‘Good afternoon, gentlemen!’ his voice boomed. ‘To what do I owe the honour of such a visit?’
‘Ha! Honour indeed, Inspector Morrison. We come regarding the Isadora Persano affair,’ Holmes cheerfully responded.
‘A tragic business, that,’ Morrison murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ‘Although I am surprised at your involvement. I was under the impression that the fate of Mr Persano had been a matter only for the staff of Browne’s and Scotland Yard.’
‘My involvement comes as a result of information from another source, one that I am not at liberty to divulge at present. However, with your trust and co-operation, I feel certain that a solution might be found to relieve the plight of the tragic duellist.’
‘Duellist, you say? I had no idea that such a thing existed in this day and age.’ Morrison exclaimed.
‘Ah, so you see there are ways in which we can help each other in solving this little mystery.’ Holmes smiled.
‘I was not aware of any mystery. The man obviously had a disturbing experience, while reporting on that Central American business, and undoubtedly this has unhinged his mind. I am certain that this is not a unique occurrence.’
‘You do not regard it as unique that an intelligent man of letters and one who has experienced so much around the globe, should be suddenly reduced to a mumbling wreck within the confines of a sedate London hotel? Surely the presence of so remarkable a worm renders this affair unique? Was there any attempt made to examine the creature?’ Holmes asked.
‘Indeed there was, sir, and it was pronounced that the creature was unknown to science!’ the inspector replied with an air of sadly misplaced pride in his voice.
Holmes clapped his hands together with glee upon hearing this. ‘Oh Watson, what progress mankind would have made had it always relied upon such scientific endeavour! Surely we would still be existing in loincloths and mud huts!’
Wearing a look of confusion Morrison shrank back into his chair. He sat there in silence while Holmes explained to him the origins and significance of the worm. I, in turn, gave him a résumé of my notes from our interview with Doña Dolores Cassales, so that Morrison was now in full possession of the facts.
‘There is evidently much more to this affair than at first meets the eye,’ Morrison sheepishly admitted.
‘The untrained eye,’ Holmes reminded him. ‘However, there is still much that continues to elude even the trained eye. For example, how came the worm to be in Persano’s room in the first place?’
‘If the lady is to be believed and we have no sound reason to doubt her, it certainly was not in his room when she made her second and final visit, a full twenty-four hours before Persano was discovered,’ I ventured.
‘If, Watson, if.’ Holmes repeated quietly, whilst evidently lost in deep thought. ‘Although even should we accept her story the point you make, albeit a valid one, does nothing to solve our mystery. Do not forget that Hubbert Greene’s other duties would have prevented him from stating categorically that Persano did not receive another visitor during the intervening period. Neither can he confirm nor deny that a parcel was delivered during that time. It is inconceivable that Persano would have brought the creature with him.’
‘You are suggesting, therefore, that a third party delivered this most unusual of gifts, presumably in the box in which it was eventually discovered,’ Morrison ventured. ‘Although I cannot, for the life of me, imagine who this individual might be.’
‘Watson, what opinion do you hold as to the nature of the unknown visitor?’
I slowly lit my pipe whilst deliberating upon my reply to Holmes.
‘Well, whoever it was certainly had intimate knowledge of Persano’s intended movements. Even the press assumed that he was lost in Guahanna, until he was discovered at Browne’s. Assuming that the worm had been deposited with malicious intent, the culprit would, we must conclude, have good reason for wishing Persano dead. Your research has shown that the effect of inserting the worm only brings upon mental disturbance should the venom miss its mark. My conclusion would point to someone familiar with the rites of the indigenous peoples of Guahanna. I am certain that to anyone else the worm would appear to be nothing more than just a worm.’
By now Holmes was leaning back in his chair, a satisfied smile playing briefly around his thin lips.
‘This really is most excellent!’ he exclaimed. ‘Now, Watson, take your exposition one step further by revealing the inevitable conclusion as to who satisfies each of your criteria!’
This time I reached my conclusion in an instant. ‘Of course! It has to be Diego, Cassales’s servant!’
Holmes clapped gleefully and leapt to his feet, while the bemused inspector covered his desk with matches as he fumbled for a light for his pipe. Once alight the pipe helped him compose himself sufficiently to ask: ‘What steps do you suggest we take in order to apprehend this individual?’
‘We must presume upon his overwhelming desire for revenge. Doña Dolores told of his resentment at her affair with Persano that resulted in his intemperate ranting at her while she sat in her carriage at the site of the duel. To see his master betrayed was hard enough for him to endure, but then to witness his ritual slaughter at the hand of his cuckolder would have aroused in Diego this most vengeful of hatreds. The means of his revenge was not hard for a man from his background to arrange. I conclude he had discovered a means of extracting sufficient amounts of the poison to render the worm apparently harmless by the time I came to experiment upon it,’ Holmes concluded.
‘I understand, but how do you suggest we act upon our presumption of his revenge?’ I asked.
‘By letting it be known that Persano is now fully recovered and that his release is imminent. Inspector, I believe that a simple statement, released to all of the important newspapers, issued by the luminaries of Scotland Yard, would be sufficient, do you not think?’ Holmes suggested mischievously.
For a moment or two Morrison hesitated whilst he considered the ethical implications of this action. However, the opportunity of bringing a case to its successful conclusion at the side of Sherlock Holmes soon outweighed his initial reservations. He nodded his head emphatically.
‘You think that by making this Diego believe that all of the risks that he has taken and that all of his planning have come to nothing, you will provoke him into carrying out one final, desperate course of action against Persano?’ he asked.
‘Inspector, I am counting upon it. Irrational as his actions so far might appear to us, to leave matters unresolved would be more than he could bear. I intend to introduce myself at the asylum where I shall await Diego’s further attempt upon Persano’s life. I am certain that with the backing of a member of the police force and a respected medical practitioner, with their combined expertise and influence I shall be able to bring this to pass.’
Morrison and I both agreed that this was possible, although I had my own reservations regarding Holmes’s safety within such an institution.
‘Holmes, give this matter due consideration before you undertake this course of action. My own limited experience of such places are both harrowing and disturbing. They are not so enlightened and progressive as modern medical institutions.’ While I was speaking Morrison passed me a police report that listed Persano’s place of incarceration as St Jude’s Hospital, Hertfordshire, one of the oldest and certainly one of the worst of its kind. This was a consideration that I immediately indicated to Holmes, yet he remained undaunted.