The Wilhelm Conspiracy (A Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James Mystery) Page 3

  And with that she opened the door to the conservatory, motioned for us to enter, and then turned and walked quickly away.

  Inside, beneath the tall, wide, and brilliantly lit glass roof of the conservatory, a man and two women were huddled over one end of a huge metallic hemispherical structure that might have been a gigantic kettledrum set down onto a wheeled platform. The wheels rested on the white clay floor tiles. The apparatus must have been twelve feet in diameter. It dominated the room in the way an elephant dominates a circus ring. I had no idea of the inner workings of the great object, but as we drew closer I could see within it six clusters of metallic equipment. Each was similarly configured, connected by wires and metal rods to a circular metal frame suspended above the apparatus. The metal frame was empty, but there were brackets attached to it that could have been used to fasten more equipment into place.

  I glanced around the room, trying to observe the details, as I knew Holmes was doing. Farther from the centre and in front of a door that led to outside the conservatory stood a brass telescope supported by a sturdy steel tripod. Along the near wall on one side of the entrance door hung a large tapestry depicting Queen Elizabeth in a somewhat heroic pose. I felt a vague discomfort at this, as I would have expected a portrait of Queen Victoria. But then my attention was drawn to the other side of the entrance door, where along the wall was a grey slate counter and a sink. Above and below the counter was a splendid array of somewhat dusty wooden shelves, filled with glass bottles of various shapes and colours. I wondered fleetingly why this equipment was in the conservatory, and if Lord Kerren was an amateur horticulturalist or chemist as well as an electrical inventor.

  Two of the three persons looked up as we entered. I recognized Nikola Tesla, whose elegantly urbane attire, crane-like figure, beady eyes, and spare dark moustache were widely illustrated in newspaper sketches. I had not realized how tall he was nor how appallingly thin was his frame. Had his clothes not been extensively tailored, they would have hung on him like a rain-soaked flag on its pole. Though of height equal to Holmes’s six foot two inches, Tesla could not have weighed more than one hundred and forty pounds.

  The woman closest to Tesla kept her head down. But a glance was enough for me to recognize her as Lucy James.

  6. A LIGHTNING RAY IN THE CONSERVATORY

  The other woman was holding a small sketch pad, drawing with brisk, firm strokes using a silver-plated reservoir pen. “Good evening, Mr. Holmes,” she said. “I am Harriet Radnar, as you no doubt have deduced.”

  Miss Radnar spoke in a clear and declamatory manner. She might have been an actress on a stage. The left side of her face was partially obscured by her long blond hair. With an annoyed backhanded gesture, she cleared it away to reveal perfectly proportioned features and a complexion as flawless as a china doll’s. Compared with Lady Radnar, Harriet was smaller in both height and bone structure. Whereas Lady Radnar had given me the impression of a large and graceful swan, self-contained and generally serene—other than under the present circumstances, of course—Harriet made me think of a small hummingbird, hovering, radiating energy and intensity, as if on the verge of darting to another spot. And whereas Lady Radnar wore her hair pinned just above the nape of her neck, Harriet’s long tresses hung free, held only by a black headband just above her smooth forehead. I recalled that Lady Radnar had said Harriet was her stepdaughter. I wondered fleetingly whether Harriet resembled her real mother.

  Putting her sketch pad and pen into her purse, she continued, “I was just making a sketch of Mr. Tesla, here. He has been regaling us with tales of his lightning-ray machine, and some of his other secret adventures.”

  Tesla cocked his head, bird-like, one hand on his chin while the other, gloved in white leather, smoothed the expensive dark wool of his lapel. “They are such charming ladies. I could not resist telling them. You are Mr. Holmes, I take it?”

  “Indeed,” Holmes replied courteously. He moved towards the metal structure, away from the ladies. Tesla quickly moved in front of him, as if he were about to point out the features of the apparatus inside.

  “Please, Mr. Tesla,” said Miss Radnar. “Before you immerse yourself in the scientific details, first allow me to introduce my friend to these gentlemen.” She gestured to Lucy. “This is my old school classmate Lucy James. She is also my present-day colleague in the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.”

