This included the Adventure of the Sixth Finger, which so terrified a pair of spinster sisters, and an incredible discovery in the Iron Age fort near Llandysul, which must remain unknown except to scholars until such time as its implications can be determined. Heaven help us if word should ever surface about that case, but I did have permission from Holmes to make a record of it, which I stored away in the tin dispatch box that I keep at Cox and Company for just such cases that should not be forgotten, no matter the risk. Yet another narrative of national importance will be placed there as soon as I have finished writing it. I was reminded of this particular case by a recent press article detailing the unexpected death of the principal figure involved, and while the specifics cannot be revealed publicly, I’m moved to record here a true account.
It was an overcast morning in late November of 1889 when I found myself passing through Baker Street. As I ambled along, I nodded to a number of acquaintances, shopkeepers and mothers, landladies and cabbies, who made up that little community of which I had been a part for so long. The fog was lifting and the morning light waxing when I reached the door of 221. I used my old key to enter, as it had been made clear to me, both by Holmes and Mrs. Hudson, that the simple fact of no longer lodging there did not mean that my right to enter was in any way diminished.
Calling out as I entered, I was gratified to hear Mrs. Hudson make her way from the back of the house. I could smell something baking, and my pleasure at seeing her was compounded by the knowledge that something pleasant would soon be pulled from the oven.
This story is from the Issue 60, 2020 edition of The Strand Magazine.
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This story is from the Issue 60, 2020 edition of The Strand Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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INTERVIEW Laurie R. King
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ADVENTURE ON A BAD NIGHT
BEFORE dinner was quite finished Vivien began wanting to get outdoors, into the air she hadn’t seen since afternoon.
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“MR. Holmes, I’m not asking for myself. It’s for the livelihood of the rest of us.”
The Adventure of the Home Office Baby
FOLLOWING the occasion of my marriage, and relocation with Mary to our newlywed home in the Paddington district, only a few blocks east of the great station itself, I was able to continue building my new practice while still finding time to assist Sherlock Holmes in a number of investigations.
KEVIN OF THE DEAD
PEOPLE often say to me, “Kevin, what’s it like being undead and all that?” And I say, “It’s a job, you know?” You get up at sunset, brush off the dirt and slugs, climb out of the box, and off you go into the night looking for some poor unfortunate to siphon a pint from.
AUNT NELLIE'S DIARY
MANY contemporary readers know Louisa May Alcott only as the author of the classic Little Women, the much-beloved story of the March sisters’ journey from childhood innocence to mature womanhood.
INTERVIEW John Grisham
FOR the last thirty years, the term legal thriller has been synonymous with John Grisham. Credited with single-handedly popularizing the genre, he has inspired scores of other authors and, in the process, has become both a commercial and critical success.
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“IF you don’t mind, sir,” said old Fiedler as he finished pouring our coffee, “I’d like to go into the village this morning with the others. It’s market day.”
THE AMIABLE FLEAS
IN May 1954, more than fifteen years after writing Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck rented a house for himself and his family a stones-throw from the Champs-Elysées in Paris.
INTERVIEW Don Winslow
EVER since Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett revolutionized the crime novel with hardboiled heroes, gritty settings, and moral complexity, countless authors have tried to carry the torch.
