acdholmesfest | Fic for thesmallhobbit: The Case of the Male Voice Choir; PG (Reply)

Title: The Case of the Male Voice Choir
Recipient:

scfrankles
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,250
Characters: Holmes/Hopkins, Watson/Lestrade
Warnings: N/A
Summary: A story told in epistolary form, with editor’s notes: a criminal in hiding appears to be taking an interest in Welsh culture. Luckily Holmes knows someone called Hopkins.
Disclaimer: I apologise to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for taking mild liberties with Inspector Hopkins. But probably better me than

thesmallhobbit.

I would like to thank Charles Braithwaite, from whose personal collection the following letters and notes come. Mr. Braithwaite is the grandson of A.G. Braithwaite, who inherited the papers from his cousin Mrs. E. Hudson, Sherlock Holmes’ landlady for many years; she discovered the papers after Mr. Holmes had moved out of her establishment and she was preparing to have the upper floors extensively refurbished and repaired.

(In a charming aside, Charles Braithwaite tells me that his grandfather often spoke of how fond Mrs. Hudson was of her former lodger. It seems you had only to mention Mr. Holmes’ famous untidiness or his constant stream of visitors for the landlady to burst into prolonged tears of nostalgia.)

Working through the papers took weeks of study and painstaking editing (Dr. Watson’s handwriting presented particular difficulties) but I was delighted to discover that the communications covered an entire unpublished, and hitherto unknown, case. Not all the details are present but I think there is enough to intrigue and entertain the dedicated admirer of Sherlock Holmes’ work.

The letters and notes are not dated but my research indicates they were all written in October 1895. And so, I present to you:

The Case of the Male Voice Choir

Holmes:

A brief note to let you know my train should ensure that I am back at Baker Street by 9 o’clock.

Colonel Hayter sends his regards; however I believe you were wise to stop accompanying me on these visits to Reigate. He has not been so impolite as to mention it but I am aware that the incident with his gun collection, your bedroom wall and the elderly housemaid’s nerves is still playing on his mind.

I hope you have managed to find something to ease your boredom while I’ve been away.

Watson

My dear Mr. Holmes:

Thank you for all your assistance in investigating the burglaries.

Unfortunately, when we arrived to arrest the leader of the gang, Herbert Elliott’s landlady informed us that her tenant had left only an hour before with all his belongings.

However, we did find a scrap of paper with ‘Pam’, ‘beth’ and ‘Mae’ written upon it. I have already begun inquiries into whether any of his acquaintances are called Pamela, Elizabeth or Mary and to attempt to discover their present whereabouts.

Yours faithfully,
G. Lestrade

Lestrade:

This is too bad. I really thought I could leave things in your hands. Do nothing further for the moment—I wish to speak to Hopkins.

And I think you will find your female criminal associates are innocent travellers from Wales. It appears Elliott has been practising his Welsh vocabulary for ‘why’, ‘what’ and the verb ‘to be’.

Holmes

My dear Hayter:

Thank you once again for your kind hospitality.

Holmes apologises that he was not able to take you up on your kind invitation. He is so very busy at the present time. Currently he is attempting to discover the whereabouts of the ruthless leader of a gang of burglars. Curious case. The man himself has no apparent connections with Wales but he appears to be studying its ancient language.

To my surprise I discovered that Holmes had begun his own studies in Welsh even before this latest development. There is a young police inspector in whom Holmes takes an interest and it seems his parents are from a village near Swansea, though they now run a dairy on the Marylebone Road.

Holmes says he is always keen to learn something new and while I had been away, Inspector Hopkins had been calling round in the evenings and teaching him a thing or two. The dear fellow appeared a little embarrassed after telling me this but there is no need. It is gratifying to be considered the great man’s only friend but I believe it would do us both good to gain a wider circle of acquaintances.

Yours,
Watson

My dear Mr. Holmes:

I have an idea as to where to begin investigations this evening. May I call round at 7 o’clock to explain further?