  I struggled to conceal my apprehension. I could only imagine the concern Holmes must have felt upon finding Lucy here, in the midst of a case that had already taken two lives and very nearly a third.

  Now Lucy, her lovely face framed by her neatly coiffed dark hair, acknowledged the introduction with grace and poise, obviously not wishing to disclose her relationship to Holmes. The darker, more Mediterranean features that she had inherited from her Italian mother contrasted with Harriet’s almost elfin face and bearing. Lucy wore her customary black wool dress over a high-necked white blouse, with no jewellery. I thought her features seemed to glow beneath the electric lighting of the conservatory, with a warmth that Harriet did not possess. Or perhaps it was my affection for Lucy that led to my seeing her this way, or my memories of how the Savoy Theatre’s arc lamps had lit up her countenance when I had first seen her on the stage nearly a year earlier.

  “Mr. Holmes, I’ve been an admirer of yours since Harriet and I were at Miss Porter’s School in Connecticut.” She looked at Lestrade and me, her green eyes wide and innocent. “And you must be Dr. Watson. I’ve absolutely devoured your stories about Mr. Holmes. And are you Inspector Lestrade? I’ve read about you too. And Lord Lansdowne, you and I shook hands last Guy Fawkes Night after I sang in The Mikado on Mr. Morgan’s yacht. You may not remember me, but I remember you. It’s not often I come face-to-face with a British Cabinet Secretary.”

  Lucy’s performance seemed impeccable as far as I could tell. I risked a quick glance at Holmes, but his grey eyes betrayed no sign of emotion.

  “What brings you to Dover, Miss James?” asked Lord Lansdowne. His manner was extremely courteous, but I thought I detected a note of suspicion in his tone.

  “Our company gave a matinee performance at the theatre here this afternoon. Harriet and I are sailing for Germany tomorrow.”

  At the mention of Germany, I felt the same sense of apprehension that had come over me this morning. But Lucy was continuing as though it were the easiest, most natural thing in the world to enter the domain of the government that had paid Adam Worth to murder us all less than a year ago.

  “Our first show in Germany will be for the Prince of Wales and his friends at the Bad Homburg spa,” Lucy went on. “His Majesty’s on his annual visit to take the waters and, I gather, to shed some weight. Mr. Tesla’s going there too, hoping to meet the Prince. He’s told us about an electrical cure-all machine that he thinks the Prince might like. Quite the opposite of this deadly contraption, here.”

  “Mr. Tesla,” said Lord Lansdowne. “What have you told the ladies about this machine?”

  Bent over the machine, Tesla looked up for a moment to reply, “Only its general capabilities.”

  “It looks like an enormous kettle,” said Harriet.

  “Only it holds lightning bolts. Like the key on Mr. Franklin’s kite, only bigger,” said Lucy.

  From a quick look she directed at me, however, I could tell that Tesla’s information, whatever it was, had not been nearly as incomprehensible to her as she let on.

  Lord Lansdowne nodded. “Ladies, I wonder if you would please adjourn to the living room while we have a private word with Mr. Tesla, here?”

  7. TOO MANY REQUESTS

  Neither of the two ladies concealed her displeasure at being excluded from the discussion, but they both left without protest. Following their departure, we five men stood a bit awkwardly for a moment, inspecting the perimeter of the metallic structure.

  Finally Holmes spoke. “How does the machine receive its electricity?”

  “There is a powerful generator in a nearb
y shed, and a large tank of petrol to provide fuel,” Lansdowne said. “My department paid for the installation.”

  “There is also an electric compressor to provide refrigeration,” Tesla added. “Extreme cold is required for the manufacture of argon gas, and argon is a key component for this apparatus. You see these six metal tubes at the centre of the drum, pointing up at the metal ring. These contain argon, a chemically inert gas capable of containing the electric rays so that the energy may be focused for long-distance travel without losing its force.”

  “You are getting ahead of yourself, Mr. Tesla,” said Lansdowne. “We cannot understand you.”

