Sherlock Holmes: The Shadow From Beyond Read Online Free Page A

to you or its contents?
    “I know not what it concerns sir, but will confirm that it arrived yesterday in the afternoon via post courier around 4 p.m. I delivered it at once to Professor Harper at around 6 p.m. upon his return from his daily outing. He seemed very happy to receive it and mentioned something like he had been waiting eagerly for its arrival.
    “Daily outing?” injected Holmes. “Please elaborate.” “Well, while being employed by the University, Professor Harper was often at the Royal British Museum compiling research on the various topics he taught about. These visits declined after he was removed from his position a few years ago, but lately, after returning from his latest trip abroad, he began to spend time there on daily basis. I assumed that he was probably doing some sort of work for a client that demanded his utmost attention. Of late he had done some consultation assignments as means of added income and spent much attention toward them. He would be out of the house for hours on end but always returned at 6 p.m. sharp.”
    Holmes smiled broadly then held up the letter again. “Ahh yes, well,” Stinson continued. “Afterwards he had dinner at 8 p.m. then retired to his study around 9 p.m. as was customary. Considering his earlier enthusiasm I found it odd that he had not yet opened the letter by meal time, as it was still sealed and sitting on top of some other correspondence when I served desert, but had noticed the discarded envelope in the waste basket when I delivered his port later that night.”
    “Thank you Stinson those are all the questions I have for you and your staff at the moment, you are dismissed,” replied Holmes politely. And on that note the butler bowed slightly and took his leave, followed by the cook and maid.
    There was a letter opener on the desk, and as Stinson had mentioned, a recently opened envelope sat discarded in the waste bin beside. Holmes removed it from the bin, held it up and examined the two addresses that had been written upon it in a fine flowing script. The first of which was to Professor Harper himself at this present location, the return address was that of a residence in Metz, France. Holmes knew the location of the town to be not far from the German border.
    The envelope was post marked two weeks prior, the name of the sender was listed as M. A. Lebda, a name the detective was not familiar with. Holmes’ keen eyes noticed that the paper was creased and warped slightly outward, indicating that an object was once held within. At the moment no trace of that possible object was seen on or near the desk. The letter missing from the envelope was most probably the one Holmes removed earlier from Harper’s robe pocket.
    Holmes then examined the desk area. He opened drawers and scanned piles of papers, eventually he uncovered a small leather bound journal with the initials T. H. embossed in gold upon its cover. Holmes pocketed these items for later reference before he turned his attention to the rest of the room and its contents.
    The study itself was decorated as one would expect from a university scholar and was filled with many oak shelves and cabinets occupied with old books, manuscripts, maps and artifacts dating throughout history, with most seeming to focus on topics related to the Crusades of the Middle East.
    Holmes scrutinized the volumes on display, scanning quickly over the various titles.
    Included with the various educational texts are two books penned by Professor Harper himself: ‘The Crusades: A Historic Reference’ and ‘A Guide to Pagan Myths and Religious Cults of the Middle East.’ The first was one Holmes had actually read.
    On one shelf that seemed to have been perused recently, due to lack of dust, Holmes leafed through a selection of volumes that were well outside the normal reference list offered by the English Education Board, but where none the less related to studies of pagan religions:
    ‘The Parchments of Pom’, a detailed