Yours faithfully,
Stanley Hopkins

Dear Mr. Holmes:

No; not those kinds of investigations.

Yours faithfully,
Hopkins

Lestrade:

Intriguing developments.

Hopkins and myself attended a social evening for our local Welsh population last night. During the performance of a male voice choir we noticed Elliott’s main associate Brown leaving the hall! This cannot be a coincidence. Hopkins and I will investigate further tonight.

Holmes

Dear Mrs. Hudson:

Am going incognito in a Welsh male voice choir. For supper, a cold collation at half past nine, if you would be so kind.

Sherlock Holmes

Holmes:

Woke feeling somewhat cheerful and have gone for a walk around town.

Had a delightful evening last night while you were at the rehearsal for the choir. I must admit I was feeling a little lonely and so I invited Lestrade for supper. He is so much more charming when it is just the two of us and we had a marvellous time. I have to say that he was looking very dapper too. I wonder now why I ever thought he resembled a ferret.

Watson

Watson:

‘Ferret’. Hum. Lestrade is a slender man, is he not? I am pleased to see he was able to make himself so at home. He appears to have left his vest down the back of the sofa.

Holmes

My dear Mr. Holmes:

Thank you for the return of my clothing. It was a little warm in your and Dr. Watson’s rooms last night and I must have forgotten that I had discarded that item.

Thank you also for keeping me informed on how your investigations are continuing. I wish you luck with your performance this evening.

G. Lestrade

Holmes:

I do understand that Hopkins and yourself were excited when you both returned to Baker Street. It must be significant that once again Elliott’s associate had attended the choir’s performance. And I do appreciate that the two of you have to practise your singing.

However I do not see why you had to do it in the middle of the night after I had gone to bed. I thought it would never come to a conclusion—it just went on and on and on. Although I would agree you need the rehearsal. Most of it seemed more like moaning and—

Never mind. It is fine.

Watson

Editor’s note: The following two messages are notes that were handwritten in the margins of a printed sheet.

Holmes:

I see you have been working on another of your cases. As you have Hopkins to help you with the choir, I wish to help with this one.

I have been considering these strange groupings of letters—some almost words, some missing vowels altogether—and I have jotted some thoughts down on the solution to the cipher.

Watson

***

Watson:

Thank you. The ‘code’ is in fact a Welsh folk song I am learning for the next performance. However, when I had finished laughing it occurred to me that you might be onto something. Once again you have proved to be my conductor of light, dear fellow.

Incidentally, Hopkins and I will be watching Brown’s boarding house tonight to see if he tries to make contact with Elliott. I thought in my absence you might perhaps wish to entertain Lestrade.

Holmes

Dear Mr. Holmes:

I wonder if you could give me warning in future if a male guest is staying overnight on your sofa.

Both Mr. Lestrade and myself were rather embarrassed when faced with each other this morning. I am not easily shocked and I am certainly not blaming the inspector but as I have not seen male nether garments since I lost Mr. Hudson in 1870, I was somewhat startled.

Yours faithfully,
Mrs. Hudson

My dear Mrs. Hudson:

Please accept my apologies.

I have spoken to Dr. Watson about this and suggested that, to better serve propriety, Lestrade could share his room on future occasions. The Doctor has graciously agreed to this arrangement and, so as to be fair, I have decided to allow Inspector Hopkins to share my room if necessary.

Yours,
Sherlock Holmes

Watson:

Hopkins and I have retired to my room to discuss the case. I would be grateful if you did not disturb us.

S.H.

Watson:

Hopkins and I have gone to the lumber room to discuss the case.

S.H.

Watson:

Hopkins and I are in the attic. Discussing the case.

S.H.

Holmes:

On finding yet another note signed with the initials ‘S.H.’, I do not think it is unreasonable for me to assume that the communication is from you and the intended recipient is myself.

It did not occur to me that Hopkins shares your initials, and that the young man’s hand may strongly resemble your own. I saw only an urgent request for my presence at a particular destination.

