I should mention here that Nathaniel Brewer was the crotchety old uncle of a former colleague of mine, and his strict, disciplinarian regime had largely contributed to the ghastly reputation that St Jude’s had acquired.
‘The geography of these corridors is, I would hope, unique. They are laid out in the form of a Panopticon that ensures that any one of the rooms can be observed from each and every angle and position on the floor. The fact that each room is barred rather than enclosed by a door or wall, renders the poor devils within them as exposed as the beasts at the new Zoological Gardens, although perhaps with less dignity! In such circumstances it would be easy to conjecture that even the sanest of men would struggle to retain their sanity within those halls.’
Holmes paused for a moment and as he turned from the window to face me, I could see that he had been greatly disturbed by the experience that he was describing.
‘As I carried out my chores I soon discovered that the occupant of each room was enduring a different form of suffering. One might emit a cry or a wail, another a violent scream of anger. Many sat in abject silence, almost oblivious to their surroundings and circumstances, some rocking back and forth, muttering to themselves. What they all shared, however, was their despair and degradation.
‘My adopted persona only allowed me a fleeting glance of Persano at this time and he was indeed sitting on the edge of his rudimentary bed, silently mumbling to himself.’ Whilst he was speaking Holmes began to remove his uniform to reveal his customary suit beneath. His hairbrush did much to restore his more familiar appearance. He even allowed me to apply a small dressing to his wound.
A brief search of the staffroom revealed two tumblers and the remnants of a bottle of whisky. A grateful Holmes found that this discovery did much to repair his fragile nerves and he even managed the most fleeting of smiles as he lit the last of my cigarettes.
‘Eventually I received an opportunity to speak with Persano when I was called upon to deliver his evening meal. Alas, the effect of Diego’s worm is, as yet, unabated. Persano’s eyes appeared to be vague and empty and he certainly was unaware of my presence.
‘Notwithstanding the apparent futility, I persisted with my questioning of the man in the hope that I might gain a response. Once or twice I detected a glimmer of light from behind those eyes and his ramblings occasionally produced an intelligible word or two. I became excited when the words Cassales and Diego disentangled themselves until I realized that they been produced at random rather than being direct replies to my questions.
‘In despair I abandoned any further attempts at reaching the depths of Persano’s mind. A short while later “lights out” was announced and I knew that my vigil was about to begin. I was offered the use of a room immediately opposite to Persano’s, but I decided that my hiding-place should be somewhere more secluded and discreet.
‘With its door held slightly ajar, a broom cupboard that was situated further down the corridor afforded me a satisfactory view of Persano and it was from here that I decided to take up my post. The discomfort of sitting on an upturned bucket ensured that I would remain awake during the long night ahead. The stench of sodden mop heads made my task the harder to endure. I could not yet be certain that Diego would even appear! I would have to console myself with the thought that the prospect of Persano’s imminent release would spur Diego to one final desperate act of retribution, so certain was I that Morrison’s comments to the press would prove successful.
‘My only indication of the slow passage of time was the trajectory of the moon as it shed a strange grey light through the dark and distant skylight on its journey across the night sky. This grey illumination had an unusual, almost mystical effect upon my surroundings of steel and stone.
‘The moon had almost cleared the skylight by the time I became aware of the first sound that I had heard in hours, other than that of my own deep breathing and the occasional cry from one of those poor incarcerated souls. It came from the front entrance and my heart quickened when I realized that it was the sound of a cautious and furtive footstep.
‘This was followed by several others and, despite his caution, the effect of the stone floor amplified them to an unacceptable level. The steps ceased and I became certain that Diego was now removing his shoes. Fortunately for me he was also casting a shadow and I abandoned my improvised seat as the shadow neared Persano’s room.
‘As he gradually came into view, I slowly opened the door of my hideaway and observed my quarry. He wore a set of overalls similar to my own and brandished what appeared to be a primitive knife. Although he crouched to avoid detection I could see that he was quite short and dark of skin, while his jet-black hair had been allowed to grow down to his shoulders. He turned his head suddenly, as if he could sense my presence and I now saw that his eyes were red and frantic. I can tell you, Watson, that revenge is surely the destroyer of souls!’
Holmes paused again and it was evident that he now wished that he had been more frugal with my cigarettes. I fumbled in my pockets and eventually produced a small Indian cigar, which I offered to my grateful friend.
‘It was now a matter of timing. I wished for Diego to be preoccupied at the moment that I made my move, although I did not intend for him to progress too far with his intentions either. He had, evidently, managed to procure a set of keys from the caretaker’s office and I was upon him before he had the chance to select the correct one. By the way, I subsequently discovered that the caretaker had suffered a blow to the head that had rendered him unconscious for over an hour!
‘Before I was able to secure him in one of my locks, Diego was alert to my approach and he lashed out at me with the huge key ring.’ Holmes smiled sardonically and pointed to his forehead. ‘By the way, you have made an excellent job of the dressing, old fellow.’ I waved this compliment aside, for I was now most anxious to hear of the conclusion to this adventure.
‘I must admit to having been taken unawares by Diego’s sudden attack and those few seconds of surprise allowed him the time to make good his escape along the never-ending corridors. I lost no time in making my pursuit, yet his short legs moved at an incredible speed and I found it difficult to make up any ground. All the while the sounds of our chase aroused the inmates from their troubled sleep and a cacophony of wailing and screaming built up to an unnerving climax. This, however, did nothing to deter the stubborn man from his progress and it was only as he approached the rear exit that I was able to close upon him.
‘None the less, he was through the door before I could reach him and by the time I had breathed in the chill of the night air, Diego was already well on his way up a flight of metal steps that extended to the asylum’s roof. I clattered after him, not even pausing upon the numerous landings, until I had reached the uppermost level.
‘Once there I stopped abruptly. It had already occurred to me that he had chosen a strange route by which to make good his escape. After all, the roof was just as far and as high as he could go! It was only when I found myself surrounded by a veritable forest of huge, brick chimney stacks that I realized how precarious my position might be.
‘I knew that Diego was in hiding behind one of those stacks, with his crude weapon held menacingly poised above his head, ready to strike should I venture behind his chimney. The flat roof was strewn with shingle so I was in little doubt that he would hear even the most cautious of approaches. I had already resigned myself to another long wait, when it occurred to me that the shingle might also work to my advantage.