The Savile Row Mystery

by Bruce Harris

About the Author: Bruce Harris is the author of SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DOCTOR WATSON: ABOUT TYPE. His Sherlockian articles have appeared in The Baker Street Journal, The Sherlock Holmes Journal, Mystery Magazine, and Canadian Holmes among others.

Excerpt

In all the years working with Inspector Lestrade, I had never seen him so giddy. The Scotland Yard inspector sat legs folded, smoking a long cigar. He slapped his knee.

“I tell you gentlemen—” he began before being interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Pardon me, Mr. Holmes,” Mrs. Hudson said. “A gentleman stopped me outside and said he’d like to see you.”

“Show him in, please.”

Our faithful landlady stepped back and in walked a well-dressed man in his mid-twenties. The glow on his clean-shaven cheeks contrasted with a thick, dark moustache. He removed a sturdy looking bowler, revealing black, medium-length hair sharply parted on the side. His suit, tie, and shirt were freshly pressed, perfectly fitting his small frame. He stood straight, barely over five-feet tall with shoulders stiff. He looked from one to the other of us. “Which one of you is Mr. Sherlock Holmes?” he asked.

“At your service,” a bowing Holmes said. “On your way to Savile Row, Mister—” Holmes let the question hang in the air.

All colour disappeared from the man’s cheeks. I detected slight knee buckling and thought for a moment he was going to faint. After steadying himself, he said, “How on earth did—”

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