it is not.”