Sherlock Holmes in New York Page #5

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I expect this will be a

four pipe problem at the very least.

Yes, well, take care you

don't set the upholstery afire

the way you did that night

at Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

Er, 'night, Holmes.

Er, 'night, Watson.

Sleep well.

Holmes!

It's half-past twelve in the afternoon!

Half-past seven in the morning, Watson.

What's that?

Oh, my watch must have...

Oh. Cheeky beggars, I must say,

making up their own time.

I'm surprised no-one's

called the fire brigade.

Oh, that chap's been replaced.

This one's wearing stripes

instead of checks.

Well, Holmes,

what have you come up with?

Two points of exceeding interest,

Watson.

About which I shall be delighted

to tell you whilst we're dressing.

Scott Adler's abductor was a woman.

But that's impossible.

Oh, the conclusion's inescapable, Watson.

How did Fraulein Reichenbach's assailant

begin the attack?

Grabbed her by the hair.

The instinctive target of a woman

when she finds herself in combat

with another of her gender.

What did she do then?

Kicked her.

- In the shins.

Another instinctive form

of female attack.

I must say, Holmes, none of the ladies

with whom I've been associated...

Who mentioned ladies Watson?

I said, 'a woman.'

And one of sufficient strength

that she was able to fling the Fraulein

to the ground, seize young Scott Adler...

Holmes, you're assuming too much.

It's all very well to say that a woman

struck Fraulein Reichenbach

and pummelled her

in the manner you described.

But that's a far cry from her seizin'

a nine-year-old boy

who's strugglin', cryin' out...

- Ah-ha!

Admirable, my dear Watson.

Come in.

You have just hit upon the second point.

No mention was made by the Fraulein

of any struggle or outcry.

Excuse me.

- By George, you're right!

Er, nothing. Just leave things, we will

serve ourselves. Thank you very much.

So, it must be assumed that

none was made.

I am convinced that the matter was

arranged with the lad in advance.

What? Scott Adler co-operate

with Moriarty in his own kidnappin'?

Suppose it were put to the lad

as a joke of sorts?

A joke on whom?

Surely not his mother?

Well, perhaps, on the Fraulein?

But, for what reason?

And why a woman kidnapper

in the first place?

Because the lad has to be kept

somewhere quietly and inconspicuously.

And what better place could there be

than at a respectable lodging house?

And what better guardian than someone

who might be taken for his cousin,

his aunt, or even his m...

... mother?

Watson,

I have some questions

I must put to Irene at once.

That sedative you gave her,

will it have worn off by now?

At a quarter-past one in

the afternoon? Of course.

Watson...

Oh!

Well, dash it all, Holmes,

if an Englishman doesn't maintain his

ties with home what becomes of England?

Come along, Watson.

- Holmes!

Oh, kippers'll get cold.

Oh, well.

Irene, I must know

everything you and Scott did yesterday.

Everything-

Well, for one thing,

we went to the opera.

The management sent around complimentary

tickets and Scott is fond of Aida,

and he also has a tremendous crush

on little Nicole Romaine, so...

Who is this little Nicole Romaine?

Why she's a member of the

cours de ballet.

Do you hear that, Watson?

A dancer. Quick, strong, agile, eh?

Is it customary for the

Metropolitan Opera to send you tickets?

No.

No, it isn't really.

Then they could have been sent

by someone else?

I simply never thought about it.

Start thinking about it now.

And seriously.

Tell me about Scott

and this little Nicole Romaine.

He's her pet.

Whenever we go backstage

after a performance...

Which you did on this occasion?

- Yes.

They spoke together these two?

Oh my, yes. Laughing and whispering

in each others' ears.

She's hardly more than a child herself.

'Whispering in each others' ears.'

Do you hear that, Watson?

Hatching the plot right there,

I've no doubt.

'The plot'? What plot?

A plot, my dear Irene, in which you and

your unfortunate son are leading players.

And a plot in which

I must now assume a role myself.

Ah-ha!

Our friend in the checkered suit is back.

Huh, chap doesn't even have

a change of clothes.

Bit penurious this Moriarty fella, huh?

Watson, it is vital that

I leave this house unobserved.

I dare say

there's a back way out.

Mmm. The same thought

will have occurred to Moriarty.

No!

You and I must appear

to leave this house,

thus drawing our friend out there

away from here.

Irene, I seem to remember,

on a not-too-distant occasion,

your remarkable

impersonation of a young man.

Do you think you could

be equally deceptive

in the guise of one

not quite so young as that?

I am not quite so young as that

anymore either, Sherlock.

Cab.

Coming Holmes?

Right along Watson. Right along.

Thank you.

Excuse me, sir. The opera house

is just across the street if you...

I know. I would much prefer

it be delivered.

Whatever you want.

I'll send the boy right away.

The Twickenham Toffs?

What a mysterious, fascinating,

tiny world we live in.

What's that, sir?

Oh, nothing. I was just

having a conversation with myself.

How much do I owe you?

- Seventy-five cents.

Thank you.

Sorry mister, the lady's not there.

How very odd.

And it was marked 'urgent'.

Yes, sir. That's why they've

given me the address of her hotel.

So I can deliver it.

Splendid, my dear chap.

I shall take care of it myself.

Now, you look like a lad

who knows his way around this town.

Where can I find a first-rate

theatrical costumier?

Ah, signor carossa,

you bring in the bauble, huh?

Va bene e fai multa tensione.

Molto valute!

Buon giorno!

We present Il Grande Bandini

direct from the Victoria Palace.

The Victoria Palace, eh?

I played there myself

in my younger days.

What kind of an act do you do?

Escapologist.

A what?

- I escape.

Escape from what?

From trunks.

From tanks filled with water.

From chains, from locked cages.

Yeah, but not from

your hotel bill, I hope.

That'll be a buck-fifty,

plus two bits for carrying.

A dollar six bits, all told.

There you are my fine fellow.

And don't forget:

Come to see me perform

tomorrow night at the Orpheum.

So, you're playing the Orpheum, huh?

So...

Who told you about this place, anyway,

the Haymarket?

It was recommend me by a

knives thrower I meet in Marseilles

A man si chiama Nicholas Romaine.

Nicholas Romaine? No I don't

seem to remember him.

We do have a Miss Romaine staying here

with her little boy.

I'll have to ask her when she comes

back in. She may be a relative.

Now, let's see about your room.

Ah, yeah, I have a nice one on

the second floor. Number seventeen.

That'll be fifty cents a day,

with breakfast.

Would you care to register?

Er, the room, she's clean?

The Great Bandini

does not share his bed with bugs.

We have the cleanest

place in this town.

You can ask anybody that lives here.

Ah, Miss Romaine.

By the way, over there's a gentleman who

might be knowing a relative of yours.

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