  “It is not necessary for you to know how the machine works.” Tesla’s expression grew urgent. “I will explain in due course. But first I must make you understand how you are to help us, Mr. Holmes.”

  “How?”

  “I blame myself, but I have been busy with other matters—you may have read of my wireless transmissions, and of my generators that transform the energy of Niagara Falls into useful illumination. You may also have read of the fire that consumed my laboratory in New York City more than a year ago. Recreating what was lost there has taken an inordinate amount of time. Also I have developed an argon wand that emits energy at the same high frequencies that resonate within the cells of the human body. I credit this device with my own recovery from an accident in which I was struck down in the street by a large vehicle. Dr. Watson, I am sure you will want to know—”

  Lansdowne interrupted, “Please come to the point, Mr. Tesla.”

  Sulkily, Tesla folded his arms high across his narrow chest, hands clutching his gaunt shoulders as though comforting himself. Then he smoothed the lapel of his impeccably tailored jacket and replied, “The point is that no man can work on all things at the same time. So I entrusted my lightning-ray project to Lord Kerren, who is a most competent fellow, if somewhat overambitious. He fancies himself the Kentish heir to the intellectual heritage of his fellow Englishman Faraday, and the Scot Maxwell. He has visited me in New York—in fact it was just before the unfortunate fire that has caused me such difficulty. Now, where was I—oh, yes. I was saying that Kerren has assembled the apparatus here. He telegraphed me that an initial trial had enjoyed complete success.”

  “Meaning what, precisely?” asked Holmes.

  “Meaning that a large sheep tethered outside this conservatory was electrocuted and killed.”

  “Was the body charred?”

  “According to the message I received from Lord Kerren about a month ago, yes.”

  “What happened then?”

  “Lord Kerren sailed for Germany. He planned to meet with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who travels to the German spa at Bad Homburg annually for purposes of his health.”

  “Why?”

  “His Royal Highness is providing funds for this work. Lord Kerren wanted to communicate the initial success and to request additional financial support.”

  “Did he meet with the Prince?”

  “I do not know. Kerren sent me a wire from Germany to say that I should join him. However, I first came here. I arrived on Friday as scheduled, and was pleased to see that all the arrangements I had requested had been made.”

  “Were these scientific arrangements?”

  “They were personal in nature. I require an electric circuit in my room, so that I can operate a particular apparatus that provides electrical current beneficial to my health. Also I need a separate table where I may dine in privacy. Also—”

  “Why did you not travel directly to Germany?”

  “I needed to see the completed machine for myself.”

  “But upon your arrival, you discovered that an important part of the machine was missing.”

  “How can you know that?”

  Holmes pointed to the metal tubes in the middle of the machine. “Those tubes—I believe you said they contained argon—have copper wires projecting from their tops. They must connect to something. And there are empty metal brackets on this metal ring above the tubes. That also indicates a missing component. Your expression of concern signified to me that the missing component was a critical part of the weapon.”

  Seeing Tesla’s nod of assent, Holmes turned to Lansdowne. “Mr. Secretary, I now understand. This empty ring is the reason you called for me this morning. Why was this apparatus left unguarded?”

  “Lord Kerren had conducted his work in secret. He did not wish to call attention to his laboratory, so he instructed my men to stay away from his home. I supported his instruction.” Lansdowne lowered his gaze, embarrassed. “I take full responsibility,” he added.

  “Mr. Tesla, can you describe the missing apparatus?”

  “I cannot. But Lord Kerren will be returning soon. He may have plans or sketches.”

  “Mr. Secretary, how can you be certain that Lord Kerren did not take the apparatus with him to Germany?”

  “My men at the garrison helped him close up Kerren House and drove him to the Port of Dover. This machine was intact when they left the building.”

  “Very well. Now let us review the position. You, Mr. Tesla, want me to retrieve an electrical apparatus that you cannot describe.”