All I can say is that Mrs. Hudson’s broom cupboard was in total darkness and that despite your tuition Hopkins is still lacking in deductive skills, as it took him some little time to ascertain that things were not as he had planned. I resent the implication that I had somehow engineered this situation—I was entirely the innocent party.

Though incidentally, you are a fortunate man. You have my congratulations.

Watson

Mr. Holmes:

With regard to the full and frank discussion we had earlier, which led to your departure from Baker Street in some annoyance, may I emphasise once again that Dr. Watson was merely indulging in his infamous pawky humour.

During the specified occurance nothing untoward transpired. There may have been some brief facial contact but that was all.

I will leave this note with your landlady. You will find me at the Yard, if you wish to speak to me.

Yours,
Stanley Hopkins

Hopkins:

I am prepared to ignore for the moment whatever your face may have got up to. Once Elliott is in custody we will discuss this further.

Holmes

Holmes:

I have spoken to Lestrade. We will be at the hall with our guns at the appointed time.

I am sorry that I seemed so taken aback. I believe I temporarily misunderstood your intentions when you invited myself and Lestrade to witness a performance of your and Hopkins’ singing. I may perhaps have been thinking back to my earlier misapprehension when I heard you—

Never mind. It is fine.

Watson

Dear Mrs. Hudson:

Have gone to apprehend dangerous criminal. Supper at eleven, please.

Sherlock Holmes

Editor’s Note: I have managed to track down an article from a now defunct London newspaper, the Brixton Echo, which gives us some idea as to what happened next.

Strange Messages

A remarkable sequence of events last night took the well-known Scotland Yard official Mr. Lestrade from Marylebone to Brixton on the trail of a gang leader.

The man had vanished some days ago before he could be arrested. However, following some excellent detective work, the inspector and his up-and-coming colleague Mr. Stanley Hopkins discovered that their suspect was passing messages to an associate through the unusual method of fresh lines added to Welsh folk songs.

Mr. Lestrade and Mr. Hopkins arrested the aforementioned associate while he was attending an informal concert given by a male voice choir. Then having deciphered the curious coded message of ffordd yr aderyn du mawr (road of the large, black bird) and y dref bricsen (the brick town), they hastened to Crow Street, Brixton, where they found their wanted man hiding in an untenanted house with a young female accomplice who is believed to be of Welsh ancestry—she being the one who had persuaded the choir’s conductor to include the messages.

The celebrated consulting expert Mr. Sherlock Holmes and his colleague Dr. Watson accompanied the two police officials and it is perhaps fortunate that they did so. Elliott drew a gun and shot at Mr. Hopkins—happily missing his target, though only narrowly. Mr. Lestrade and Dr. Watson attempted to return fire without harming the girl but Mr. Holmes was the one to bring things to a satisfactory conclusion by throwing the remains of a potted aspidistra at Elliott’s head, rendering the man unconscious.

It is wonderful to know that the police have the support of such loyal members of the public.

Mrs. Hudson:

Do not bother about the supper. Break out the brandy.

Sherlock Holmes

My dear Lestrade:

Thank you for letting us know that Elliott has confessed to the burglaries. Perhaps if you have some time this evening you could call in and tell me about it in more detail..? I will pass on your news to Holmes, although I must say I have not seen much of him, or of Hopkins, since we all returned to Baker Street. But I shall slip a note under Holmes’ door.

Yours,
Watson

Watson:

It is indeed good news about Elliott. And I must take this opportunity to apologise to you, dear boy. I have come to my senses and understand that you and Hopkins are innocent of all that I accused you of.

I also apologise for abandoning you at the moment. Hopkins has taken a few days’ leave and we are embracing the opportunity to practise some conjugation.

Holmes

Yes, naturally, I mean Welsh conjugation.

Holmes

And here, sadly, the notes run out and our story concludes with Holmes putting himself in Hopkins’ capable hands. It does leave us with one intriguing question though: in the end, just how familiar did Holmes become with Hopkins’ Welsh tongue?