We returned to the Hopkins house the next day to find Oscar Kingsley and Sebastian Moran knee-deep in Sunrise Pond and shouting at each other. “It’s impossible to search an entire bloody pond!” Moran shouted.
“For a hundred thousand dollars, you’ll search all year or I’ll kill you myself!” Oscar shouted back.
The Detective cleared his throat, startling the two men who froze upon spotting our armed constabulary officers. “I’ll thank you to slowly make your way out of the water, hands in the air,” Murdoch said calmly. “We know all about the Star of Tehran, and the murder of Edward Hopkins.”
As Higgins and Jackson cuffed the two men, Sherlock – David Kingsley – made his way to the edge fo the pond, where several toy boats had been left scattered in the mud to rot. He dug through them until he pulled out one in particular.
“The steamship Aurora,” he said thoughtfully, his British accent slipping back into more familiar Canadian. “We named it after The Sign of the Four. I used to play out here every day.”
Oscar turned, jerking in Crabtree’s hold. “No,” he shouted. “It was in the boat?”
David Kingsley smashed the boat on a nearby rock, revealing a stunning diamond. “It was right here all along,” he said before turning back to his uncle.
“I’ve been looking for the stone for ten years!” Oscar struggled again in Crabtree’s grasp.
From his pocket, David drew a pistol and pointed it directly at his uncle. “It was you, Uncle! All this time you were Moriarty.”
“David,” Murdoch said, hands raised and slowly stepping towards him, “Put that down.”
David didn’t listen. “You killed my father!”
“He was not your father!” Oscar argued back.
“He was to me. And you had him killed. And for what? This?” he held up the diamond so it caught the light, then tossed it at his uncle’s feet as if it were the cut-glass replica at the consulate. “Squeeze it hard, Uncle. Clasp it lovingly to your chest, because you’re about to die for it.”
“Don’t be a fool, son,” Brackenreid called out.
“Don’t do this.” Murdoch stepped between David and his Uncle. “Sherlock wouldn’t do this.”
“I’m not Sherlock anymore,” David replied, gaze fixed over Murdoch’s shoulder.
“Holmes believed in logic, deduction, intellect, and above all the law. And we’ve caught him using the skills that you learned. If you kill this man you will turn your back on everything that has ever mattered to you. That isn’t who you are, that isn’t the man you want to be. Be Sherlock Holmes.”
David’s hand shook, and the gun wavered until Murdoch could slowly reach up and pull it from his limp fingers, breathing a sigh of relief.
David Kingsley was Sherlock Holmes once more.
Answers:
- Who is the man claiming to be Sherlock Holmes?
David Kingsley – 20 points - Which specific item told the robbers where and when to strike?
Adelaide Kane obituary – 20 points if you got her name; 10 points if you only knew it was an obituary - Which person gave that information to the robbers?
Byron Mitchell, the carriage guard – 20 points - What were the robbers after?
The Star of Tarsus / The Star of Tehran – 20 points - Who is the real Moriarty/mastermind of this case?
Oscar Kingsley, David’s Uncle – 25 points - Where is the Star of Tarsus?
In the pond behind Edward Hopkins’ home – 25 points - Who did Moriarty have killed that got Sherlock on the case 10 years ago?
David Kingsley’s adoptive father, Edward Hopkins – 25 points
Subtract 3 points for each lead you followed, and an additional minus 10 if you sent a letter at the post office, then score your team out of a potential 155 points.
It’s not a competition, but George Crabtree did lose 10 points for starting to believe that David Kingsley really was Sherlock Holmes.