  “I may be able to sketch out some possible—”

  Holmes continued as though Tesla had not spoken. “Lord Lansdowne, you want me to determine who took the apparatus and whether the Germans have it, and whether they can make a copy and manufacture it to be used against us. If the apparatus is indeed in Germany, you also want me to bring the apparatus back to England if that is possible.”

  “Yes, I—”

  “Lady Radnar wants me to avoid scandal by quickly identifying a body that has been charred beyond recognition, and which, I can tell you from close observation a few hours ago, has had its teeth removed. Further, she will want me to prove that the body has nothing to do with the activities that take place here, even though you, Mr. Tesla, affirm that your apparatus has already brought about the demise of an ill-fated sheep.”

  He paused, looking at Lord Lansdowne, his tone deliberately restrained. “Am I correct so far?”

  “Quite so.”

  “Then a few additional inquiries are called for.” He ticked off the points on his long fingers. “Who was the traitor who learned Inspector Lestrade was to call on me this morning? Who gave the order for him to be intercepted outside my Baker Street rooms? Who carried out the attack on Lestrade? And why were the attackers so helpful as to provide a warning, and to speak it with German accents? In addition, since I was standing beside Sergeant Stubbs when he came to be shot this afternoon, I would like to know who shot him and who gave the order to shoot.”

  My spirits rose. Even as Holmes issued this rapid-fire litany of questions, all of which appeared difficult or even impossible to answer, I could hear in his voice the quickening of excitement that accompanied his rising to a new challenge.

  Lansdowne asked, “Are you prepared to undertake the mission?”

  “You ask a great deal of one man, Mr. Secretary.”

  “You have been of great value to us in the past.”

  “The traitor within your ranks must be located and unmasked.”

  “Agreed.”

  “And I want no further knowledge of the case to be communicated to the ladies we have just met. If they are to travel to Germany, for their own safety they should know nothing of these matters.”

  Lansdowne’s wide brown eyes gave a momentary glance towards Tesla, and then returned to Holmes. “I have a reservation on that point, but I agree to do as you ask.”

  “Then I shall begin at the Dover Castle garrison, with the investigation of the body recovered here in Dover, and we shall see where that leads us. I am not convinced that I ought to travel to Germany. The missing component may still be here in England, and the warning I received—delivered so heavily laden with a German accent—may have been an attempt to conceal that fact.”

  Lansdowne nodded. “Very well, though I hope I can p
ersuade you to include the ladies. Now let us return to the hotel.”

  Tesla found the appropriate switch and extinguished the conservatory lights. He and Lestrade moved towards the exit. Lansdowne hung back, indicating with a glance that he had something further to say to Holmes.

  Outside the glassed walls of the conservatory, the twilight sky was now visible. To the south-east, over the Channel, lay the line of dark clouds from the retreating storm and, above them, the small crescent moon. Within the clouds, as though directed by heaven, came the momentary flash of a lightning bolt.

  Tesla had opened the door to the front portion of the house. From within the parlour came the ringing of a telephone.

  Holmes asked Lansdowne, “Why would you want the two ladies to know any further details of this matter?”

  “Because, Mr. Holmes, Harriet Radnar is an agent of the War Department.”

  Holmes seemed about to reply, but at that moment Harriet appeared in the doorway. “The hotel has just telephoned, Mr. Secretary. Sergeant Stubbs is dead. They say he has been murdered.”

  8. AFTERMATH OF A MURDER

  At Radnar House we took the stairs two at a time and were soon in the second-floor hallway. The door to Stubbs’s room was open. On the carpet outside the doorway lay a knitted black wool watch cap, of the sort that could be bought for a shilling or two at any used-clothing store in any British port city. Holmes picked it up as we went into the room. There the nurse sat slumped on the carpet beside the bed, rubbing the back of her skull.

  Sadly, a glance at the sergeant was enough to understand that there was nothing I could do for him. From the grotesque angle of his head and neck, it was plain that his cervical vertebrae had been twisted and broken.

  “I heard a thump in the hallway,” the nurse said, “and then a man was inside here, staring at me through his black mask. He had a gun. He made me turn around, and then he hit me from behind. I think he must have done the same to the guard out there in the hall.”